The report focuses on educational immigrants with citizenship from third countries[1] who did not reside in Norway before starting at a university or college in Norway, and who began a degree program in the academic years 2013/2014-2022/2023.
The survey shows that 6 out of 10 educational immigrants from third countries had citizenship from an Asian country. Men were in the majority among educational immigrants from third countries. However, the proportion of women increased somewhat over time, from 40 percent in 2013/2014 to 46 percent in 2022/2023. 76 percent of educational immigrants from third countries were between 20 and 29 years old. Almost 9 out of 10 degrees that these students started were master’s degrees. Natural sciences, vocational, and technical subjects were the most popular fields of study among educational immigrants from third countries.
We also look at whether the educational immigrants who started a degree program in the academic years 2013/2014-2017/2018 completed their education and what they did after completing their education. In total, 73 percent of the degrees started by educational immigrants were completed. 70 percent of the degrees started by educational immigrants from third countries were completed on time, compared to 80 percent for educational immigrants from the EEA/Switzerland.
43 percent of educational immigrants who came to Norway to pursue a degree during the academic years 2013/2014-2017/2018 were still registered in Norway at the end of 2023. Educational immigrants from countries in Europe outside the EEA/Switzerland, as well as from South and Central America, remained in Norway more often compared to other educational immigrants from third countries. 63 percent of educational immigrants from third countries who did not complete their degree education emigrated from Norway. Conversely, a larger proportion of those who completed their education stayed in Norway. The field of study has little significance for whether educational immigrants from third countries emigrated or not, with one exception: students in health, welfare, and sports sciences. 46 percent of them were registered in Norway until 2023, a proportion that was significantly higher than among educational immigrants in other fields.
65 percent of educational immigrants from third countries who were still residing in Norway the year after completing their education were employees, and 68 percent of these were in full-time positions. Over half of the educational immigrants from third countries were employed in academic and higher education professions, but there was also a larger proportion, 17 percent, who worked as cleaners, helpers, etc.
80 percent of those who were employees in Norway shortly after completing a degree remained in Norway until 2023. The corresponding proportion for those who were not employees or self-employed the year after completion was 34 percent. Unemployment as a percentage of the labour force was slightly higher among those from third countries, at 2.6 percent, than among educational immigrants from EEA/Switzerland countries, at 1.7 percent.
Looking at residence figures for 2023, educational immigrants mostly lived in central municipalities. 4 out of 5 lived in the most central municipalities, while less than 2 percent were residing in rural municipalities.
¹ Third countries are countries that are not members of the EU or EEA, except for Switzerland. In the report, the United Kingdom is treated as a third country since it left the EU/EEA on January 31, 2020, and educational immigrants from there now must pay tuition fees.