The number of researchers with an immigrant background in Norwegian academia continues to increase

Statistics on diversity in research show the representation of personnel with an immigrant background among researchers and academic staff in Norwegian academia, compared to researchers without an immigrant background. Norwegian academia covers universities, state university colleges, specialized university institutions, research institutes, and physicians and researchers at health trusts. See also SSB's classification of immigrant categories.

There is a concern that internationally mobile academics are outcompeting native researchers in Norwegian academia.

– Academia is an international labor market. When hiring, the faculty sometimes prefer candidates with international expertise and an extensive track record. Other times the focus is on strenghtening the local academic community, where teaching competence and language skills are more important, says senior advisor Bjørn Magne Olsen at Statistics Norway.

Among the researchers and academic staff in Norwegian academia, 35 percent had an immigrant background in 2023. In the total population in Norway, the share of immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents was 21 percent. Among students, the share was 17 percent. Universities and other higher education institutions had the highest share of researchers/academic staff with an immigrant background, 38 percent, followed by the institute sector with 34 percent and health trusts with 23 percent.

The number of researchers with an immigrant background has steadily increased from 2007 to 2023 (figure 1). The proportion of immigrants among the researchers / academic staff staff has increased from 19 percent in 2007 to 35 percent in 2023. Norwegian-born researchers to immigrant parents have increased from 0.4 to 0.7 percent of the research population in the same period. In the last two years, the number of researchers/academic staff in Norwegian academia has increased by about 2 percent. Researchers with an immigrant background have increased by 9 percent in the period, while there has been a decrease in other researchers by 1.5 percent. The growth in researchers with an immigrant background is particularly high at the higher education institutions. The growth in Norwegian-born researchers to immigrant parents mainly occurs in health trusts.

Most researchers who are Norwegian-born to immigrant parents perform R&D within medicine and health sciences

The majority of immigrants among the research staff are employed within natural sciences, engineering and technology (based on the workplace's R&D activity as classified by field of R&D according to the «majority criterion»), but there are clear gender differences. While more than half of the immigrant men are within natural sciences, engineering and technology, this applies to 40 percent of the women. There is also a high proportion of female researchers with an immigrant background within humanities and social sciences (figure 2).

The majority of researchers/academic staff who are Norwegian-born to immigrant parents are within medicine and health sciences; 54 percent of the women and 42 percent of the men. For other researchers/academic staff, women are distributed with 45 percent within humanities and social sciences, and 34 percent within medicine and health sciences. Men are more often within natural sciences, engineering and technology.

A little over 50 per cent of the research staff within natural sciences, engineering and technology had an immigrant background in 2023, compared to about 30 percent within humanities and social sciences and 26 percent within medicine and health sciences.

Where do the researchers come from?

The research personnel in Norwegian academia come from 161 countries across all continents. The proportion with an immigrant background is particularly high for recruitment positions and varies with field of R&D (figure 3). Researchers from Germany made up 4 percent of the total research population in Norway in 2023. Next is Sweden with just over 2 percent. The countries with the largest growth in the number of researchers from 2021 to 2023 were India, Italy, and Sweden, but countries like China and Turkey have also seen significant growth.

In Norwegian academia, two-thirds of researchers with an immigrant background come from the global north. The global north and the global south relate to development regions as classified by UNCTAD. At position level 1 in Norwegian academia, over 80 percent with an immigrant background come from the global north, while the distribution between the global north and the global south is about 50–50 among PhD candidates with an immigrant background.

The proportion of researchers/academic staff with an immigrant background in 2023 was highest among postdoctoral fellows, 74 percent, and lowest at position level 3 with 17 percent.