Police received nearly 35,000 reports of violence and abuse in the past year. One in six violent offences concerned domestic abuse.
Of the total of 35,000 cases acted upon, 20,000 were for violent offences, according to Statistics Norway (SSB).
There were 3,450 reported cases of domestic abuse, 3.5% more than the year before. The number has increased every year since 2006, when SSB began to record report rates of domestic abuse. In 2006, by comparison, there were 470 cases reported.
Domestic violence has been a police priority in recent years, which helps to explain some of the rise in figures.
4% more cases of violence reported
Overall, there was an increase of 4% in reported cases of bodily offences, and domestic abuse recorded in 2016 than the year before.
There were also 8,600 threats of violence, 4,650 cases of reckless behavior and stalking, and 810 muggings reported.
Taking the population growth in Norway into account, the level of reported violence and abuse has remained the same throughout
most of the 2000s.
But the growth in population has been slightly higher than the growth in the number of reported violence and abuse offences since 2014.
Worst statistics emanate from Oslo and Finnmark
As in previous years, Oslo and Finnmark recorded the highest levels of violence and abuse in 2016. There were 10.7 cases of violence and abuse per 1,000 residents in the capital, while the corresponding figure in Finnmark was 9.5.
The least reported violence was in Sogn og Fjordane, with 4.4 reported cases of violence and abuse offences per 1,000 residents.
Overall, the total number of reported crimes in Norway has fallen. The explanation is that there have been fewer thefts and drug offences perpetrated.
In 2016, there were a total of number of 336,500 offences reported nationwide.
That is 4.3% less than the year before, and 9.6% fewer than in 2014.
If population growth is taken into account, the level of reported crimes in 2016 was the lowest recorded in 24 years, according to Statistics Norway.
Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today
