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OSLO

How Oslo’s immigrant population has changed over time 

Oslo is the area of the country with the highest number of foreign residents, and recently reported figures have revealed how immigration has changed the city's population over time and how migration trends have changed. 

Pictured is Karl Johan Street.
Here's how much Oslo's immigration population has changed over the years. Pictured is Karl Johan Street.

Since the turn of the millennium, the number of immigrants in Oslo has increased from 94,7040 people to 236,682 last year, according to figures reported by the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten

Meanwhile, in the year 2000, the population of Norway’s largest city was 507,000 compared to 699,000 at the beginning of last year. In that time, foreign nationals have gone from making up 18 percent of the city’s population to one-third. 

Norway’s immigration statistics include both foreign nationals who have moved to the country and children born to two foreign parents in the immigration statistics. This is because not all children in Norway are automatically granted citizenship, meaning they will be classed as foreign residents and immigrants unless they obtain a Norwegian passport later in life. 

Alna, Stovner, Grünerløkka and Søndre Nordstrand are the districts in Norway which have gained the most foreign residents over the past 22 years. These areas have gained 16,000, 13,000 and 12,000 more inhabitants from another country or immigrant background since 2000. 

Immigration has done little to change the population of Ullern, Vestre Aker and Nordstrand, which have seen some of the lowest numbers of Immigrants move there. Overall, foreign residents have mainly chosen to live in the eastern parts of the city, with the exception of Frogner. 

In Oslo, citizens from Asia, including Turkey, made up the largest immigrant group, with over 62,985 of these nationals living in the city, according to figures from the national data agency Statistics Norway (SSB). 

Oslo’s largest immigrant group is Pakistanis, followed by those from Somalia. And while Pakistanis have remained the largest group of foreign nationals in Oslo, other immigrant populations have been growing faster in recent years. 

The number of Pakistanis has remained relatively stable. In 2010, there were 21,195 Pakistani citizens in Oslo. By 2022 this number had only grown by over 1,000 to 22,379. Similarly, the number of Swedes in Oslo has grown relatively slowly. In 2010 there were 10,327 Swedish nationals in Norway, compared to 11,430 in 2022. 

In both cases, the population of these nationals in Oslo peaked before later decreasing while still remaining above levels seen in 2010. 

Overall, the number of Nordic non-Norwegian citizens in Oslo has fallen by some 3,000 since 2015. 

Aftenposten writes that one likely explanation for the flat growth of Pakistanis in Oslo was a mix of reduced immigration and more nationals and their descendants becoming Norwegian citizens. 

Oslo’s fastest-growing immigrant group over the past 12 years has been nationals from Poland. Sine 2010, the number of Poles has grown by just under 7,000 to 16,207. This growth has seen them become Oslo’s third biggest group of foreign nationals. 

Somalians and Indians were the second and third fastest-growing immigrant populations in the capital. The number of Somalians grew by over 5,500 to 17,110 thousand, while Oslo’s Indian community nearly doubled from 3,683 to 7,143. Despite the population drop, Sri Lankans remain one of the ten largest immigrant groups in Oslo. 

Syrians, Eritreans, Romanians, Russians, Filipinos, Lithuanians and Spaniards were the other fastest-growing groups. Several of these groups have doubled and even tripled in population since 2010. 

Relatively few groups have seen their populations shrink over the past 12 years, with the exception of Sri Lankans, with the number of Sri-Lankan nationals in Oslo decreasing by almost ten percent. The number of Grenadians fell by 40 percent from ten to six. 

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OSLO

Everything you need to know about Oslo’s public transport network

Buses, trams, ferries and a metro system all make up Oslo's public transport system. Here's what you need to know to get about the Norwegian capital.

Everything you need to know about Oslo's public transport network

Being the Norwegian capital, it’s no surprise that Oslo has a robust public transport network. You can use a public transport ticket for everything from ferries and buses to trams and trains.

One company, Ruter, handles public transport for the city and the surrounding Akershus area.

Thankfully, you’ll only need a single app or travel card to get around the city. This applies to the different forms of public transport, too. You can go from a bus to a tram to a ferry without having to use a different app or purchase a different kind of ticket.

The Ruter app is the only place to buy tickets digitally, and it is available in English. This app also has integrated map features so you can find the best way to get where you need to be and what zones your ticket will cover.

When it comes to the zones themselves, there are five. The cost of a ticket increases as you travel across zones. However, the main thing to know is that zone one covers the entirety of Oslo itself, and the other zones extend into the surrounding areas of Oslo.

Furthermore, some sections of the public transport network, such as the metro, only operate in zone one, so you don’t need to worry when buying tickets.

Tickets

Ruter offers tickets for single journeys, 24 hours, a week, 30 days, or a year. For those commuting inside and out of Oslo, you can add additional zones to the ticket.

The single ticket currently costs 42 kroner for an adult travelling in one zone . There is a flexible scheme currently in place which makes single tickets cheaper the more frequently you buy them.

This discount resets every 30 days. There are also discounts for children, pensioners, and those in the Norwegian Armed Forces.

A single ticket is valid for 60 minutes and allows unlimited transfers. The ticket duration is extended for every extra zone one travels through. For example, this is handy if you are taking a regional train from the airport to the city centre.

Meanwhile, a 24-hour ticket costs 127 kroner, a monthly ticket is 897 kroner (but will soon be reduced), and an annual ticket is 8,996 kroner. The longer the duration of the ticket, the more money you will save.

Those caught travelling without a ticket will typically be fined 1,470 kroner, or 1,200 kroner if the fine is paid on the spot.

The different transport options

There are two kinds of buses in Oslo: the red ones that operate solely in the city and the green ones that shuttle people in and out of the greater Oslo region.

You can get on the red buses at any of the doors, and some of the green ones need you to show your ticket at the front door.

Buses don’t operate 24/7. However, some of the most important routes will have a nighttime schedule.

There are also six tram lines in Oslo, with around 99 stops and 130,000 daily passengers. The trams are suitable for those with mobility issues as the doors open at pavement level. Most lines remain within Oslo, but line 13 ends in Bekkestua in Bærum, one of the municipalities that borders Oslo.

Oslo’s metro, or T-bane, is popular with both commuters and leisure travellers. There are five metro lines, and all lines converge in the city centre via a shared tunnel. The metro line is particularly good at connecting the city to its forested areas, with plenty of hikes and trails branching off from metro stops.

Passenger ferries connect the city to the islands in the Oslofjord. These ferries are a stone’s throw from Oslo town hall at Aker Brygge. There are also commuter ferries connecting Oslo and towns like Nessoden and Drøbak.

Several commuter train lines exist in Norway. In recent years, these have been plagued by punctuality issues.

Regional trains in Norway carry the R designation (the R11, for example), and you can use Ruter tickets for this. An example is using a Ruter ticket to take the cheaper regional trains from the airport to Oslo rather than the express service.

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