Fall in Church of Norway members

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The Church of Norway had approximately 3.8 million members in 2016. This is 41 000 fewer than the previous year and 90 000 fewer than four years ago.

The steady decline in the number of church attendances registered in recent years continues. Around 4.4 million attended services on Sundays and public holidays, while almost 1.3 million attended services on other days.

Figure 1. Church of Norway. Participants at church services

Participants services except Sundays and holidays Participants services Sundays and holidays
2005 1327 5389
2006 1292 5291
2007 1254 5177
2008 1261 5069
2009 1256 4968
2010 1204 4896
2011 1280 4985
2012 1245 4767
2013 1230 4723
2014 1224 4668
2015 1206 4564
2016 1267 4419

The number of baptisms and confirmations also showed a decline. This publication uses a new definition for baptisms and is not compatible with previous figures.

New definition for number of baptized

The previous number of baptisms consisted of performed acts of baptisms in a parish aggregated to municipal level, diocese level and national level. The new figure relates to the number of baptized in a given parish aggregated up. Baptized as a percentage of births on a national level are slightly lower than would have been the case according to the old definition, with 55.3 per cent compared to 55.9 per cent.

Figure 2. Church of Norway. Baptized and confirmed

Baptized Confirmed
2005 43016 42110
2006 43255 42587
2007 42916 42472
2008 42599 41655
2009 41920 41885
2010 41100 41981
2011 39958 42556
2012 38325 41165
2013 36572 40054
2014 35051 40253
2015 34116 39523
2016 32561 37420

In 2016, church burials as a percentage of all deaths were 88.8 per cent, compared to 89.7 per cent four years ago. A total of 7 535 church weddings were performed in 2016, which is 1 363 fewer than four years ago.

Fewer parishes due to merging in 2016 reporting

The population covers all the registered geographical parishes in Norway during the relevant year. The parish is the basic unit in the Church of Norway. The number of parishes reporting in 2016 was 1 196. The number has fallen every year in recent years due to the merging of parishes.

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