Population

Mean population

Average population at the beginning and end of the year.

Resident

Who is regarded as a resident of Norway and where in Norway a person shall be counted as a resident, is stipulated in the Population Registration Act of 16 January 1970. The regulations to the act were amended effective 1 February 1980.

The following main points from the registration rules decide who is regarded as a resident of Norway

Persons from countries outside the Nordic countries are regarded as residents of Norway when they have lived here or intend to live here at least 6 months, even though the stay is temporary. The same six-month rule applies to migration from Norway to a country outside the Nordic countries.

The aforementioned six-month rule does not always apply to migration between Norway and another Nordic country. In Denmark, for example, a person is registered as a resident if the person intends to stay in the country at least 3 months. The same limit is used for out-migration. In Sweden and Finland the limit is one year. For persons who come/move to Norway from another Nordic country, the six-month rule is still valid, as residence is decided by the country of immigration's rules, cf. the Nordic agreement on inter-Nordic migration dated 8 May 1989. This agreement replaced a similar agreement from 5 December 1968.

People living in Svalbard, on Jan Mayen or in Norwegian dependencies who on departure were registered in the population register of a Norwegian municipality shall still be counted as residents of that municipality. The same rules apply to people on the Norwegian continental shelf.

Norwegian foreign and consular service staff and Norwegian military personnel posted for duty abroad are counted as residents of Norway. The same applies to their families.

Foreign staff at foreign embassies and consular services and foreign personnel attached to NATO are not counted as residents of Norway. The same applies to their families.

The main rule for where in Norway a person is regarded as a resident is that the person resides where he/she has their regular daily rest (night's sleep).

If the daily rest is taken in shifts at one or more places, the person is regarded as residing where, overall, they can be said to live on a regular basis. Spouses with a joint home and persons sharing a joint home with their children are regarded as residing in this home without regard to where they have their daily rest.

Single persons who attend school in another municipality are as a main rule still regarded as resident of the place they lived before starting school (the residence of their parents). Similar registration principles also apply to conscripts serving their initial military service, alternative national service conscripts, prisoners, and people admitted to hospitals.

Persons admitted to or placed in other institutions or private care are as a main rule regarded as residents when the stay is intended to last, or turns out to last, at least 6 months.

From March 1987 to January 1994 asylum seekers were usually counted as immigrants and hence also as residents even though the processing of their application for residence had not been completed. Before and after this period, only asylum seekers with residence permits have been registered.

Births

Live births.

Excess of births over deaths

The difference between births and deaths also called "net natural increase in the total population". A minus sign means an excess of deaths over births.

In-migration, out-migration

Migration is the relocation of one person between two Norwegian municipalities or between a Norwegian municipality and abroad. People who move several times during a single calendar year are counted each time they move. In the migration statistics for counties, moves between the municipalities in the county are not included.

Net migration

The difference between in-migration and out-migration. A minus sign means net out-migration.

Population

All numbers cover the de jure population.

Population growth

There are two ways of calculating population growth; 1) the total of excess of births over deaths and net migration, or 2) the difference between the population on 1 January in year n+1 minus the population on 1 October (or 1 January in year n). Ideally the two methods should give the same result, but experience shows that there is always discrepancy between the two, due to revisions, annulments, delayed reports etc.

Statistical adjustments

Gives the difference between the two ways of calculating population growth, filling the gap between population growth as we calculate it, and (excess of births over deaths + net migration).

In all the quarterly statistics up to the fourth quarter of 2005 and all preliminary figures of change for the whole year up until and including 2004, the population growth has been calculated as the total of births over deaths and net migration, and provided a basis for preliminary population figures. The population on 1 April, 1 July and 1 October will continue to be calculated this way. Because preliminary figures have been replaced by final population figures as of 1 January 2006 the population growth for one year will be calculated as the population on 1 January in year n+1 minus the population in year n, and correspondingly the population growth for the fourth quarter will be calculated as the population on 1 January in year n+1 minus the population on 1 October.

Clearing-up in The Central Population Register

Persons who stay in the country for less than for six months are not registered and are not included in the figures. The Tax Administration undertakes an ongoing clear-up of the Central Population Register of out-migrated persons who no longer live in Norway. In recent years, clearing-up the Central Population Register has been standard practice.

Country and citizenship in population statistics

Marital status

Municipalities