Demographic features of the population of Norway, including Jan Mayen, and Svalbard, where the hospital is not equipped for births, include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects.

Quick Facts Norway, Population ...

Demographics of Norway
Population pyramid of Norway in 2021
Population	5,475,240 (2022 est.)
Growth rate	0.8% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	9.5 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate	8.4 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy	82.55 years
• male	80.42 years
• female	84.79 years
Fertility rate	1.41 children born/woman (2022)
Infant mortality rate	2.31 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	3.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	17.96%
65 and over	17.43%
Sex ratio
Total	1.02 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.05 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.71 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Norwegian
Major ethnic	Norwegian

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From 1349 to 1500 the population was approximately halved by several rounds of the black plague, down to approximately 250,000.

The first official census for the then Denmark-Norway kingdom union was held in 1769 and found the Norwegian population to be 723 000.

Except for Ireland, no other country contributed a larger percentage of its population to the American immigration between 1825 - 1925 when more than 800,000 left Norway.

By 1905, when Norway reached full independence, the population was 2,303,595.

The total population of Norway on 1 July 2023 was 5,514,042.^[3] Statistics Norway estimated that the 5,000,000 milestone was reached on 19 March 2012.^[4]

The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review.^[5]

• One birth every 8 minutes
• One death every 13 minutes
• One net migrant every 19 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 10 minutes

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Life expectancy

This section needs to be updated. (June 2021)

Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

1543–1950

More information Years ...

Years	1846	1847	1848	1849	1850	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	48.0	44.8	45.0	48.0	49.5	49.7	48.5	47.9	51.6	50.4	50.4	50.2	51.6	49.9	50.0

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More information Years ...

Years	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	45.8	44.7	46.7	48.8	50.4	49.9	47.9	47.2	49.3	50.9

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More information Years ...

Years	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	49.7	50.0	49.7	47.8	47.6	46.8	49.7	51.8	53.1	51.9

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More information Years ...

Years	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	50.4	47.4	49.6	50.8	51.0	51.7	51.7	50.4	49.1	48.6

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More information Years ...

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	49.8	49.7	51.4	50.6	52.8	53.8	53.7	54.0	51.6	53.5

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More information Years ...

Years	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	54.6	56.5	55.0	56.1	55.1	56.9	56.5	56.3	57.5	58.0

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More information Years ...

Years	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	58.0	57.7	58.3	57.8	58.2	57.3	57.7	50.3	56.8	58.9

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More information Years ...

Years	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	61.6	60.8	61.8	62.1	62.5	63.3	62.9	63.4	62.5	64.1

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More information Years ...

Years	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	64.1	64.6	65.5	66.2	65.8	65.8	66.0	67.1	67.4	65.9

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More information Years ...

Years	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950[7]
Life expectancy in Norway	65.8	65.7	66.1	65.8	68.2	69.5	70.0	71.1	71.5	71.6

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1950–2015

More information Period, Life expectancy in Years ...

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	72.8	1985–1990	76.3
1955–1960	73.5	1990–1995	77.3
1960–1965	73.5	1995–2000	78.3
1965–1970	73.9	2000–2005	79.3
1970–1975	74.4	2005–2010	80.6
1975–1980	75.3	2010–2015	81.6
1980–1985	76.0

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Source: UN World Population Prospects

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 82 years. Country comparison to the world: 22nd

male: 79.9 years

female: 84.1 years (2018 est.)

Death rate

8 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.) Country comparison to the world: 90th

Data according to Statistics Norway, which collects the official statistics for Norway.^[8]

Current vital statistics

^[11]

More information Period, Live births ...

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January – September 2022	39,918	33,691	6,227
January – September 2023	40,055	32,067	7,988
Difference	+137 (+0.34%)	-1,624 (-4.82%)	+1,761

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Statistics Norway does not attempt to quantify or track data on ethnicity.^[13] The national population registry records only country of birth.^[14]

As of 2012, an official government study shows that 75.2% of the total population are ethnic Norwegians (born in Norway with two parents also born in Norway).^[15]

Ethnically, the residents of Norway are predominantly Norwegians, a North Germanic ethnic group. In Northern Norway there is a population of Sámi people, who descend from people who probably settled the area a couple thousand years ago. The people who spoke the proto-Sámi language probably migrated from the Volga region in modern-day Russia in Eastern Europe through Finland, finally arriving in the northern portion of the Scandinavian peninsula where they would assimilate local Paleo-European hunter-gatherers who were already living in the region. The indigenous peoples and minorities of Norway include: Sámi, Scandinavian Romani, Roma, Jews, and Kvener, as well as a small Finnish community.^[16]

In the last decades, Norway has become home to increasing numbers of immigrants, foreign workers, and asylum-seekers from various parts of the world. Norway had a steady influx of immigrants from South Asia (mostly Pakistanis and Sri Lankans), East Asia (mainly Chinese), Pacific Islands and Southeast Asia (e.g. Filipinos), Eastern Europe (e.g. Russians) and Central Europe (e.g. Poles), Southern Europe (Greeks, Albanians and people from former Yugoslavia, Bosniaks, Serbs etc.), and Middle East countries (especially Kurdish Iraqi is and Kurdish Iranians), as well as Somalis, Turks, Moroccans, and some Latin Americans. After ten Eastern European and Baltic countries joined the EU in 2004, there has also been a substantial influx of people from Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

