Fewer see immigrants as a source of insecurity in society and more think that immigrants make the cultural life in Norway richer. There are at the same time fewer that think that immigrants resident in Norway should strive toward becoming as similar to Norwegians as possible. The answers in the survey also show that we have become less skeptical toward immigrants in close and less close relations, as for example as domestic help for her-/himself or close family, as a new neighbor or as a son or daughter in law.
Since 2002 more have expressed the opinion that it should be harder than easier for refugees and asylum seekers to obtain residence in Norway. However, the share that thinks it should be easier has increased during the period, while the share that thinks it should be harder has decreased. In this year’s survey there are more expressing it should be easier than harder. Most respondents, about half, think the possibility to obtain residence should remain as it is today.
At the same time as more positive attitudes are being expressed, we also see more contact with immigrants. Most of those having contact with immigrants state that they mainly have positive experiences with the contact.
Attitudes to immigrants and immigration vary according to the characteristics of the respondents, and certain patterns are consistent over time. Women often tend to be more positive than men, and young people are more positive than older. The respondents with higher education are more liberal than those with elementary or high school as their highest completed education. We also see that student and pupils are more positive than respondents receiving welfare benefits and pensions, while those working occupy a position between these two groups. There are also differences between city and countryside. Respondents in densely populated areas are often more positively disposed toward immigrants, while respondents in less densely populated areas tend to be more skeptical. This should be seen in context with the fact that those living the largest cities and most densely populated areas often have more contact with immigrants, and with the population in these areas generally having higher education. There is a clear correlation between attitudes and degree of contact and level of education. We find there being some relation between attitudes and what region the respondent lives in, but these differences may also be partly due to differences in term of degree of contact with immigrants and level of education.
The gross sample of the survey has been selected to provide, as far as possible, a statistically representative sample of the target population. However, in all sample surveys there is drop-out, due to the respondent not being willing to participate in the survey or us not being able to make contact with him/her. That many do not participate in the survey contributes to biases in the net sample. This is compensated for by using drop-out weights based on sex, age and education. After using weights, we see a reduction of most biases, and a distribution in the weighted net sample more similar to the distribution in the gross sample.
Chapter 2 provides a more detailed description of the data. In chapter 3 we outline some events and developments in society that may have influenced the attitudes toward immigrants and immigration in this year’s survey. Chapter 4 presents the main results of the survey, with emphasis on the long-term changes that have taken place in the period from 2002 until 2021. In chapter 5 the development of the last year is discussed, with focus on those changes that are statistically significant. In chapter 6 we take a closer look at the relations, both bivariate and multivariate, between attitudes and the background characteristics of the respondents.