Attitudes towards immigrants and immigration, 2011

This is shown in the annual population survey of attitudes towards immigrants and immigration conducted by Statistics Norway between 4 July and 13 August this year.

The share agreeing that “ Most immigrants make an important contribution to Norwegian working life ”, was 73 per cent before 22 July. After this date, 85 per cent agreed with that statement. Moreover, 72 per cent agreed before the terror attack that “ Most immigrants enrich the cultural life in Norway ”, compared to 82 per cent after.

Likewise, the share disagreeing that “ Most immigrants abuse the social welfare system ” increased from 47 per cent before 22 July to 56 per cent after these events. However, the largest change appeared regarding the statement “ Most immigrants represent a source of insecurity in society ”. Forty-eight per cent disagreed ¹ with this before the terror attack, while the respective share was no less than 70 per cent afterwards.

More people agree that immigrants abuse the social welfare system

Compared to the results from last year, there is nevertheless a slight increase in the share agreeing that “ Most immigrants abuse the social welfare system ”. Thirty-five per cent agreed with this statement this year, compared to 31 per cent last year.

Status quo regarding attitudes towards receiving refugees

Other than this, there were no other significant changes in the response to the attitude questions compared to last year. Nine out of ten think that immigrants in Norway should have the same job opportunities as Norwegians, and seven out of ten agree that labour immigration from non-Nordic countries makes a mainly positive contribution to the Norwegian economy. The population split into almost two halves when it comes to the attitude towards receiving refugees and asylum seekers. Forty-four per cent agree that it should be more difficult to obtain a residence permit, whereas 45 per cent think that the access to permits should remain the same as today. Only 6 per cent think that it should be made easier.

Highly educated more positive

The population’s attitudes vary, as before, according to background factors such as gender, age, educational level and place of residence. Women are, in some matters, more “friendly” minded towards immigrants than men. According to age, the most elderly (67-79 years) are the most sceptical, whereas the two youngest age groups (16-24 years and 25-44 years) are the most positive minded. Higher education is linked to more positive attitudes towards immigrants and immigration. The largest leap in attitudes is found between education at upper secondary level and tertiary level.

Residents of the most urban regions are generally more generous towards immigrants and immigration than those residing in other parts of the country. Pupils/students and income earners also exhibit more positive attitudes towards immigrants and immigration than people living on social security or transfer payments. This is also the case for persons who have contact with immigrants as opposed to persons without this kind of contact.

¹ Corrected from "agreed" to "disagreed" 13 April 2012

Tables:

• Table 1 Attitudes towards seven statements on immigrants and immigration, 2002 - 2011. Per cent
• Table 2 Attitudes towards the statement "All immigrants in Norway should have the same job opportunities as Norwegians". 1993-2000 and 2002-2011. Per cent
• Table 3 Attitudes towards refugees' and asylum seekers' access to residence permits in Norway. Compared to today, should it be easier, more difficult or remain the same as today. 2002-2011. Per cent
• Table 4 Answers to three questions on relations to immigrants. 2002-2011. Per cent
• Table 5 Contact with immigrants in different arenas. 2002-2011. Per cent
• Table 6 Number of arenas where contact with immigrants takes place. 2002-2011. Per cent
• Table 7 Number of immigrants one has contact with. 2003-2011. Per cent
• Table 8 How often one has contact with immigrants, normally. 2003, 2007-2011. Per cent
• Table 9 Personal experience with the contact with immigrants. 2003, 2007-2011. Per cent