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Weekly Bulletin issue no. 49, 1998 <sti>Stikktittel

Education statistics. Pupils and students, 1 October 1997:

Student population dips for first time in 20 years

Total student enrolment at Norwegian universities and colleges in the autumn of 1997 declined by 1,000 students, or 0.5 per cent compared with the autumn of 1996. This is the first time since 1977 that the number of students has fallen.
Universities accounted for the lion's share of the decline in student enrolment from the autumn of 1996 to the autumn of 1997. Both the University of Oslo and University of Tromsø reported a decline of six per cent. On the other hand, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology saw a six per cent increase in the number of students. Overall student enrolment at state colleges was also down slightly, while private colleges gained the most students. Total student enrolment was 181,000 in the autumn of 1997.

The percentage of the age group 19-24 enrolled in higher education, fell from 27 to 26 per cent from 1996 to 1997. In Nord-Trøndelag, nearly 30 per cent of this age group was enrolled in higher education, while Finnmark and Oslo had the lowest percentage in school, with 19 and 21 per cent respectively.

Fewer new students

Around 38,000 new students were enrolled in colleges and universities in the autumn of 1997. This was around 1,800 fewer compared to the previous autumn: 800 at the universities and science colleges and 1,000 at colleges. The biggest decline is found among 19-year-olds, with just over 2,100 fewer students starting in higher education compared with the previous autumn. The number of new students increased, however, in the 30 and up age group.

Fifty-three per cent of the 19-year-olds enrolled at a university or science college and 38 per cent at a state college, while 60 per cent of the new students in the age group 35 and up began studying at a state college and only 23 per cent at a university or science college.

New Statistics
Education statistics. Pupils and students, 1 October 1997.
The statistics are published annually in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. For more information contact: Terje.Krokstad@ssb.no, tel. +47 62 88 52 91, or Lise.M.Styrk.Hansen@ssb.no, tel. +47 22 62 88 54 73.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 49, 1998