Noraway's costs are actually about middle of the road. Higher than middle east, N. Africa , S. America but much lower than N. America and the rest of Europe. This is impressive when you account for their environmental standards and relatively challenging locations.

Their huge savings is the combination of saving but also very high cost of living & taxation. The state provides a lot but also places high taxes on everything.

I live in Alberta where we have relatively low taxes and no oil savings. We've been boom/bust for our entire existence, but one huge difference - we've subsidized huge parts of the entire country during those good times. Those transfer payments add up to an incredible amount of money.