Norway Population 2023 (Live)

Norway has a relatively consistent population growth year on year and the only slightly negative statistic is the fact that it has a fairly high percentage of people aged over 65,

A growth of immigration has also helped to swell numbers however and the CIA World Factbook estimates that current levels of growth will take the population of Norway to 7,032,687 by the year 2060.

Norway Population Growth

The growth rate in Norway has never been drastic in either direction. The highest annual growth rate they have ever seen was in 2015 when there was an increase of 1.25%. Although these numbers aren't indicative of huge growth, the growth has never been negative and the population numbers have long been relatively stable. The birth rate in Norway is lower than the worldwide average with 1.72 children being born to the average Norwegian woman. If the change in the population were dependent on this figure alone, the population might have begun to fall, but the number of immigrants entering the country has kept the numbers where they are. As of 2019, the annual growth rate in Norway was 0.89%, which adds roughly 50,000 people to the population each year.

Norway Population Projections

Since the all-time high in growth rate in 2015, the rate of change has been decreasing and this trend is expected to continue into the foreseeable future. Current projections believe that the annual growth rate will peak in 2020 at 0.94%, before slowing to 0.58% by 2050. Even though the growth rate is decreasing, the actual change in population annually should be pretty consistent if these predictions prove to be true. These numbers predict that the population of Norway will be 5,449,683 in 2020, 5,959,215 in 2030, 6,406,959 in 2040 and 6,801,515 by 2050.

Norway Area and Population Density

Norway is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe that has a landmass of 148,728 square miles (385,203 square kilometers), which ranks 62nd in the world in terms of sheer size. The country is made up of the northern portion of the Scandinavian peninsula, Jan Mayen Island and the archipelago of Svalbard and its mountainous coastline is broken up by fjords and thousands of islands. Norway shares its borders with Sweden, Finland, and Russia as well as the Barents, Norwegian, North and Skagerrak Seas. For every square mile of land, there is an average of 35 people living here, which converts to 14 individuals per square kilometer, making Norway only the 171st most densely populated country on the planet.

Largest Cities in Norway

With slightly over 80% of the population living in or around major cities, it is safe to say that Norway is a fairly urban country. Oslo is the capital of Norway as well as the most populated city, with more than 580,000 people living within the city limits, not including the metropolitan area. The metro area is estimated to have over a million residents. Oslo is where the majority of manufacturing, shipping, banking, and trade happen in Norway. It is the second most expensive city to live in after Tokyo. Located on the west coast, Bergen is the second-largest city, with 213,585 residents. Bergen has the biggest port in Norway and was the largest city in the country until 1830. Other sizable cities with populations in excess of 100,000 include Trondheim, Stavanger, and Bærum.

Norway Demographics

The official languages of Norway include Bokmal Norwegian and Nynorsk Norwegian, and some residents use Sami and/or Finnish languages as well. The ethnicities in Norway are recorded as Norwegian 83.2% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.3%, other 8.5% by the Factbook as well.

Based on those 2010 estimates, the median age overall was 39.7 years. This was divided between 38.8 years for men and 40.5 for women. These median ages have been updated in 2018 to 39.2 years of age, with a division of 38.4 years for males and 40 years for females.

Norway Religion, Economy and Politics

Religious people in Norway are mostly Christian, with 71.5% showing affiliations with Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran - official), 2.8% of people are Roman Catholic, and 3/9% practicing another denomination of Christianity. Muslims make up 2.9% of the Norwegian populous, 2% practice a different religion, and 16.8% of the population are unaffiliated with any faith. Like all people of Scandinavian origin, early Norwegians Norse Paganism. Missionaries brought Christianity to the area around the year 1000.

Statistics released by the CIA World Factbook give us an overall picture of age breakdowns and life expectancy within Norway itself.

Based on population estimates from 2011, the Factbook claims that 18.8% of the Norway population of the time were aged between 0 and 14 years. In addition, it was confirmed that 66.2% of the country were between 15 and 64 years of age while 15% of the people of Norway were aged 65 and over in 2011.

In 2018, these numbers were updated to 18% of the population is 0-14 years of age, 41% are 25-54 years of age, and 16.71% are over the age of 65.

Turning to life expectancy figures, the most recent estimate was given in 2010 when it was shown that the average figure was 81.04 years which could be divided between 78.85 years for males and 83.15 years for females.

Norway’s Population History

Norway is an ancient country and it is claimed that as far back as 1665, there were already 440,000 people living here. Steady growth through the ages has continued to the point where the Norway population in 2014 now stands at approximately 5,091,246.

Historical landmarks were reached in 1825, when the population of Norway hit 1,051,318 and thereby exceeded one million for the first time in the country’s history and in 1900, the numbers had reached 2,240,032.

Throughout the 20th century, population growth was steady and on a census by census basis, it generally increased by between 0.5% and 1% annually.