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Ukrainian refugees helped boost Norwegian population in the second quarter

A large increase in immigration from Ukraine helped offset a low number of births and contributed to an overall growth in the population, figures from Statistics Norway released on Thursday show.

Published: 18 August 2022 10:27 CEST

Pictured are people on Karl Johan Street in central Oslo.

Norway's population grew during the second quarter. Pictured are people on Karl Johan Street. Photo by Gunnar Ridderström on Unsplash

At the end of the second quarter, Norway’s population was 5,455,600, new figures from national data agency Statistics Norway (SSB) show.

This correlates to population growth of around 20,000 during the second quarter. The figures for the second quarter are the first time the population has risen above 15,000 during the same period since 2011.

Part of the reason for the population growth, according to Statistics Norway, is the influx of Ukrainian refugees into the country due to the war in Ukraine.

“The number is unusual, but not unexpected, due to the war in Ukraine and the refugees from there,” Magnus Haug, adviser at Statistics Norway, said in a report on the figures

In total, 26,100 people immigrated to Norway during the second quarter, with the number of people leaving Norway totalling 8,400.

Norway’s population grew despite an almost record low number of babies being born during the period.

“Figures for both the 1st and 2nd quarter of 2022 show that the normal development of recent years with falling birth rates is back. In the second quarter, 13,300 children were born, the lowest for a second quarter during the 25 years Statistics Norway has kept such quarterly statistics,” Haug said.

The birth surplus- births minus deaths- was at a 20-year low too. The birth surplus during the 2nd quarter was 2,400.

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Norway's immigration authority closes 1,000 cases into suspected cheating

The Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) has dismissed more than 1,000 asylum and immigration cases after it had been told to reduce the queue of cases by the Ministry of Justice, public broadcaster NRK reports.

Frode Forfang, director of UDI, told NRK that the UDI chose to close cases where there were suspicions that false information had been provided to prioritise what it considered to be the most pressing and serious cases .

“We were in a situation where a large number of cases were created, but our capacity was not proportionate to the number of cases. This meant that we did not get a good enough grip on the matters that we believe are the most serious. At the same time, it led to a good number of these cases becoming very old,” he said.

“Many people lived in uncertainty for a long time because we did not have the capacity,” he added.

The UDI also decided last year that cases older than three years old would not be reopened, according to the report from NRK.

Figures from the UDI provided to the broadcaster show that 78 people have been deported from Norway due to false information submitted with their asylum cases over the past six years.

In recent years, the rules for deporting those who have provided false information in asylum applications have been softened.

Over the last six years, nearly 900 people in Norway have received a new residence permit after their original one was withdrawn after the UDI had uncovered falsehoods in the original applications.

Forfang said it was important for the UDI to focus on cases where the applicant would likely be deported.

“We think that it is more important to work on those cases where we believe that the person in question may end up having to leave Norway, rather than those cases where the person in question will anyway be allowed to stay in Norway through a new permit,” Forfang said.

The UDI has previously told The Local that it had its budget cut. The directorate warned that this could mean longer waiting times for residence, asylum and citizenship in Norway.

“These budget cuts will reduce the UDI’s ability to process cases and respond to inquiries efficiently. A decrease in capacity to process cases may lead to extended waiting times for residency and citizenship applications, although this will also depend on the volume of cases received,” Beate Sveen, the UDI’s Director of Finance, told The Local last month.

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