Population growth is on its way down in Norway

BabyBaby.Photo: pixabay.com

There is a decline in population growth in Norway that in the long term, a population decline can not be avoided. Fertility is also on the way down among immigrant women.

 

The figures from Statistics Norway are clear, in order to avoid a population decline in Norway for the future; the fertility rate, which is the number of children every woman within child-baring age (between the ages of 15 and 49) should be at 2.06.

By 2016 the fertility rate was 1.71, ie 0.35 below the ideal average. Population growth has decreased gradually every year since 2009, when the fertility rate was 1.98 children per woman.

Although more of the children born in Norway are to immigrant mothers.  The fertility rate in the group of immigrant women has also actually decreased, SSB reports.

Admittedly, it is immigrant women that are increasing the proportions of children born in Norway, about 27 percent of newborns in 2016 had a mother who was an immigrant, against 15 percent ten years ago – but this is due to the influx of immigrants to the country and that is therefore a natural increase.

The fertility rate for immigrants is at 1.86 while for the rest of the population its 1.67 – thus not a very big difference.

“Although currently its the group of immigrant women that are having more children in Norway, their contribution to overall population growth is relatively small,” SSB writes.

The largest groups of newborns having both immigrant parents are from Poland, Somalia and Lithuania. Every fifth newborn in Norway last year had two immigrant parents.

 

©  NTB Scanpix / Norway Today