Demographics of Norway - Ethnicity

Ethnicity

Ethnically, the residents of Norway are predominantly ethnic Norwegians who are of North Germanic / Nordic descent, although there are communities of the Scandinavian native people Sami who settled the area around 8,000 years ago, probably from continental Europe through the Norwegian coast and through Finland along the inland glaciers. The national minorities of Norway include Scandinavian Romani, Roma (“Gypsy”), Jews, and Kvener, as well as a small Finnish community.

As of 2012, an official study shows that 86.2% of the total population are ethnic Norwegians and more than 660 000 individuals (13.2%) are migrants and their descendants; numbering 110 000 second generation migrants born in Norway.

Of these 660 000 immigrants and their descendants:

• 335 000 (51%) have a Western (Australia, North America, elsewhere in Europe)
• 325 000 (49%) have a non-Western background (Turkey, Morocco, Iraq, Somalia, Pakistan, Iran).

In 2012, of the total 660 000 with immigrant background, 407,262 had Norwegian citizenship (62.2 percent). Immigrants were represented in all Norwegian municipalities. The cities or municipalities with the highest share of immigrants in 2012 was Oslo (26 percent) and Drammen (18 percent). According to Reuters, Oslo is the "fastest growing city in Europe because of increased immigration". In recent years, immigration has accounted for most of Norway's population growth.

In 2010, the immigrant community grew by 57,000, which accounted for 90% of Norway's population growth; some 27% of newborn children were of immigrant background.These statistics indicate that Norway's population is now 82.0% ethnic Norwegian, a figure that has steadily decreased since the late 20th century. Some 12.2% of the population is of solely immigrant background, while 5.7% of the population is of mixed Norwegian-foreign ancestry. People of other European ethnicity are 5.8% of the total, while Asians (including Pakistanis, Iraqis, and Turks) are 4.3%, Africans 1.5%, and others 0.6%.

In recent years, Norway has become home to increasing numbers of immigrants, foreign workers, and asylum-seekers from various parts of the world. Norway had a steady influx of immigrants from South Asia (mostly Pakistanis and Sri Lankans), East Asia (mainly the Chinese), and Southeast Asia (i.e. Filipinos), Eastern Europe (i.e. Russians from Russia), Southern Europe (Greeks, Albanians from Kosovo, and former Yugoslavians), and Middle Eastern countries (Arabs, especially Iraqis and Palestinians), as well as Somalis, Turks, Moroccans, and some Latin Americans. After ten Eastern European and Baltic countries joined the EU in 2004, there has also been an influx of people from Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.