Norwegian-born children to immigrant parents represent an increasingly significant portion of the population in Norway. From being a marginal group of just over 2,000 individuals in 1970, accounting for 0.06 percent of the total population, their numbers have risen to over 221,000 in 2024. This now constitutes 4 percent of the population. A substantial proportion of this group is young, with as many as 70 percent under the age of 18.

Norwegian-born to immigrant parents form a diverse demographic group, with parents originating from a total of 183 different nations and autonomous regions. This rich variety is a result of Norway's more than 50-year history of labour immigration, refugee flows, and family reunification, all of which have significantly influenced population development.

The largest group among Norwegian-born to immigrant parents has parents from Pakistan, followed by children of Poles and Somalis. The settlement patterns of this group mirror those of their parents, with a high concentration in Oslo and Akershus. According to national population projections for 2024, Norway is expected to continue experiencing population growth, and the proportion of Norwegian-born to immigrant parents is anticipated to rise from 4 percent today to approximately 7 percent by 2050.

Norwegian-born individuals with immigrant parents achieve somewhat weaker results in lower secondary school compared to the rest of the population. They also have a slightly lower completion rate in upper secondary education. The picture is different when the results are seen in the light of their parents’ education. Among the students whose parents’ highest completed education level is lower secondary education, Norwegian-born individuals of immigrant parents achieve better results than the rest of the population. Furthermore, they participate in higher education to a greater extent than the rest of the population. It is more common for Norwegian-born individuals with immigrant parents to pursue extended higher education compared to the rest of the population. The proportion of Norwegian-born individuals with immigrant parents holding a university- or college-level education, is nearly 10 percentage points higher in 2023 compared to 2017.

An important goal for Norwegian integration policy is to ensure financial self-support by partici-pation in the labour market. To be considered employed according to Statistics Norway’s income statistics, annual income from work must exceed two times the basic amount in the National Insurance Scheme. According to this definition, we find that Norwegian-born (age 25-39) to immigrant parents from India, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bosnia-Herzegovina have a very strong labour market participation – well over 80 per cent. This is the case for both genders. Norwegian-born women and men, age 25-39, with immigrant parents from Somalia, Turkey, Chile, Pakistan, Morocco and Iran have a weaker labour market participation – well below the level of women and men with a non-immigrant background.

Differences in employment and income from work explain much of the differences in household income between different groups of Norwegian-born with immigrant background. Regardless of type of households, Norwegian-born with immigrant parents from India, Sri Lanka and Vietnam have a higher household median income than the non-immigrant population in the same age group. We find the lowest income level among Norwegian-born with Somali and Chilean parents. Ranking their household income into quintiles, we find a high proportion both in the lower end and in the top end of the income distribution. 40 per cent of Norwegian-born with Indian immigrant parents are in the top income quintile. The same percentage among Norwegian-born with Somali immigrant parents are in the bottom income quintile. However, Norwegian-born with immigrant parents place themselves higher in the income distribution in 2022 compared to five years earlier, and the proportion with persistent low-income has also been reduced in the same period.