Registered hunters

Updated: 12 April 2024

Next update: 11 April 2025

Women in the Register of hunters
Women in the Register of hunters
2023-2024
16.3
%
 
Norwegians listed in the Register of hunters
Norwegians listed in the Register of hunters
2023-2024Change, per cent
PersonsPer cent2022-2023 - 2023-20242019-2020 - 2023-2024
Persons listed in the Register of hunters544 188100.01.35.4
Males455 62383.70.93.6
Females88 56516.33.215.9
Persons buying hunting licence fee183 375100.0-4.9-2.7
Males165 17190.1-4.9-3.5
Females18 2049.9-4.75.8
Persons passed hunting test11 525100.0-13.3-1.7
Males8 44873.3-10.71.9
Females3 07726.7-19.8-19.8
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Hunters by county and sex
    Hunters by county and sex
    Registered personsPaid hunting taxPassed hunting test
    TotalMalesFemalesTotalMalesFemalesTotalMalesFemales
    2015-2016482 988419 64463 344198 541182 67815 86313 89910 5233 376
    2016-2017493 228426 22567 003202 352185 50116 85112 8019 3723 429
    2017-2018501 851431 47570 376202 299184 57317 72611 9288 4443 484
    2018-2019509 570435 91973 651202 810184 34018 47012 8288 9933 835
    2019-2020516 108439 68776 421188 450171 23617 21411 7288 2943 434
    2020-2021520 763441 98578 778192 792174 70718 0859 6106 7232 887
    2021-2022528 408446 24282 166195 276176 53218 74412 0648 4523 612
    2022-2023537 375451 55385 822192 788173 68819 10013 2949 4593 835
    2023-2024544 188455 62388 565183 375165 17118 20411 5258 4483 077
    2023-2024
    Østfold24 72921 4713 2588 2357 62860738929990
    Akershus56 00346 8999 10418 63116 9031 7281 276962314
    Oslo39 22132 1067 11510 5129 4441 0681 309997312
    Innlandet57 02445 77811 24621 72918 9532 776974648326
    Buskerud23 83219 8853 9478 4267 575851486362124
    Vestfold18 47515 8632 6126 1605 708452409309100
    Telemark20 49917 0943 4057 7676 994773423297126
    Agder35 11630 5724 54412 35911 448911667531136
    Rogaland31 44128 1423 2998 6328 106526643521122
    Vestland55 07847 7167 36218 99517 4861 5091 3881 036352
    Møre og Romsdal27 05223 4023 6509 2408 447793492379113
    Trøndelag - Trööndelage75 52461 11914 40525 54322 5842 9591 4651 005460
    Nordland - Nordlánnda34 43828 5465 89212 04410 7031 341671464207
    Troms - Romsa - Tromssa23 75219 4054 3478 5017 564937499349150
    Finnmark - Finnmárku - Finmarkku14 56911 3473 2226 0555 146909364243121
    Svalbard307186121644915000
    Nordmenn bosatt i utlandet6 1855 2549314464054121165
    Unspecified adress9378361012724314113
    Explanation of symbols
  • Hunters by age and sex
    Hunters by age and sex1
    2023-2024
    Paid hunting taxPassed hunting test
    TotalMalesFemalesTotalOf these buying hunting licence fee
    Total183 375165 17118 20411 5253 751
    -20 years5 9904 9101 0803 870613
    20-29 years23 04519 0254 0203 6621 292
    30-39 years31 70527 5584 1472 020895
    40-49 years34 02130 3393 6821 149545
    50-59 years41 46837 8943 574655319
    60-69 years30 29028 8611 42916182
    70 years or older16 85616 58427285
    1Comprising Norwegian citizens
    The figures were corrected on 23.6.2022.
    Explanation of symbols
  • Share of men and women 16 years and above that paid the hunting licence fee
    Share of men and women 16 years and above that paid the hunting licence fee
    2023-20242023-2024
    Male hunters as per cent of male populationFemale hunters as per cent of female population
    The whole country7.20.8
    Østfold5.90.5
    Akershus5.70.6
    Oslo3.20.4
    Innlandet12.01.7
    Buskerud6.80.8
    Vestfold5.40.4
    Telemark9.51.0
    Agder8.80.7
    Rogaland4.00.3
    Vestland6.50.6
    Møre og Romsdal7.50.7
    Trøndelag - Trööndelage11.21.5
    Nordland - Nordlánnda10.41.3
    Troms - Romsa - Tromssa10.51.3
    Finnmark - Finnmárku - Finmarkku16.03.0
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

The statistics give an overview of men and women registered in the official Norwegian Register of hunters, which entitles them to go hunting. The figures also show the number of hunters that paid the hunting licence fee and how many new hunters passed the hunting test last hunting year.

