Increased migration within Norway

After falling from the peak year 2015, domestic migration increased again from 2016 to 2017, according to the statistics on migration. Migration has increased within municipalities, between municipalities, between counties and between regions. Migration also increased relative to the population growth. The growth is greatest in migration between municipalities, and particularly so for women. Nor have so many migrations between the counties and the seven parts of the country been registered before.

Strong growth in Oslo’s domestic migration loss

Oslo, Rogaland, Nordland, Møre og Romsdal and Hordaland have major domestic migration losses. The increase in this loss was particularly high in Oslo, which now has a larger domestic migration loss than Rogaland, and thus the largest domestic migration loss in Norway. On the other hand, the neighbouring county Akershus continues to have the largest domestic migration surplus.

Oslo accounted for a very large part of the migration gains in Akershus. A total of 17 050 migrations were registered from Oslo to Akershus, and 10 450 migrations in the opposite direction, which gave Akershus a net migration gain from Oslo of 6 600. This is more than Akershus’ domestic migration surplus of 5 900, which is due to Akershus’ migration loss to other neighbouring counties. The migration gain from Oslo to Akershus was 88 per cent of the total migration surplus in Akershus, at 7 500.

Akershus is one of twelve counties with increased domestic migration gains from 2016 to 2017. The highest upswing was definitely Vest-Agder, with a growth of 1 500. The growth of Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder means that they now have positive domestic net migration.

Continued growth in the Akershus municipalities

Of the municipalities, Kristiansand had the largest domestic migration gain, with 1 300, followed by the Akershus municipalities, Ullensaker, Lørenskog and Bærum, with gains between 1 100 and 800. With the exception of Kristiansand, which had a domestic migration loss of persons with an immigrant background, the majority of the migration surplus in the three other municipalities consisted of persons with an immigrant background. The Akershus municipalities Skedsmo, Ås, Nannestad, Nesodden and Nes also had relatively large domestic migration gains, with between 700 and 300.

Oslo has the largest domestic migration loss, with a total of 2 400. Of these, 1 700 had an immigrant background. Bergen and Stavanger had a loss between 800 and 600. The municipalities of Vang, Snåsa and Nesna had the largest domestic migration loss in relation to population size.

Increased centralisation

Domestic migration in 2017 was more centralising than the migrations the year before. The domestic surplus in the central municipalities was the fourth largest since the measurement started in 1975, increasing by 9 per cent from 2016, or 700, to a total of 8 400. The central municipalities were also the only municipalities with a migration surplus. The remote municipalities had the largest migration loss, followed by the fairly remote municipalities and the fairly central municipalities.

The most central municipalities had significantly higher domestic moving gains in the years 2015-2017 than in the years 2008-2014.

Immigration still important for the migration balance

Immigration has been the main contributory factor to population growth in Norway (Economic Outlook 2017, in Norwegian) since the mid-2000s. In 2017, the immigration surplus contributed so eight out of eleven counties with a domestic migration loss having a positive migration balance. However, in Rogaland, Sogn and Fjordane and Finnmark, the immigration surplus was not large enough to prevent migration loss. In Rogaland and Sogn og Fjordane, immigration from abroad represented as much as 45 and 38 per cent of all immigration in the county.

Rogaland had a migration loss of 1 400. The immigration surplus of 800 curbed the loss. For Vest-Agder, the development was different, with the greatest growth in the migration balance from the previous year, at 1 200, despite the 300 fall in the immigration surplus from the year before.

Fifteen counties had a reduced migration balance from 2016 to 2017. The greatest decline was in Oslo, where the migration loss was ‘only’ 1 100. In 2014, 2015 and 2016, the migration surplus in Oslo was 7 200, 4 900 and 2 400 respectively. Sogn and Fjordane also had a substantially weakened migration balance, and ended with a migration deficit of almost 200. In Hordaland, Østfold and Telemark, the decline was around 500 from the previous year.

Figure 3. Net migration, by county

	Average 2012-2016	2017	2016
Finnmark - Finnmárku	320	-42	238
Troms - Romsa	915	528	863
Nordland	805	440	862
Nord-Trøndelag (-2017)	558	467	614
Sør-Trøndelag (-2017)	2490	2385	2607
Møre og Romsdal	1407	112	513
Sogn og Fjordane	287	-171	655
Hordaland	3351	298	874
Rogaland	2614	-1422	-1220
Vest-Agder	1188	1819	602
Aust-Agder	771	397	611
Telemark	730	295	796
Vestfold	1884	1854	1869
Buskerud	2350	1643	1560
Oppland	737	744	726
Hedmark	1089	1170	1312
Oslo	4900	1104	2401
Akershus	7176	7452	7390
Østfold	2720	2276	2803