thumb|upright=1.7|Animated population pyramid of Norway since 1846.
With Emigrants represented by lighter colors and immigrants represented in gray.
thumb|270px|Population density map of municipalities in Norway from 2016.
This article is about the demographic features of the population of Norway, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Total population
The total population of Norway on 1 January 2021 was 5,391,369.
Statistics Norway estimated that the 5,000,000 milestone was reached on 19 March 2012.Nina Berglund: Norwegians now number 5 million Norwegians now number 5 million News in English, 18 March 2012 Population growth rate in 2020
Norway: 0.4%
Northern Norway: -0.4%
Southern Norway: 0.5%
Eastern Norway: 0.6%
Trøndelag: 0.5%
Western Norway: 0.4%
Total fertility rate from 1850 to 1899
The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman.
It is based on fairly good data for the entire period.
Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.
thumb|225px|A large size Norwegian nuclear family.
Photo of 1890.
Vital statistics since 1900
Data according to Statistics Norway, which collects the official statistics for Norway.
Current vital statistics
Total fertility rate
[[Life expectancy]] at birth from 1846 to 2015
Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.
1543–1950
1950-2015
Source: UN World Population Prospects Ethnicity
right|400px|thumb Ethnically, the residents of Norway are predominantly Norwegians, a North Germanic ethnic group.
In Northern Norway there is a population of Sami people, who claim descent from people who settled the area around 8,000 years ago, probably from continental Europe through the Norwegian coast and through Finland along the inland glaciers.
As of 2020, an official government study shows that 75.2% of the total population are ethnic Norwegians (born in Norway with two parents also born in Norway).
The national minorities of Norway include: Scandinavian Romani, Roma, Jews, and Kvener, as well as a small Finnish community.
In the last decades, 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 Chinese), and Southeast Asia/Pacific Islands (e.g. Filipinos), Eastern Europe (e.g. Russians) and (Central Europe Poles), Southern Europe (Greeks, Albanians and people from former Yugoslavia etc.), and Middle East countries (especially Iraqis and Kurdish Iranians), 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 a substantial influx of people from Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Immigrants constituted 14.7% of the population at the start of 2020, 3.5% were born in Norway to two immigrant parents, 5.2% to one foreign-born and one Norwegian-born parent and 75.2% born to two-Norwegian born parents.Innvandrere og norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre, 1.
januar 2015 Statistics Norway, 4 March 2015.
Accessed 28 December 2015.
The same year, 19% of births in Norway were to immigrant parents.
In 2006, non-Western immigrants constituted 75% of the total number of immigrants.
They contribute much of the population growth.
Among people of African descent in Oslo, almost 60% are younger than 30, compared to 20% of those of North American background.Fakta om innvandrebefolkningen i Oslo  IMDi-rapport 5A-2007.
As of 2020, an official government study shows that more than 1,333,620 people (24.8%) living in Norway are either first-generation immigrants or have one or two foreign-born parents.
Of these 979,254 immigrants and their descendants (born in Norway with two foreign born parents):
401,407 (41%) have a Western background (Australia, New Zealand, North America, elsewhere in Europe)
577,847 (59%) have a non-Western background.
In 2012, of the total 660 000 with immigrant background, 407,262 had Norwegian citizenship (62.2 percent)."
Three categories of immigration background, country of birth and citizenship by country background and sex. 1 January 2012 " .
Statistics Norway.
26 April 2012.
Accessed 27 April 2012.
Archived 7 August 2011.
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).Innvandrere og norskfødte med innvandrerforeldre, 1.
januar 2012 Statistics Norway, retrieved 30 March 2013 The share in Stavanger was 16%.
According to Reuters, Oslo is the "fastest growing city in Europe because of increased immigration".Hare, Sophie.
"Factbox – facts about Norway".
Reuters.
22 July 2011.
Accessed 22 July 2011.
In recent years, immigration has accounted for most of Norway's population growth.
Genetics of the native people of Norway
Y-chromosome DNA
Y-Chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) represents the male lineage, The Norwegian Y-chromosome pool may be summarized as follows where haplogroups  R1 & I comprise generally more than 85% of the total chromosomes.Helgason et al. 2000, Zerjal et al. 2001, Passarino et al. 2002, Rootsi et al. 2004, Dupuy et al. 2006, Lindqvist et al. 2006
I – 55%
R1 – 35%
NOP ~ 5%
Other Haplogroups ~ 5%
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA mtDNA represents the female lineage, Haplogroup H represent about 40% of the Norwegian mitochondrial DNA lineagesPassarino et al. 2002, Loogväli et al. 2004, Tambets et al. 2004, Lappalainen et al. 2006
H ~ 40%
JT ~ 23%
UK ~ 22%
IWX ~ 5%
V ~ 5%
Other lineages ~ 5%
Immigration
As of January 1st, 2020, official data shows that the quotient of the total population that is either born outside Norway, or has one or two parents born abroad is 1,333,620 to 5,367,580 (which equals 24.8%).
About a half million of these, however, identify as ethnic Norwegians who may have, for example, Swedish or Danish ancestors.
As of 2020, an official government study shows that 75.2% of the total population are ethnic Norwegians and more than 1,333,620 individuals (24.8%) are migrants and their descendants (790,497 are first-generation immigrants i.e. foreign-born, 277,085 are Norwegian-born with one foreign-born parent and 188,757 are Norwegian-born with two foreign-born parents).
