Key figures per 01.01.2011:
There are 500 000 immigrants and
100 000 Norwegian-born persons with immigrant parents living in Norway. Together these two groups represent 12.2 per cent of Norway's population.
Immigrants and Norwegian-born persons with immigrant parents are represented in all Norwegian municipalities. Oslo has the largest proportion with 28 per cent, or 170 200 people.
Almost half of all the immigrants come from Asia, Africa or Latin-America.
2 in 10 immigrants have lived in Norway for more than 20 years, and 4 in 10 have lived here for 4 years or less.
54 per cent of all Norwegian-born persons with immigrant parents have parents with an Asian background. 17 per cent are 20 years or older.
 
 
Explanation of terms
Persons who are born abroad to two foreign-born parents, and who have moved to Norway, are defined as immigrants.

Those born in Norway with two immigrant parents are defined as Norwegian-born to immigrant parents.

The following categories are used to define other immigration backgrounds:
- Foreign-born with one Norwegian-born parent
- Norwegian-born with one foreign-born parent
- Foreign-born to Norwegian-born parents (includes adopted)

Refugee = persons who, according to the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration's register of refugees, have refugee status and have been granted a residence permit in Norway.

Country of birth is mainly the mother's country of residence at birth.

Country background = for immigrants this is their own country of birth. For Norwegian-born with immigrant parents this is the parents' country of birth.

Focus on: .
Immigration and immigrants
Norway's immigrant population consists of people from 215 different countries and independent regions. They have come as refugees, as labour migrants, to study, or to join family living in Norway.
 
  • Immigrants and those born in Norway to immigrant parents constitute 600 900 persons or 12.2 per cent of Norway's population. Broken down by region, 287 000 have a European background, 210 000 persons have a background from Asia, 74 000 from Africa, 19 000 from Latin-America and 11 000 from North America and Oceania.
  • The majority of the immigrants are from Poland, Sweden, Germany and Iraq. Thirty-four per cent of the immigrants have Norwegian citizenship.
  • Between 1990 and 2009, a total of 420 000 non-Nordic citizens immigrated to Norway and were granted residence here. Of these, 26 per cent came as refugees, 26 per cent were labour immigrants and 11 per cent were granted residence in order to undertake education. Twenty-three per cent came to Norway due to family reunification with someone already in Norway, and 16 per cent were granted residence because they had established a family.
  • The number of immigrants residing in Norway varies with the government's immigration policy, labour market needs and shifting global crises. Immigration increased during and after the Balkan wars of the 1990s. In recent years, the majority of new immigrants have come to Norway as a result of family immigration.
  • Statistics Norway has published figures on those born outside Norway since the Population Census of 1865. Back then, 1.2 per cent of the total population of 1.7 million were born abroad; the majority in Sweden. By 1920, the immigrant share of the total population had increased to 2.8 per cent. During the interwar period there was little immigration, and by 1950 only 1.4 per cent of the population was born abroad.
  • Statistics Norway does not register individuals by religion or membership in life stance communities. Therefore, we do not know who or how many persons in Norway are Buddhists, Muslims, Catholics, etc. However, we do have information about the number of members of the Norwegian Church or other religious communities that receive central government subsidies. For more information, see http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/07/02/10/
 
For more information, please contact: innvstat@ssb.no



   
New statistics
Population 
Education 
Employment and unemployment 
Income 
Political participation 
Business 
Other 
Tables and charts 
Tables from Historical statistics 

Publications and articles
Politiske tiltak har begrenset innvandringen til Norge (Forskning)
Effects of immigration policies on immigration to Norway
1969-2010 (RAPP)
New immigrant classification 
Immigration and Immigrants 2010 (SA) 
A Comparison of the Labour Market Integration of Immigrants and Refugees in Canada and Norway (RAPP) 
Jobs for immigrants. Labour market integration in Norway (Rapport)
Living Conditions Among Immigrants in Norway 2005/2006 (RAPP) 
Immigration and Immigrants 2008 (SA) 
Increasing participation in education and labour market (Magazine) 
Living Conditions of Youth of Immigrant Origin. Young people who have grown up in Norway with parents from Pakistan, Turkey or Vietnam (RAPP) 
Employment and education among young immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents (RAPP) 
Developing methods for determining the number of unauthorized foreigners in Norway. (DOC 2008/11) 
School performance and value-added indicators - what is the effect of controlling for socioeconomic background? (DOC 2008/8) 
Immigrant participation in the Norwegian Labour Force Survey. 2006-2007 (DOC 2008/7) 
Gender and Migration. Similarities and disparities among women and men in the immigrant population (RAPP) 
Facts on immigrants and their descendants: Good times - for immigrants as well? (Magazine) 
Young immigrants in work and education: Are young immigrants a marginalised group? (Magazine) 
Women in the immigrant population: Who are they and how are they doing? (Magazine) 
Who do immigrants in Norway marry?  (Magazine)
Differences in education among immigrants  (Magazine)
Immigration and Immigrants  (SA)
Marks across lower secondary schools in Norway   (RAPP 2004/11)
The demographic characteristics of immigrant population in Norway  (RAPP 2002/22)
Immigrant women in Norway  (RAPP 2002/23)

Other links
International Migration 2009-2010. SOPEMI-report for Norway 
Ministry of Labour  
Ministry of Children, Equality and Social Inclusion  
Ministry of Justice and the Police  
Norwegian Directorate of Immigration  
The Directorate og Integration and Diversity (IMDi)  
Statistics Sweden (SCB)  
Statistics Denmark  
StatNord  
OECD  
EUROSTAT  
PROMINSTAT  
Metropolis  
UNHCR  
Migration Information Source  
International Organization for Migration  
Comparing National Data Sources in the Field of Migration and Integration (COMPSTAT)  
Norwegian Centre for Minority Health Research (NAKMI)  

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