Attitudes towards immigrants and immigration, 2007

A total of 72 per cent agree to the statement that most immigrants make an important contribution to Norwegian working life. The proportion who disagree fell by 6 percentage points to 11 per cent in 2007. The proportion who said that they strongly agree with this statement rose somewhat, but this was partly offset by a decrease in the proportion who agreed “on the whole”. However, the proportion who said that they neither agree nor disagree rose for this question and some other questions.

The proportion of people who agree to the statement that all immigrants in Norway should have the same opportunities to have a job as Norwegians was 90 per cent. The proportion who strongly agree increased by 6 percentage points to 68 per cent, and only 5 per cent disagreed. Thus the attitudes towards this statement returned to the level in the 2005 survey.

More positive attitudes towards immigrants’ labour market efforts and the growing will to treat immigrants equally on the labour market may be due to the recent shortage of labour supply. The need for labour is now so compelling that it can hardly be covered by domestic labour reserves - a situation that the media has focused on. Last year net migration was at an all time high with nearly 24 000 persons, of which a large share come from new and old EU member states. Import of foreign labour is gradually becoming more recognised as a necessary measure to ensure continued economic growth and prosperity.

More people accept status quo in refugee policy

In answer to the question “Compared to today, should it be easier for refugees and asylum seekers to obtain a residence permit, should it be more difficult, or should access to residence permits remain the same as today?” half the population (50 per cent) said that access to residence permits should remain the same as today, an increase of 4 percentage points from last year. 39 per cent said that it should become more difficult to get a residence permit, a decrease of 6 percentage points. Less than one out of ten think that it should become easier for refugees and asylum seekers to get permanent residence in Norway. This shows that attitudes have returned to the same level as in 2005 after taking a turn in a more restrictive direction in 2006.

A possible explanation for the decrease in the proportion of people who want a stricter refugee policy can be related to the fact that the number of asylum seekers to Norway has decreased and remained low in the last two years.

The survey also shows that three out of ten believe that immigrants take advantage of the social welfare system, whereas almost five out of ten disagree. Two out of three believe that most immigrants enrich Norway’s cultural life, while one out of three think that most immigrants are a source of insecurity in society. Between four and five out of ten also think that immigrants in Norway should make an effort to become as similar to Norwegians as possible.

Contact with immigrants gives positive attitudes

People who have contact with immigrants are generally more positive to immigrants and immigration than other people. Seven out of ten have contact with immigrants in at least one arena, mainly at their place of work. Other important arenas are friends and neighbours. Having contact with two to four immigrants is more common than having contact with only one. Of those who have contact with immigrants, as many as eight out of ten have daily or weekly contact. Seven out of ten of those who have contact with immigrants, say that this is mainly positive.

Attitudes towards immigrants and immigration vary according to variables such as gender, age, education, residential area and geographic region. Women tend to appreciate immigrants’ cultural contribution more than men, but are slightly more negative to immigrants as source of insecurity. Elderly people and people with little education are less positive towards immigrants and immigration than younger/middle aged and highly educated people. People who live in urban areas and especially in Oslo/Akershus are somewhat more open-minded to immigrants than people in other parts of the country.

Tables:

• Table 1 Attitudes towards six statements on immigrants, 2002-2007. Per cent
• Table 2 Attitudes towards the statement "All immigrants in Norway should have the same job opportunities as Norwegians". 1993-2000 and 2000-2007. Per cent
• Table 3 Attitudes towards refugees' access to residence permits in Norway. 2002-2007. Per cent
• Table 4 Answers to three questions on relations to immigrants. 2002-2007. Per cent
• Table 5 Contact with immigrants on different arenas. 2002-2007. Per cent
• Table 6 Number of arenas where contact with immigrants takes place. 2002-2007. Per cent
• Table 7 Number of immigrants one has contact with. 2003-2007. Per cent
• Table 8 How often one has contact with immigrants, usually. 2003, 2007. Per cent
• Table 9 Personal experience with the contact with immigrants. 2003, 2007. Per cent