At the start of 2022, there were 819,356 immigrants and 205,819 Norwegian-born to immigrant parents in Norway, together constituting 18.9% of the total population.^[17] The same year, immigrants (and Norwegian born to immigrant parents) originating in the European Economic Area constituted 7.1% of the total number of Norwegian residents, while 6.3% were from Asia including Turkey and 2.7% were from Africa.^[17]

Among people of African descent in Oslo, almost 60% are younger than 30, compared to 20% of those of North American background.^[18]

As of 2022, there are around 207,575 third generation immigrants in Norway.^[17] This means that all of their grandparents were born in a foreign country. The majority of these persons are of Western European and Northern European background with Sweden and Denmark accounting for 36,126 (17.4%) and 33,695 (16.2%) respectively.^[17] Other countries with significant third generation communities are the United States with 29,395 (14.1%), the United Kingdom with 17,882 (8.6%), Germany with 14,090 (6.8%), Finland with 6,213 (3%) and South Korea with 5,199 (2,5%).^[17]

Of these 1,025,175 immigrants and their descendants (born in Norway with two foreign born parents):

• 419,720 (41%)^[17] have a Western background (UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada and the EU)
• 88,192 (9%)^[17] have a different European background (e.g. Russia, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Switzerland are included here)
• 29,515 (3%)^[17] have a background from Latin America and the Caribbean
• 144,868 (14%)^[17] have an African background
• 342,571 (33%)^[17] have an Asian background, including Turkey

In 2012, of the total 660 000 with immigrant background, 407,262 had Norwegian citizenship (62.2 percent).^[19] Immigrants were represented in all Norwegian municipalities. The cities or municipalities with the highest share of immigrants in 2012 was Oslo (26 percent) and Drammen (18 percent).^[20] The share in Stavanger was 16%.^[20] According to Reuters, Oslo is the "fastest growing city in Europe because of increased immigration".^[21] In recent years, immigration has accounted for most of Norway's population growth.^[18]

More information Population Group, Year ...

Population Group	Year
	1970[22][23]		1980[22][23]		1990[22][23]		2000[22][23]		2010[22][23]		2020[22][23]		2021[24]
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Norwegians	3,795,534	98.24%	3,969,943	97.32%	4,047,528	95.61%	4,173,219	93.18%	4,275,120	87.99%	4,350,131	81.04%	4,354,566	80.76%
Norwegian born in Norway	3,732,091	96.60%	3,880,229	95.12%	3,931,143	92.86%	4,007,823	89.42%	4,031,805	82.98%	4,033,960	75.15%	4,031,194	74.77%
Foreign born to Norwegian born parents	10,544	0.27%	14,515	0.35%	16,004	0.37%	17,591	0.39%	36,688	0.75%	39,086	0.72%	39,198	0.72%
Norwegian born with one foreign-born parent	52,899	1.36%	75,199	1.84%	100,381	2.37%	147,805	3.30%	206,627	4.25%	277,085	5.16%	284,174	5.27%
Total: Immigrants	67,687	1.75%	108,957	2.67%	185,588	4.38%	305,278	6.81%	583,079	12%	1,017,449	18.95%	1,036,803	19.23%
Immigrants	57,041	1.47%	88,929	2.18%	150 973	3.56%	238,462	5.32%	459,346	9.45%	790,497	14.72%	800,094	14.84%
Norwegian born to immigrant parents	2,155	–	6,273	0.15%	17,325	0.40%	44,025	0.98%	92,967	1.91%	188,757	3.51%	197,848	3.67%
Foreign born with one Norwegian parent	8,491	0.21%	13,755	0.33%	17,290	0.40%	22,791	0.50%	30,766	0.63%	38,195	0.71%	38,861	0.70%
Total	3,863 221	100%	4,078,900	100%	4,233,116	100%	4,478,497	100%	4,858,199	100%	5,367,580	100%	5,391,369	100%

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More information Rank, Country of origin ...

Rank	Country of origin[25]	Population (2024)[26]
1.	Poland	126,728
2.	Ukraine	67,242
3.	Lithuania	50,847
4.	Syria	45,679
5.	Somalia	43,629
6.	Pakistan	42,231
7.	Sweden	40,290
8.	Iraq	35,976
9.	Eritrea	34,040
10.	Germany	30,576
11.	Philippines	28,583
12.	Russia	26,428
13.	Iran	25,832
14.	Afghanistan	25,751
15.	Vietnam	24,283
16.	Thailand	24,037
17.	India	23,638
18.	Turkey	22,725
19.	Denmark	20,587
20.	Romania	20,477

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Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

total: 10.4%. Country comparison to the world: 125th

male: 11.7%

female: 9% (2017 est.)

The Lutheran Church of Norway is the former state church and the vast majority remain at least nominal members. Other religions do, however, enjoy religious freedom and have prospered with immigration in recent years, particularly Islam and Roman Catholicism. Saint Olaf is the patron saint of Norway. He is regarded by some as the eternal king and has a reputation and place in history unchallenged by any other Norwegian King for the last 1000 years.

Norwegian (the written standards Bokmål and Nynorsk).
Uralic languages – South Sámi, Lule Sámi, North Sámi and Kven – are additional official languages of some municipalities.

• Demographics of Svalbard
• Aging of Europe