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High refugee immigration

RefugeeRefugee.Photo: Tore Meek / Scanpix

The highest immigration growth in 2016 was among persons from Syria who, in the wake of the refugee crisis, ended up in Norway.

Around 9 500 Syrian citizens were granted protection in Norway in 2016. In addition, 1 500 Syrians arrived through family immigration last year.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported in 2016 that 65 million people have been displaced globally.

This figure is the highest since World War II. Around 30 000 asylum seekers arrived in Norway, with particularly large numbers from Syria.

It is only when an asylum seeker’s application is accepted and he/she is classified as a refugee in Norway that he/she is included in the population statistics.

The statistics on reasons for immigration show that 15 200 new refugees resided in Norway in 2016. This type of immigration increased by 64 per cent from 2015 to 2016.

In the past decade, refugees have accounted for 10–20 per cent of all non-Nordic immigrations. The corresponding figure in 2016 was 30 per cent.

Most from Syria

Syrian refugees constituted the largest group, with 9 500 immigrations. This corresponds to 63 per cent of all registered immigrations due to refuge in 2016. Citizens from Eritrea and Afghanistan were also large groups of refugees, with 1 800 and 1 700 immigrations respectively.

Increase in number of family immigrants of a refugee

A total of 16 500 persons immigrated to Norway for family reasons in 2016. Of these, 4 200 persons came to a refugee. The corresponding figure for 2015 was 3 600 persons.

Even though the number of family immigrants of refugees increased in 2016 compared to the previous year, this group still accounted for only 25 per cent of all family immigrations last year.

High portion of residents among refugees

The reason for immigration has a bearing on whether immigrants leave the country. Refugees emigrated to a very small extent. Of those who immigrated as refugees, 86 per cent were still living in the country on 1 January 2017.

 

Source: SSB / Norway Today