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A half million immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents
statistikk
2009-04-30T10:00:00.000Z
Population;Population;Immigration and immigrants
en
innvbef, Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, foreign born, country of birth, citizenship, period of residence, immigration background, country backgroundImmigrants , Population, Population count, Population, Immigration and immigrants
false

Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents1 January 2009

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A half million immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents

At the beginning of 2009, they were 422 600 immigrants and 85 600 Norwegian-born to immigrant parents in Norway. There were immigrants resident in all the Norwegian municipalities, with most living in Oslo. Immigrants come from 214 different countries.

Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents constituted nearly 508 200 persons or 10.6 per cent of Norway’s population as per 1 January 2009. A total of 422 600 were immigrants and 85 600 were Norwegian-born to immigrant parents. Additionally, 230 000 persons have one Norwegian and one foreign-born parent, and more than half had a parent from Sweden, Denmark, Germany, United Kingdom or USA.

Record-high growth

During 2008, the number of immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents increased by 48 600. This is the largest annual increase ever recorded. A total of 25 per cent of them came from Poland.

At the beginning of 2004, immigrants form Poland totalled 6 800 persons. At the beginning of 2009, this group had risen to 42 500. There has been a noticeable increase in the number of German immigrants over the same five-year period, with 9 000 more persons from Germany.

The Poles are the largest immigrant group

With a total of 44 500 persons, immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents make up the largest group. Ninety-five per cent in this group are immigrants, and only 2 000 persons are Norwegian-born to immigrant parents. The second largest group consists of persons with a Pakistani background (30 200). A total of 45 per cent were born in Norway. The other large groups of immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents are Swedes (28 700), Iraqis (24 500), Somalians (23 600) and Germans (20 900).

The largest groups in Norway. 1 January 2009. Absolute numbers

Most from Europe

At the beginning of 2009, immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents from Europe was the largest group, and accounted for 232 800 persons. A total of 172 300 of these came from the EU countries.

The increase in the number of immigrants during 2008 is mostly a result of immigration from Europe. The population growth among immigrants from Europe was 27 500, while the number of immigrants from Asia and Africa increased by 9 500 and 3 400 respectively.

Many young adults

The immigrant population is made up of a relatively high number of young adults compared with the population as a whole. At the beginning of 2009, 41 per cent of all immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents were aged 20-39 years, while the corresponding figure for the population as a whole was 27 per cent.

The differences are even larger when we compare immigrants against Norwegian-born to immigrant parents. As at 1 January 2009, 38 per cent of Norwegian-born to immigrant parents were five years or younger, and 75 per cent were younger than 15 years old. The corresponding figures for immigrants were 2 and 9 per cent respectively.

Most in Oslo

All the municipalities in Norway had immigrants. Most immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents live in Oslo, both in relative and absolute figures. Of Oslo’s 575 500 inhabitants, 152 100 were immigrants or Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, which is 25 per cent of the capital’s entire population. There were also high proportions in Drammen (20 per cent), Lørenskog (18 per cent) and Skedsmo (17 per cent).

Duration of residence varies

About 40 per cent of immigrants have lived in Norway less than 5 years, and 20 per cent have been resident at least 20 years. However the differences in the duration of residence between the different country groups are great. Nearly half of the Danes have lived in Norway for 25 years or longer, and almost two out of three have lived in the country for 15 years or longer. A large number of Chileans have also lived in Norway for many years. Half of the groups from Vietnam, Pakistan, Morocco and USA have stayed in Norway for more than 15 years.

Among the largest immigrant groups, immigrants from Poland and Latvia have the shortest stay, with over 85 per cent having resided in Norway for less than five years. Other larger groups, where half of them have stays of less than 5 years, were from Germany, Russia and Thailand.

New standard definitions

Statistics Norway has amended the definitions in the statistics on immigrants.

First generation immigrants without a Norwegian background are now classed as immigrants .

Persons born in Norway with two foreign-born parents are now classified as Norwegian-born to immigrant parents .

Immigrant population is now classified as immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents .

Immigrant background is no longer used.

In addition, the country classifications Western/Non-western are no longer in use. Statistics Norway for the most part now classifies countries according to continent.

For more information: http://www3.ssb.no/stabas/ClassificationFrames.asp?ID=5536101&Language=en

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