Population, 1 January 2009

Two in three are European

A total of 196 300 or 65 per cent of all foreign citizens in Norway have European citizenship, some 29 000 more than the previous year. A total of 59 200 or 20 per cent have Asian citizenship, and 27 000 or 9 per cent have Africa citizenship. In total, persons representing 185 different citizenships are living in Norway.

Migration and granting of Norwegian citizenship affect the number of foreign citizens. A person is normally granted Norwegian citizenship after a certain length of residence. Since the mid-1980s, a large majority of those who have applied for and have been granted Norwegian citizenship have been non-European citizens. The majority of immigrants from Vietnam are Norwegian citizens, whereas only a small share of those who have migrated from Sweden have changed citizenship.

Polish citizens are the largest group

As in every year since 2004, the number of Polish citizens increased the most last year. The 39 200 Polish citizens in Norway now make up the largest group of foreign citizens. A total of 32 800 Swedish citizens live in Norway, and the other two large groups are the 20 600 Danish citizens and the 18 900 German. The groups with the largest increase apart from Polish citizens (12 400 more than in 2007), were German, Swedish and Lithuanian citizens, having a growth of from 3 600 to 2 500 each. A few groups had a decrease, the largest of which was among the Pakistani citizens (265 fewer than last year).

Where in Norway do foreign citizens live?

Oslo and Akershus counties have the highest numbers of foreign citizens. In these counties foreign citizens make up 12 and 7 per cent of the population respectively. Oslo has 70 300 and Akershus has 38 500 foreign citizens. Also in Rogaland and Buskerud, 7 per cent of the population are foreign citizens. The county with the largest increase in foreign citizens was Oslo, with an increase of 7 800.

Sex and age - large differences between the groups

There are considerable differences in the sex and age structure of various groups of foreign citizens. A total of 53 per cent of all foreign citizens are men, but of the Greek, Polish and Slovakian citizens, 70 per cent are men. Among the Thai and Filipino citizens, on the other hand, only from 15 to 18 per cent are men.

Whereas 36 per cent of African citizens are below 20 years of age, only 10 per cent of North or Central American citizens are in this age group. Whereas one in three from North or Central America are 50 years or over, this only applies to 3 per cent of African citizens.

Immigration has an impact on some of the figures on age and marital status distribution. The number of married people aged 25 to 49 from 2008 to 2009 grew by 3 500. The number of Polish citizens in this group, however, grew by 5 400. This is to say, that if these Polish citizens had not come to Norway last year, the number of married people aged 25 to 49 would not have increased by 3 500, but DECREASED by 1 900.

Tables:

• Table 1 Population, by age and county. Absolute figures. 1 January 2009
• Table 2 Population, by age and county. 1 January 2009. Per cent
• Table 3 østfold
• Table 4 Akershus
• Table 5 Oslo
• Table 6 Hedmark
• Table 7 Oppland
• Table 8 Buskerud
• Table 9 Vestfold
• Table 10 Telemark
• Table 11 Aust-Agder
• Table 12 Vest-Agder
• Table 13 Rogaland
• Table 14 Hordaland
• Table 15 Sogn og Fjordane
• Table 16 Møre og Romsdal
• Table 17 Sør-Trøndelag
• Table 18 Nord-Trøndelag
• Table 19 Nordland
• Table 20 Troms Romsa
• Table 21 Finnmark Finnmárku
• Table 22 Population, by sex and age. Oslo. Urban district. 1 January 2009
• Table 23 Population, by age. Oslo. Urban district. 1 January 2009. Per cent
• Table 24 Population, by sex and age. Bergen. Urban district. 1 January 2009
• Table 25 Population, by age. Bergen. Urban district. 1 January 2009. Per cent
• Table 26 Population, by sex and age. Stavanger. Urban district. 1 January 2009
• Table 27 Population, by age. Stavanger. Urban district. 1 January 2009. Per cent
• Table 28 Population, by sex and age. Trondheim. Urban district. 1 January 2009
• Table 29 Population, by age. Trondheim. Urban district. 1 January 2009. Per cent
• Table 30 Population, by marital status, sex and age. 1 January 2009
• Table 31 Foreign citizens. Number and as a percentage of population, by county. 1 January 1976-2009
• Table 32 Foreign citizens, by citizenship, sex and age. 1 January 2009
• Table 33 Foreign citizens, by citizenship per 1 January 1975-2009
• Table 34 Population by sex, age and marital status. 1 January 2009