Large immigration surplus from other countries

Thirty two thousand people moved to Norway last year. This is the highest figure ever recorded. Not since 1987 and 1993 have the numbers been this high. However, the number of people leaving Norway totalled 21,300, so net immigration -- 10,700 -- was lower than for the two above-mentioned years. Net immigration was highest from Sweden, at 4,100, up nearly 1,800 from the year before.

Of the immigration surplus of 10,700, two out of three people came from European countries, and of these 58 per cent came from Sweden. Norwegian citizens accounted for 11,200 of the emigrants and 9,900 of the immigrants, a loss of 1,300. Net immigration of citizens from the Third World totalled 4,600 in 1997, 1,300 more than in 1996.

Change in migration pattern

The influx of people into Eastern Norway changed course slightly last year, with more of the stream branching off into the other counties lining the Oslo fjord - Østfold, Vestfold and Buskerud. Here, Østfold in particular saw a net increase in migration of 2,300, up 1,600 from 1996. Since the beginning of the 1980s, Østfold has had a relatively stable migration increase of 600 as an annual average. After several years with a relatively high migration surplus, Oslo saw a decline last year. This is mainly a result of a 2,000-person reduction in the internal migration surplus since 1996. Because of the high immigration surplus (3,100), Oslo's overall migration balance has not changed significantly compared to previous years.

New Statistics

Population statistics. Migration, 1997.
The statistics are published every year in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics and Official Statistics of Norway (NOS) Regional Statistics and Population Statistics. For more information, contact kirsten.enger.dybendal@ssb.no, tel. +47 62 88 52 96, or trude.jakobsen@ssb.no, tel. +47 62 88 51 39.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 34, 1998