Demographic Overview
Norway has been inhabited since around the 10th millennium BC. The Saami, who today inhabit part of northern Scandinavia, are among the descendants of these first inhabitants of the Nordic lands. Norway is two-thirds the size of France, with a population of just 5.4 million. With a very low population density (13.94 inhabitants/km²), Norway has vast uninhabited spaces, although isolated farms and hamlets can be found throughout the country. Overpopulation is therefore an unknown problem here, even in urban areas where the majority of the population lives, such as the capital Oslo, which has the highest concentration of inhabitants (1.5 million). The three other largest cities are on the west coast: Bergen (285,900), Trondheim (279,000) and Stavanger (145,000). Population growth is fairly low (0.70%/year), as is the fertility rate (1.53 children/woman). Unemployment in Norway is very low (around 4% in 2021). Norwegians can retire at the age of 62, but a so-called "flexible" system encourages later retirement, which many Norwegians do. The later you retire, the higher your pension. Thanks to nature, wealth and technology, life expectancy is around 83 years in this country, whose healthcare system is one of the best in the world.
Immigration
Today, the population has become relatively diversified, with the gradual arrival of people of different nationalities from both developed and developing countries. In 2023, 86,589 people immigrated to Norway, bringing the total number of immigrants to 877,226, including 499,152 from the European Economic Area (EEA) (Statistics Norway - ssb.no). Quota systems for the reception of migrants enable Norway to properly welcome migrants who arrive at the end of a sometimes long and difficult journey! The government has put in place integration strategies aimed at giving refugees and other immigrants more opportunities to participate in active and community life, and reinforcing education and training measures. Training in Norwegian culture, values and language has been compulsory for asylum seekers in reception centers since September 2018. There are many companies and associations to promote integration, such as Moving Mamas (movingmamas.no), founded by Kirstine Holst, which enables first-generation immigrant women, mostly refugees, to enter the world of work. Unemployment is higher among immigrant populations, leading to greater inequality.
The Norwegian language in a few words
Norwegian is the Scandinavian branch of the Germanic language family, descended from Old Norse, the language of Scandinavia since the Middle Ages, and closely resembling present-day Icelandic. The Germanic languages are themselves a subfamily of the Indo-European languages (French is part of the Romance languages, another subfamily of the Indo-European languages).
Today, there are two official Norwegian written languages:
bokmål ("the language of books"), derived from Riksmål, the Dano-Norwegian language that spread under Danish rule. It is used by around 85% of the population
nynorsk, from landsmål. It is used more in the west and north of the country. Around Bergen, for example, the "r" is pronounced in the French style (whereas in the rest of the country it's rolled), which is thought to have originated in trade with France.
There are many other dialects spoken in different regions, but on the whole everyone understands each other and Norwegian identities are shaped in this way. As is often the case, distant dialects are also linked to the country's topography, which made contact between different communities difficult.
The Norwegian language is what it is today, thanks to the work of Ivar Andreas Aasen (writer, poet and linguist 1813-1896), who criss-crossed Norway in the mid-19th century to develop an independent, national Norwegian language. At the time, Danish was imposed, and language issues were the subject of much debate, since speaking the language of the Danish "oppressor" was tantamount to setting aside one's own language, identity and origins. Ivar Andreas Aasen systematically studied the various dialects and published a grammar and dictionary of Norwegian popular speech. He is considered the father of landsmål, which gave rise to today's Nynorsk.
Minority peoples in Norway
The Sami. Some historians, archaeologists and anthropologists consider the Saami to be the original inhabitants of northern Norway. Today, the population is estimated at 400,000, living mainly in northern Norway. Beware of the pejorative term "Lapp", which derives from the Swedish word lapp, meaning "rag-wearer". The Saami language is a branch of the Finno-Ugric language family, and thus differs greatly from Norwegian. Several dialects coexist and are recognized by the Norwegian government as official languages, used orally and in writing by the Sami people. Outlawed in the early 20th century, this language and people are now legally recognized by Norway.
The Jews. Until 1851, Jews were forbidden to enter Norway. Since then, 1,800 Jews have settled here, mainly in Oslo and Trondheim. But from late 1942 until the end of the war, under the Quisling government, around 700 Jews were deported to Auschwitz. Today, the Jewish population is around 1,000.
The Kvenes. Finnish herders and fishermen who immigrated to northern Norway in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their language is very close to Finnish. Outlawed until the 1970s, Kvene was granted minority language status in 2005. There are around 4,000 speakers, mainly in the far north of Norway.
Roma. There are around 500 Roma living in several towns.
Skogfinns (literally "Forest Finns"). Of Finnish origin, they emigrated to the forests of eastern Norway and central Sweden between the late 16th and early 17th centuries. There are no statistics on their numbers, which are small. The Norsk Skogfinsk Museum is located in the municipality of Grue. Norwegian law stipulates that everyone has the right to learn their minority language, and provision is made for bilingual education for those who wish to do so.
