Compare this with young people in other strong economies: US millennials have experienced a 5% dip, in Germany it’s a 9% drop. For those living in southern Europe (the southern Eurozone suffered the brunt of the global economic crisis in 2008), disposable incomes have plunged by as much as 30%.

Norway’s youth unemployment rate (among 15- to 29-year-olds) is also relatively low at 9.4% compared to an OECD average of 13.9%.

‘A lucky situation’

On a rare scorching day in the Norwegian capital Oslo, it’s not difficult to find young locals who embody the country’s good fortunes.

“I don’t really think about how I spend my money,” says Aleksander Aarnes, a 25-year-old graduate.

“I go to the theatre about once a month, go to the cinema once a month. I can go out and eat and drink with friends... I go on vacation (holiday).”

Aarnes is pursuing a career writing for musical theatre, but is yet to earn anything for his efforts, so he funds his lifestyle by working just one or two shifts a week in a supermarket in Korsvoll, a sleepy suburb dotted with large detached pastel-coloured wooden houses. He shares an apartment with a friend in another suburb about a 20-minute bus ride from the city centre.

“I’m really aware of the lucky situation I am in... I don’t have to sacrifice too much to pursue the career I want,” he says.

Aarnes’ hourly pay starts at 164 Norwegian kroner (around $20), increasing for weekend and evening shifts. After taxes (which are comparatively high in Scandinavia) he’s left with around 14,000 kroner ($1700) a month, of which he sets aside half for rent, travel and bills and uses the rest for “whatever else” he likes.

Further down the road in Korsvoll, a 31-year-old business analyst called Øystein is packing his BMW with supplies for a barbecue. He doesn’t want to share his full name, arguing that “even though Norway is rich, people don’t really want to talk about how rich they are personally.” But he admits he earnt enough to buy a two-bedroom apartment on the waterfront when he was 27 and regularly goes on holiday to the US and Asia.