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Demographics of Norway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Demographic features of the population of Norway, including Jan Mayen, and Svalbard, where the hospital is not equipped for births, and no burials are allowed because of permafrost, include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.
The population of Norway rose to over 5.6 million during 2025.
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Historical populations
From 1349 to 1500 the population was approximately halved by several rounds of the black plague, down to approximately 250,000.
The first official census for the then Denmark-Norway kingdom union was held in 1769 and found the Norwegian population to be 723 000.
Except for Ireland, no other country contributed a larger percentage of its population to the American immigration between 1825 - 1925 when more than 800,000 left Norway.
By 1905, when Norway reached full independence, the population was 2,303,595.
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Population
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The total population of Norway on 1 July 2023 was 5,514,042.[3] Statistics Norway estimated that the 5,000,000 milestone was reached on 19 March 2012.[4]
The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review.[5]
- One birth every 8 minutes
- One death every 13 minutes
- One net migrant every 19 minutes
- Net gain of one person every 10 minutes
See or edit source data.
See or edit source data.
See or edit source data.
Fertility
The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.[6]
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Natural growth |
Total growth |
- Total fertility rate
- 1.85 children born/woman (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 143rd
- Mother's mean age at first birth
- 28.9 years
- Birth rate
- 12.2 births/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 160th
Life expectancy
 | This section needs to be updated. (June 2021) |
Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.
1843–1950
1950–2015
Source: UN World Population Prospects
- Life expectancy at birth
- total population: 82 years. Country comparison to the world: 22nd
- male: 79.9 years
- female: 84.1 years (2018 est.)
- Death rate
- 8 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 90th
Age structure
- 0–14 years: 18.1% (male 495,403 /female 471,014) (2018 est.)
- 15–24 years: 12.3% (male 340,672 /female 324,088)
- 25–54 years: 41.0% (male 1,136,373 /female 1,065,138)
- 55–64 years: 11.7% (male 318,898 /female 310,668)
- 65 years and over: 16.9% (male 420,178 /female 489,759)
- Median age
- total: 39.3 years. Country comparison to the world: 55th
- male: 38.6 years
- female: 40 years (2018 est.)
Population density
- Urbanization
- urban population: 82.2% of total population (2018)
- rate of urbanization: 1.4% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)
Note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
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Vital statistics
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Data according to Statistics Norway, which collects the official statistics for Norway.[8]
Note: This table uses the sticky table format to make scrolling easier. If you prefer, you can disable it.
Current vital statistics
Structure of the population
Population by Sex and Age Group (Census 19.XI.2011) (Including residents temporarily outside the country. Population statistics are compiled from registers.): [12]
Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.I.2021) (Data refer to usual resident population.): [12]
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Ethnicity
Statistics Norway does not attempt to quantify or track data on ethnicity.[13] The national population registry records only country of birth.[14]
As of 2012, an official government study shows that 81.0% of the total population were ethnic Norwegians (born in Norway with two parents also born in Norway).[15]
Ethnically, the residents of Norway are predominantly Norwegians, a North Germanic ethnic group. In Northern Norway there is a population of Sámi people, who descend from people who probably settled the area a couple thousand years ago. The people who spoke the proto-Sámi language probably migrated from the Volga region in modern-day Russia in Eastern Europe through Finland, finally arriving in the northern portion of the Scandinavian peninsula where they would assimilate local Paleo-European hunter-gatherers who were already living in the region. The indigenous peoples and minorities of Norway include: Sámi, Scandinavian Romani, Roma, Jews, and Kvener, as well as a small Finnish community.[16]
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Immigration
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Net migration of Norway, 1999-present
In the last decades, Norway has become home to increasing numbers of immigrants, foreign workers, and asylum-seekers from various parts of the world. Norway had a steady influx of immigrants from South Asia (mostly Pakistanis and Sri Lankans), East Asia (mainly Chinese), Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia (e.g. Filipinos), Eastern Europe (e.g. Russians) and Central Europe (e.g. Poles), Southern Europe (Greeks, Albanians and people from former Yugoslavia, Bosniaks, Serbs etc.), and Middle East countries (especially Kurdish Iraqis and Kurdish Iranians), as well as Somalis, Turks, Moroccans, and some Latin Americans. After ten Eastern European and Baltic countries joined the EU in 2004, there has also been a substantial influx of people from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.
At the start of 2022, there were 819,356 immigrants and 205,819 Norwegian-born to immigrant parents in Norway, together constituting 18.9% of the total population.[17] The same year, immigrants (and Norwegian born to immigrant parents) originating in the European Economic Area constituted 7.1% of the total number of Norwegian residents, while 6.3% were from Asia including Turkey and 2.7% were from Africa.[17]
Among people of African descent in Oslo, almost 60% are younger than 30, compared to 20% of those of North American background.[18]
As of 2022, there are around 207,575 third generation immigrants in Norway.[17] This means that at least one of their grandparents were born in a foreign country. The majority of these persons are of Western European and Northern European background with Sweden and Denmark accounting for 36,126 (17.4%) and 33,695 (16.2%) respectively.[17] Other countries with significant third generation communities are the United States with 29,395 (14.1%), the United Kingdom with 17,882 (8.6%), Germany with 14,090 (6.8%), Finland with 6,213 (3%) and South Korea with 5,199 (2,5%).[17]
Of these 1,025,175 immigrants and their descendants (born in Norway with two foreign born parents):
- 419,720 (41%)[17] have a Western background (UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and the EU)
- 88,192 (9%)[17] have a different European background (e.g. Russia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland are included here)
- 29,515 (3%)[17] have a background from Latin America and the Caribbean
- 144,868 (14%)[17] have an African background
- 342,571 (33%)[17] have an Asian background, including Turkey
In 2012, of the total 660 000 with immigrant background, 407,262 had Norwegian citizenship (62.2 percent).[19] Immigrants were represented in all Norwegian municipalities. The cities or municipalities with the highest share of immigrants in 2012 was Oslo (26 percent) and Drammen (18 percent).[20] The share in Stavanger was 16%.[20] According to Reuters, Oslo is the "fastest growing city in Europe because of increased immigration".[21] In recent years, immigration has accounted for most of Norway's population growth.[18]
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Employment and income
- Unemployment, youth ages 15–24
- total: 10.4%. Country comparison to the world: 125th
- male: 11.7%
- female: 9% (2017 est.)
Religion
The Lutheran Church of Norway is the former state church and the vast majority remain at least nominal members. Other religions do, however, enjoy religious freedom and have prospered with immigration in recent years, particularly Islam and Roman Catholicism. Saint Olaf is the patron saint of Norway. He is regarded by some as the eternal king and has a reputation and place in history unchallenged by any other Norwegian King for the last 1000 years.
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Languages
Norwegian (the written standards Bokmål and Nynorsk).
Uralic languages – South Sámi, Lule Sámi, North Sámi and Kven – are additional official languages of some municipalities.
See also
Notes
- In fertility rates, 2.1 and above is a stable population and has been marked blue, 2 and below leads to an aging population and the result is that the population decreases.
References
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