Islamic population increasing the fastest

The number of Moslems in Norway has increased sharply in recent years. Just since last year membership has increased by 4,600. Islam is now the largest religious community outside the Church of Norway, with nearly 46,500 followers.

As of January 1 Norway had 59 Moslem congregations with altogether 46,500 members. Over 80 per cent are in the Greater Oslo area. Other large Moslem communities are found in Buskerud, Rogaland, Hordaland and Østfold counties.

More than 318,000 members of religious and philosophical communities outside the Church of Norway were registered on January 1. This is an increase of 16,200, or nearly five per cent from last year. Registered religious communities had 236,000 members, unregistered 15,000, while the Human and Ethical Union had 67,000 members.

The largest registered religious communities after Islam are Pentecostalists, with 43,800 members and the Roman Catholic church, with 36,600 members. While the number of Pentecostal congregations has remained stable in recent years, the Roman Catholic church has increased steadily, with 10,000 new members registered since 1990.

New Statistics

Religious and philosophical communities outside the Church of Norway, at 1 January 1997.
Statistics are issued every year in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. More information: Thorstein Ouren, tel. +47 62 88 52 71, e-mail: tou@ssb.no or Vera Thrane, tel. +47 62 88 52 57, e-mail: vet@ssb.no.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 32, 1997

Religious and philosophical communities outside the Church of Norway, January 1, 1997:

Islamic population increasing the fastest

New Statistics

Religious and philosophical communities outside the Church of Norway, at 1 January 1997.Statistics are issued every year in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. More information: Thorstein Ouren, tel. +47 62 88 52 71, e-mail: tou@ssb.no or Vera Thrane, tel. +47 62 88 52 57, e-mail: vet@ssb.no.

Religious and philosophical communities outside the Church of Norway, at 1 January 1997.
Statistics are issued every year in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. More information: Thorstein Ouren, tel. +47 62 88 52 71, e-mail: tou@ssb.no or Vera Thrane, tel. +47 62 88 52 57, e-mail: vet@ssb.no.