The information under «About the statistics» was last updated 17 November 2023.

Hunter

A person that has paid hunting tax for the hunting season.

Hunting test

All persons who are not listed on the Norwegian Register of Hunters must pass a hunting test before hunting in Norway. Persons living abroad need not take the test provided they satisfy the conditions for engaging in the same type of hunting in their home country.

Hunting licence fee (earlier called hunting tax)

Persons intending to hunt in Norway must pay a hunting license fee to the Wildlife Fund. The fee is for the full hunting year. Payment of the fee is a prerequisite for hunting, but does not confer the right to hunt in any specific area.

Hunting year

The hunting year starts on 1 April and ended on 31 March.

Persons age:

< 20 years, 20-29 years, 30-39 years, 40-49 years, 50-59 years, 60-69 years, > 70 years

Name: Registered hunters
Topic: Agriculture, forestry, hunting and fishing

11 April 2025

Division for Housing, Property, Spatial and Agricultural Statistics

Municipality.

Published annually approximately two weeks after the hunting year ends.

Not relevant

Collected and revised data are stored securely by Statistics Norway in compliance with applicable legislation on data processing.

Statistics Norway can grant access to the source data (de-identified or anonymised microdata) on which the statistics are based, for researchers and public authorities for the purposes of preparing statistical results and analyses. Access can be granted upon application and subject to conditions. Refer to the details about this at Access to data from Statistics Norway.

The Register of Hunters is an administrative register owned by the The Norwegian Environment Agency. It was established in 1982. In 1999, the register was transferred to the Brønnøysund Register Centre.

Since 1998, Statistics Norway has received a almost complete register that contains Norwegians and foreign hunters. Statistics Norway has stored these registers annually.

Statistics Norway uses the register as a basis for the statistics on small game hunting.

Other users are The Norwegian Environment Agency, the Register of Hunters in Brønnøysund, central and local wildlife management, research and educational institutions, the media, interest groups and hunters.

No external users have access to statistics before they are released at 8 a.m. on ssb.no after at least three months’ advance notice in the release calendar. This is one of the most important principles in Statistics Norway for ensuring the equal treatment of users.

Hunters who pay the hunting licence fee must submit a report to Statistics Norway by 1 May on the report form provided. Statistics on small game and roe deer hunting are based on this report.

The statistics are developed, produced and disseminated pursuant to Act no. 32 of 21 June 2019 relating to official statistics and Statistics Norway (the Statistics Act).

Not relevant

The statistics are based on data from the Register of Hunters. The register contains information on people who are qualified to hunt in Norway. The register also contains information on who has paid a hunting licence fee and who has passed the hunting test. The hunting licence fee gives permission to hunt in Norway.

The hunting register is the data source and everyone registered in the register is the sample.

The hunting licence fee is paid to an account belonging to the The Norwegian Environment Agency. Information on each transaction is transferred to the Brønnøysund Register Centre every day.

Editing is defined here as checking, examining and amending data. Date of birth, address and place of residence of hunters living in Norway are updated with information from the National Population Register every day. Deceased persons are deleted from the register and new hunters are recorded when they pass the hunting test.

Not relevant

Employees of Statistics Norway have a duty of confidentiality.

Statistics Norway does not publish figures if there is a risk of the respondent’s contribution being identified. This means that, as a general rule, figures are not published if fewer than three units form the basis of a cell in a table or if the contribution of one or two respondents constitutes a very large part of the cell total.

Statistics Norway can make exceptions to the general rule if deemed necessary to meet the requirements of the EEA agreement, if the respondent is a public authority, if the respondent has consented to this, or when the information disclosed is openly accessible to the public.

More information can be found on Statistics Norway’s website under Methods in official statistics, in the ‘Confidentiality’ section.

Not relevant

The Register of Hunters is an administrative register and errors may occur during registration of people who buy a hunting licence fee.

Not relevant

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