Municipal and county council election, electoral survey among immigrants, 2003

The electoral turnout for foreign citizens with western background was 64 per cent, for non-westerns was 36 per cent. The electoral turnout for these two groups was 66 and 43 per cent respectively the Municipal- and County Council 1999. The highest turnout was for Danish citizens, 73 per cent of them voted. The lowest was for citizens from Macedonia, only 20 per cent voted. Among Pakistanis and Vietnamese, the two largest groups of immigrants, the turnout was at 40 and 30 per cent respectively. Citizens from Sri Lanka had the highest turnout among non-westerns immigrants, 57 per cent of them voted.

Foreign citizens

The electoral turnout for western immigrants was 39 per cent, while for non-westerns 25 per cent. Compared with the election in 1999 the turnout decreased by 8 percentage points for non-western immigrants, while the turnout is the same for western immigrants. The highest turnout was for Germans, 51 per cent, USA citizens 46 per cent and French citizens, 45 per cent. The lowest turnout was for citizens from Serbia and Montenegro, 17 per cent.

Age and number of years in Norway

The electoral turnout fall for citizens with immigrant background is a consequence of the big changes produced in this group in the last years. At the electoral survey in 1999 1/3 of the immigrants with western background were entitled to vote, while in 2001 the portion declined to 1/5. In 2003 it represents 18 per cent. The turnout for immigrants with western background at all age groups is much higher than for other immigrants.

We also see differences in age. The population of non-western immigrants is younger than the western immigrants. And electoral participation increases with age.

As in earlier elections the electoral participation increases for all the groups with the number of years lived in Norway. Those who have lived more than 30 years in the country have a 28 per cent higher participation.

No differences among men and women

There is no difference among men and women for Norwegian citizens with immigrant background in electoral participation this year. At the last election the electoral turnout for women was 5 percentage points higher. We can explain this as result of the number of years living in Norway is becoming the same. There is a large difference between western and non-western background, but also among people from different countries.

There is no difference among men and women for foreign citizens in electoral participation this year. In the last elections we experienced a slightly higher participation among women. There is also a large difference between western and non-western countries.

Tables:

• Table 1 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of Norwegian citizens with immigrant background, by country background and sex
• Table 2 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of Norwegian citizens with immigrant background, by age and sex
• Table 3 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of Norwegian citizens with immigrant background, by years of residence and sex
• Table 4 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of Norwegian citizens with immigrant background, by country background and years of residence
• Table 5 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of Norwegian citizens with immigrant background, by county and sex
• Table 6 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of Norwegian citizens with immigrant background, by country background and age
• Table 7 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of Norwegian citizens with immigrant background. Part of the country/centrality/size of municipality
• Table 8 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of foreign citizens entitled to vote, by citizenship and sex
• Table 9 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of foreign citizens entitled to vote , by age and sex
• Table 10 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of foreign citizens entitled to vote, by years of residence and sex
• Table 11 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of foreign citizen entitled to vote, by citizenship and years of residence
• Table 12 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of foreign citizens entitled to vote, by county and sex
• Table 13 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of foreign citizens entitled to vote, by country background and age
• Table 14 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent among the sample of foreign citizens entitled to vote. Part of the country/centrality/size of municipality
• Table 15 Municipal and County Council Election 2003. Electoral turnout in per cent for groups with different citizenship2 and Norwegian citizens with immigrant background, by citizenship/country background and sex