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84 000 persons with refugee background
statistikk
2002-06-05T10:00:00.000Z
Population;Population;Immigration and immigrants
en
flyktninger, Persons with refugee background, refugees, principal applicants, resettlement refugees, quota refugees, asylum cases, asylum seekers, family reunification, marriage establishment, country backgroundImmigrants , Population, Population count, Population, Immigration and immigrants
false

Persons with refugee background1 January 2001

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84 000 persons with refugee background

About 84 000 persons with refugee background were living in Norway on 1 January 2001, thereby making up 1.9 per cent of the total population. During 2000 the number of people with refugee background increased by 6 900 persons. The number of persons with a background from Iraq rose the most, 3 900 persons.

Bosnians and Yugoslavians are still the largest groups of refugees in Norway. On 1 January 2001 approximately 11 500 refugees from Bosnia and 10 700 from Yugoslavia were resident in Norway, making up one fourth of all refugees in the country.

Refugees, by country background. 1 January 2001

The 84 000 persons with refugee background comprise everyone who at some point has come to Norway due to flight. 66 000 were registered as principal applicants while the rest, 18 100, came to Norway as relatives of refugees.

Few old people among the refugees

Half the refugee population is between 20 and 39 years old. Only 2 per cent are 67 years or older. In the rest of the population 28 per cent are between 20 and 39 years old and 14 per cent are 67 or older.

57 per cent of the refugees are men. A larger surplus of men is found among refugees from Asia, Africa, South and Central America and Turkey, especially among the refugees with country background from Iraq, Iran and Sri Lanka. Among the Eastern European refugees there is more balance between women and men, due to the fact that refugees from the Balkans often constitute whole families.

Approximately one fourth lives in Oslo

The refugee population increased in all Norwegian counties from 2000 to 2001, with Oslo still having the higher number. Roughly 22 500 persons lived in Oslo, which accounts for 27 per cent of the total number of refugees in Norway. Refugees in Oslo made up 4.4 per cent of the total population in the capital.

Refugees1, by county.
1 January 2001
              Refugees
Total 83 978
01 østfold 4 793
02 Akershus 7 936
03 Oslo 22 541
04 Hedmark 2 665
05 Oppland 2 623
06 Buskerud 4 537
07 Vestfold 3 433
08 Telemark 3 048
09 Aust-Agder 1 616
10 Vest-Agder 4 269
11 Rogaland 6 522
12 Hordaland 6 484
14 Sogn og Fjordane      1 220
15 Møre og Romsdal 2 581
16 Sør-Trøndelag 4 124
17 Nord-Trøndelag 1 007
18 Nordland 2 247
19 Troms 1 436
20 Finnmark  896
1  The definition 'refugee' refers to persons
resident in Norway, who have come to
Norway because of flight (family included).
Children born in Norway to refugees are
not included.

Refugees, by county. 1997-2001

The lowest number of refugees is found in Nord-Trøndelag and Finnmark with 1 000 and 900 persons respectively.

Differences in duration of residence

One third of the refugee population has lived here less than five years, while another one in three has lived in Norway from five to nine years. 4 per cent of the refugees came in 1981 or earlier.

Of the refugees from Chile 95 per cent have at least ten years of residence, while 75 per cent of the Vietnamese refugees are in the same situation. Among those with the shortest durations of stay, that is less than five years, are the Croatian and Iraqi refugees, with 90 and 76 per cent respectively.

Almost 50 per cent are Norwegian citizens

46 per cent of the refugees were registered with Norwegian citizenship on 1 January 2001. The percentage varies from below 10 for those who have come from Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia, to 90 per cent or more for refugees from Viet Nam and Hungary.

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