The most important business sectors in Østfold are farming, forestry and industry. Timber converting is what drives the local industry – many of the newspapers sold in Europe come from timber from the huge forests in Indre Østfold. Borregaard in Sarpsborg, located by one of Norway’s most powerful waterfalls, is probably the most famous. The other two are Peterson Group in Moss (you’ll see the heaps of sawdust near Møller byen if you go there), and Saugbruksforeningen in Halden (a huge plant in the Tistedal Valley). All three export billions of Norwegian kroner worth of goods each year and are also major players on the global market.

Halden is emerging as one of the country’s major IT cities (the Institute for Energy Technology, aka IFE, Østfold University College and various other IT companies are all located here), while Fredrikstad is home to many food companies. Tourism potential is also big, with attractions such as Gamlebyen in Fredrikstad, the Fredriksten Fortress in Halden, and the Hvaler archipelago attracting quite a few tourists in summer. But so far it’s mainly Norwegians and Swedes from south of the border who’ve been taking advantage of the huge potential the region has to offer.