New in Norway

• Why do people move to other countries? What wishes could they have for life in the new country?
• What did you know about Norway before you came here? Where did you get the information from? Was the information correct?
• If you compare the country you came from with Norway, what do you think the biggest similarities are? What are the biggest differences?
• What do you think a typical life in Norway is like?
• What do you actually know about Norwegians?

People have always moved and settled in new places and new countries. There may be different reasons for this. Some move because of their financial situation, work or love, others move because of war. Some people are adventurous and just want a change, or they want to study at a particular university.

Going into 2024, 5.5 million people live in Norway. More than one million of them were born abroad or have parents who were born abroad. That constitutes approx. 20 per cent of the population of Norway. Around half of the immigrants in Norway have Norwegian citizenship.

By today’s standards, people in Norway were very poor around 100 years ago. However, although people were poor, Norway still had the highest life expectancy in the world. Norway is a rich country today. The standard of living is one of the best in the world. Everyone lives different lives, but there are nonetheless many similarities between the people who live here.

• Most people have adequate finances. They own or rent their home, they have enough food and clothes, and they even have some money left over.
• The welfare state provides help and services to people when they need them.

Source: Statistics Norway