Immigration and immigrants
Increasing participation in education and labour market
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What is the status of immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents in Norway? What are their living conditions, do they work, do they attend higher education, how much do they earn, and to what extent do they exercise their right to vote? A new report describes the status of immigrants and their children in Norway today.
Norway is currently home to 381 000 immigrants and 79 000 Norwegian-born to immigrant parents. These two groups combined make up nearly 10 per cent of the population of Norway by the beginning of 2008. In the report “Immigration and Immigrants 2008”, statisticians and researchers in Statistics Norway have compiled statistics that throw light on the situation among immigrants and their children. The report covers such topics as a demographic description, education, employment, income, voting and living conditions, as well as the population's attitudes to immigrants.
Increasing number of immigrants in Norway
Since 1997, the numbers of immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents has nearly doubled (figure 1). Norway has experienced an increase in immigration in recent years. In 2007, 62 000 immigrations and 22 000 emigrations were registered. Net migration was 40 000, the highest net migration ever. Polish citizens made up the largest group of immigrants in 2007, as they have done since 2005.
In 2007, 44 300 immigrants with non-Nordic citizenship immigrated to Norway for the first time .
Almost half of them came to work and about one third came because of family. Approximately 10 per cent came as refugees or to study respectively.
More minority language speaking children in kindergartens
Children nowadays have different perceptions of immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents than their parents, partly due to their experiences in kindergarten and at school. Although financial support is more widespread among immigrants than in the population in general, the share of children speaking a minority language in kindergartens has increased in line with the expansion of kindergarten services. Minority language speaking children currently account for eight per cent of all children at kindergarten. Nine per cent of all pupils in primary and lower secondary education aged 6-15 are either immigrants or Norwegian-born to two immigrant parents, and the share in Oslo is more than 30 per cent.
Almost all go to upper secondary education
Nine out of ten of all 16-18 year olds in Norway attended upper secondary school in 2007. Among immigrants and Norwegian-born to two immigrant parents, the share has increased in recent years and is now 68 and 89 per cent respectively. The number of immigrants that completed their education was lower than for all pupils, but the dropout rate is considerably lower for Norwegian-born to immigrant parents than for immigrants.
Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents have also gone on to study at universities and university colleges (figure 2). In autumn 2007, 18 per cent of immigrants in the age group 19-24 and 35 per cent of Norwegian-born to immigrant parents were undertaking higher education. The corresponding figure for the same age group in the population as a whole was 30 per cent.
More in employment during periods of recovery
The economic recovery has increased the employment rate among immigrants . From the end of 2005 to the end of 2007, the percentage in employment rose from 57 to more than 63 per cent. However, there is a clear distinction between immigrants from the Nordic countries, West Europe and the East European EU countries on the one hand and immigrants from Asia, Africa and South America on the other. Immigrants that come to Norway for the purpose of family reunification or as refugees have a lower employment rate than labour immigrants, immigrants with a long period of residence have a higher employment rate than those with a shorter residence period, and male immigrants have a higher employment rate than their female counterparts.
More in receipt of social welfare and housing benefit
Many immigrants become more financially independent the longer they stay in Norway, but there are major variations in relation to country of origin. Immigrants and Norwegian-born to parents from Asia, Africa, Latin America and East Europe are far more likely than the rest of the population to belong to the low income group. Social welfare and housing benefit are much more widespread among this group than in the low income group in the population as a whole. Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents often live in more cramped conditions than the rest of the population, but two out of three own their own home and the share living in detached houses has doubled in the past decade.
Almost 8 per cent of the electorate
Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents accounted for almost 8 per cent of the electorate at the local elections in 2007. Three out of four immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents voted for Ap (Labour Party), Sv (Socialist Left Party) or Rv (Red Electoral Campaign). A total of 1 026 immigrants or Norwegian-born to immigrant parents stood as candidates, and 14 per cent of these were elected in 79 municipal councils.
One of the most tolerant in Europe
Compared to other European countries, the population in Norway is tolerant and liberal with regard to immigrant-related issues. Nine out of ten believe that immigrants should have the same employment opportunities as others, and seven out of ten believe that immigrants make a useful contribution to society. Two out of three believe that immigrants enrich Norway's culture, but four out of ten think they should endeavour to be as similar to Norwegians as possible. One out of three suspect that immigrants abuse Norway's welfare system and believe they are a source of insecurity. Young, highly educated people living in Oslo/Akershus are the most liberal.
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