Population, 1 January 2008

266 300 or 5.6 per cent of all persons living in Norway are foreign citizens. The increase in foreign citizens in 2007 was 28 000, compared to 16 000 in 2006 and between 7 000 and 9 000 per year in the 2003-2005 period.

Majority are European

167 400 or 63 per cent of all foreign citizens in Norway have European citizenship. 54 800 or 21 per cent have Asian citizenship, while 25 400 or 10 per cent have Africa citizenship. 10 800 or 4 per cent have North or Central American citizenship, and 5 400 or 2 per cent have South American citizenship. 1 300 or 0.5 per cent are citizens of Oceanic countries. The bulk of the increase consisted of European citizens, increasing by 25 000.

Migration and granting of Norwegian citizenship affect the number of foreign citizens. A person is normally granted Norwegian citizenship after a certain time of residence. From the mid-1980s, a large majority of those who have applied for and been granted Norwegian citizenship have been non-Western citizens. The majority of immigrants from Vietnam are Norwegian citizens, whereas only a small share of those who have migrated from Sweden have changed citizenship.

Continued inflow of Polish citizens

As in 2006, the number of Polish citizens increased the most in 2007. The number of Polish citizens has doubled three years in a row. The 26 800 Polish citizens in Norway now make up the second largest group of foreign citizens, only outnumbered by Swedish citizens (29 900). Danish citizens (20 500) make up the third largest group, followed by German citizens (15 300). The groups with the largest increase apart from Polish citizens (13 200 more than in 2006), were German citizens (3 100 more), Lithuanian citizens (2 100 more) and Swedish citizens (2 000 more). The group with the largest decrease was Iraqi citizens (1 500 less than in the previous year), mainly due to the fact that a large number of Iraqi migrants were granted Norwegian citizenship last year.

Rogaland - largest increase in foreign citizens

Oslo and Akershus counties have the highest numbers of foreign citizens. In these counties foreign citizens make up 11 and close to 7 per cent of the population respectively. In Rogaland and Buskerud, more than 6 per cent of the population are foreign citizens. Nord-Trøndelag and Nordland have the smallest number of foreign citizens with 3 per cent. The county with the largest increase in foreign citizens was Rogaland with an increase of 4 500, closely followed by Oslo.

How old are they?

There are considerable differences in the age structure of various groups of foreign citizens. Whereas 35 per cent of African citizens are below 20 years of age, only 16 per cent of South American citizens and 9 per cent of citizens from North or Central America are in this age group. Whereas one in three from North or Central America are 50 years or over, this only applies to 3 per cent of African citizens.

The same differences are evident when we look at individual countries. More than 40 per cent of Somali or Afghan citizens are below 20 years of age, compared to less than 10 per cent from the US or Great Britain. And whereas more than one third of citizens from the US or Great Britain are 50 years or over, this is the case for less than 10 per cent in the largest groups of foreign citizens. Among Somali and Lithuanian citizens, only 3 per cent are 50 years or over. Whereas this applies to one in three Danish citizens, only one in five Swedish citizens is 50 years or over.

Tables:

• Table 1 Population, by age and county. Absolute figures. 1 January 2008
• Table 2 Population, by age and county. 1 January 2008. Per cent
• Table 3 Østfold
• Table 4 Akershus
• Table 5 Oslo
• Table 6 Hedmark
• Table 7 Oppland
• Table 8 Buskerud
• Table 9 Vestfold
• Table 10 Telemark
• Table 11 Aust-Agder
• Table 12 Vest-Agder
• Table 13 Rogaland
• Table 14 Hordaland
• Table 15 Sogn og Fjordane
• Table 16 Møre og Romsdal
• Table 17 Sør-Trøndelag
• Table 18 Nord-Trøndelag
• Table 19 Nordland
• Table 20 Troms Romsa
• Table 21 Finnmark Finnmárku
• Table 22 Population, by sex and age. Oslo. Urban district. 1 January 2008
• Table 23 Population, by age. Oslo. Urban district. 1 January 2008. Per cent
• Table 24 Population, by sex and age. Bergen. Urban district. 1 January 2008
• Table 25 Population, by age. Bergen. Urban district. 1 January 2008. Per cent
• Table 26 Population, by sex and age. Stavanger. Urban district. 1 January 2008
• Table 27 Population, by age. Stavanger. Urban district. 1 January 2008. Per cent
• Table 28 Population, by sex and age. Trondheim. Urban district. 1 January 2008
• Table 29 Population, by age. Trondheim. Urban district. 1 January 2008. Per cent
• Table 30 Population, by marital status, sex and age. 1 January 2008
• Table 31 Foreign citizens. Number and as a percentage of population, by county. 1 January 1976-2008
• Table 32 Foreign citizens, by citizenship, sex and age. 1 January 2008
• Table 33 Foreign citizens, by citizenship per 1 January 1975-2008
• Table 34 Population by sex, age and marital status. 1 January 2008