Of these 979,254 immigrants and their descendants (foreign-born or Norwegian-born with two foreign-born parents):
401,407 (41%) have a Western background (Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, countries in the European Union, and EFTA states)
577,847 (59%) have a non-Western background.
Other demographic statistics
thumb|350px|Birth and death rates of Norway in 1950–2008.
thumb|350px|Persons with immigrant background by immigration category and country background.
Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents.
Statistics Norway.
1 January 2010.The following demographic statistics are from the World Population Review.
One birth every 8 minutes
One death every 13 minutes
One net migrant every 19 minutes
Net gain of one person every 10 minutes
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
;Population:
5,372,191 (July 2018 est.)
3,570,554 (1960)
2,376,952 (1910)
1,583,525 (1860)
;Population – comparative: Slightly greater than British Columbia, but slightly less than Singapore and Eritrea.
thumb|350px|Population pyramid for Norway in 2017.
;Age structure:
0–14 years: 18.0% (male 495,403 /female 471,014) (2018 est.)
15–24 years: 12.4% (male 340,672 /female 324,088)
25–54 years: 41.0% (male 1,136,373 /female 1,065,138)
55–64 years: 11.7% (male 318,898 /female 310,668)
65 years and over: 16.9% (male 420,178 /female 489,759)
0–14 years: 18.0% (male 490,915/female 466,515) (2017 est.)
15–24 years: 12.6% (male 343,103/female 326,053)
25–54 years: 41.0% (male 1,125,334/female 1,056,330)
55–64 years: 11.7% (male 315,223/female 307,639)
65 years and over: 16.1% (male 409,057/female 479,876)
0–14 years: 18.8% (male 472,060; female 449,649) (2011 est)
15–64 years: 66.2% (male 1,662,852; female 1,593,501)
65 years and over: 15.0% (male 325,937; female 416,306)
0–14 years: 26.0% (male 476,748; female 452,559) (1960 est)
15–64 years: 63.0% (male 1,125,525; female 1,123,206)
65 years and over: 11.0% (male 175,485; female 214,184)
0–14 years: 35.0% (male 423,253; female 408,204)  (1910 est)
15–64 years: 57.3% (male 640,835; female 722,443)
65 years and over: 7.7% (male 82,312; female 99,905)
0–14 years: 35.9% (male 288,510; female 280,249) (1860 est.)
15–64 years: 58.0% (male 446,391; female 472,405)
65 years and over: 6.1% (male 42,130; female 53,840)
;Median age:
total: 39.3 years.
Country comparison to the world: 55th
male: 38.6 years
female: 40 years (2018 est.)
total: 39.2 years Country comparison to the world: 57th
male: 38.4 years
female: 40 years (2017 est.)
total: 39.7 years (2010 est.)
male: 38.8 years
female: 40.5 years
;Birth rate:
12.2 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 160th
;Death rate:
8 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 90th
;Total fertility rate:
1.85 children born/woman (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 143rd
;Net migration rate:
5.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 24th
5.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
;Mother's mean age at first birth:
28.9 years
Note: data is calculated based on actual age at first births (2015 est.)
;Population growth rate:
0.9% (2018 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 117th
1.0% (2017 est.)
;Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 82 years.
Country comparison to the world: 22nd
male: 79.9 years
female: 84.1 years (2018 est.)
;Infant mortality rate:
total: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births Country comparison to the world: 221st
male: 2.8 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 2.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
;Ethnic groups: Norwegian 83.2% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.3%, other 8.5% (2017 est.)
;Languages: Norwegian and Sami
Bokmål (official written only), Nynorsk (official written only), North Sami, Lule Sami, and South Sami
Note: There is no standardized spoken Norwegian.
Sami is an official language in nine municipalities in Norway's three northernmost counties: Finnmark, Nordland, and Troms.
There are also Finnish-speaking minorities.
;Religions: Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran) 69.9%, Roman Catholic 3.0%, other Christians 3.8%, Muslim 3.3%, other religions 0.8%, unaffiliated and humanism 19.2% (2018)Church of Norway Statistics Norway 14.5.2019Members of Christian communities outside the Church of Norway.
Statistics Norway 3.12.2019Members of religious and life stance communities outside the Church of Norway, by religion/life stance.
Statistics Norway 3.12.2019
;Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 52.1 (2015 est.)
youth dependency ratio: 27.3
elderly dependency ratio: 24.8
potential support ratio: 4
Note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
;Urbanization:
urban population: 82.2% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 1.4% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)
Note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
;School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 18 years
male: 17 years
female: 19 years (2016)
;Unemployment, youth ages 15–24:
total: 10.4%.
Country comparison to the world: 125th
male: 11.7%
female: 9% (2017 est.)
;Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.1 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
under 15 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.0 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 1.0 male(s)/female
Religion
The Lutheran Church of Norway is the former state church and the vast majority remain at least nominal members.
Other religions do, however, enjoy religious freedom and have prospered with immigration in recent years, particularly Islam and Roman Catholicism.
Saint Olaf is the patron saint of Norway.
He is regarded by some as the eternal king and has a reputation and place in history unchallenged by any other Norwegian King for the last 1000 years.
Official languages
Norwegian (the written standards Bokmål and Nynorsk).
Uralic languages – South Sami, Lule Sami, North Sami and Kven – are additional official languages of some municipalities.
See also
Demographics of Svalbard
Aging of Europe
Notes
References
