Norway edition

Half of Oslo dwellers immigrants by 2040

Published: 13 Mar 2012 15:36 GMT+01:00 | Print version
Updated: 13 Mar 2012 16:56 GMT+01:00

Immigrants are set to make up almost half of Oslo’s population by 2040, according to Statistics Norway, new figures show, prompting an immediate call for more restrictive immigration policies from Progress Party leader Siv Jensen.

In less than 30 years from now, 70 percent of the Norwegian capital’s first and second generation immigrants will have their roots in countries outside the 30-member European Economic Area, Statistics Norway said.

The study, the first ever projection of immigration trends to be published in Norway, shows that the largest cities will also see the biggest upsurge in immigrant numbers.

Immigrants are defined in the statistics as either people who have either moved to Norway from another country, or the Norway-born children of two first-generation immigrants.

According to Statistics Norway’s most likely scenario, Oslo’s immigrant population will rise from today’s 28 percent to 47 percent in 2040.

In the country as a whole, the immigrant population is expected to jump from 12 to 24 percent, or from 600,000 people today to 1.5 million in 2040.

For Siv Jensen, the trend is deeply worrying.

“For far too long Norway has been an attractive country for asylum seekers and immigrants. The Progress Party believes it’s high time for more restrictive policies,” she said.

“The more immigrants there are the more difficult it will be to make integration work,” according to the 42-year-old head of the populist opposition party, which has long called for stricter immigration rules.

Jensen said the Progress Party wanted Norway to hand out fewer residence permits to immigrants. She also called for the country to tighten immigration policy loopholes.

For instance, she suggested that an immigrant marrying somebody from the same country of origin in Norway should not automatically be granted residency.

“We must admit that there are major differences in the types of integration challenges posed by different immigrants.

"Norway still has a major need for workers, and labour-market immigration from Eastern Europe presents completely different integration challenges than immigration from Eastern Africa,” said Jensen.

NTB/The Local (news@thelocal.no)

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2012-03-13 18:06:41 by nomania

Why are so many Europeans concerned about immigration? This bigotry is not going to help anyone. I'm all for security of a country but targeting specific non-European immigrant groups and having such hostile attitudes towards them is plainly wrong and hateful. A lot of Europeans have come to think themselves as more "civilized" or more "superior" to the other regions of the world and that is just their misconception. They are "civilized" in their own eyes, who are you to judge what is civilized and what is not? These acts of racism must be condemned and every citizen/immigrant should be respected and be seen as an equal!

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2012-03-13 23:25:24 by Blondebanger

It seems there is a reason why Oslo rhymes with Malmo.

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2012-03-13 23:25:47 by Blondebanger

It seems there is a reason why Oslo rhymes with Malmo.

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2012-03-14 02:21:03 by GeorgeBushman

"They are "civilized" in their own eyes, who are you to judge what is civilized and what is not?" Everybody must agree with this statement. For example, cannibalism is only a different sort of local diet.

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2012-03-14 04:55:09 by strixy

Ha ha ha, now they have woken up????

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2012-03-14 08:38:36 by Chupapinga

@nomaina- For you to even utter the word, "racism" in the same breath as a city which has suffered so much at the hands of Middle Eastern and North African rapists, is an absolute abomination. Now we find out that these people will be the dominant population in Oslo within 30 years. It's time to start mass deportations in this country.

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2012-03-14 10:21:33 by BourgeoisieBohme

I'm not even Norwegian and I agree that things have gotten our of control. As an american here to work, I'm shocked by the things I see in Oslo and even Stavanger. I accept that in America we have massive ghettos, homelessness, crime, drugs, and it's too late now to stop it. Norway still has a chance to turn this around before it becomes a snowball effect, too big to do anything about. This is a beautiful country with a proud and strong heritage and culture... and to see it disappearing day by day... sad.

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2012-03-14 13:12:42 by Susan

I agree with "Chupapinga" and "BourgeoisieBohme "

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2012-03-14 14:06:02 by vab16

Finally some common sence. This is way out of hand.

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2012-03-14 16:20:06 by Gerald

@nomania. It is not about racism and by the way what race is Islam. The problem is with immigrants who do not want to integrate but impose their backward,intolerant and supremacist seventh-century religion on the native people of Norway. Heck in Saudi Barbaria you can't even bring Bibles or wear crosses and you are not permitted to enter Mecca or Medina and there are huge sign boards saying no entry for non-Muslims". That is bigotry.

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2012-03-16 06:14:50 by nathan45

I think it is truly disgusting that the government and the people of Norway and other European nations would ever allow things to get to the level that in just a few decades half of Oslo and many other places will be immigrants. Does no one care about the future existence of the people who shaped the modern world? Imagine a world where our western beliefs, culture and ethnicity are over taken in the lands our people have inhabited for thousands of years. I believe that more should be done to protect our unique and beautiful race from extinction there are plenty of places where the other cultures of the world exist and probably always will exist why would we not want this future for our culture and race as well very sad in my opinion.

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2012-03-17 16:24:32 by Copywriter

http://tinyurl.com/86sthpy Pretty much says it all, doesn't it. Thank God I'm not a Norwegian, but I pitty your grandchildren.

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2012-03-18 15:51:27 by JanM1

Here's the most likely option. Immigration in Oslo rises and possibly in some other urban centres. Norwegians who don't like that then leave to areas of great natural beauty to enjoy the traditional lifestyle whilst living in a country fuelled by businesses that can only survive by employing foreigners - by the way that's just about everything from the oil industry to healthcare. The alternative is that immigration becomes an even bigger political issue. Politicians feel compelled to make immigration tougher. Norwegian business becomes even less competitive and the standard of living falls. I guess that could happen but it would leave the rest of the world looking at Norway and wondering what the hell is going on. Actually that probably happens anyway.......

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2012-03-19 00:51:04 by nathan45

@ JanM1 I strongly disagree your first idea is completly foolish and to be honest so is your seccond one. Reforms can be made so the country could cut immigration to a minimum and stay competitive. I think this would be alot better than just leting the native population be bred into extinction because some left leaning government thought that they could play god and decide what the future should hold for the people who lived on that land for thousands of years.

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2012-03-19 00:52:01 by nathan45

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2012-03-28 06:16:28 by Joely

Say hello to Sharia Law my friends!

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2012-03-28 06:16:28 by Joely

Say hello to Sharia Law my friends!

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2012-03-29 15:11:39 by proofteller

This is not immigration, it is invasion. Why are you giving your country away to people who will never intergrate? who have no intention to intergrate?, please do not listen to the do gooders or the political left, the invasion is insanity in action.

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2012-03-31 05:18:20 by nomania

Even though I am not for "deporting immigrants in massive numbers" and do believe that if Norway allows educated individuals, it will have a far better future than allowing uneducated people that have proven to cause conflict within the Norwegian community, I think that Norwegians should ultimately be the decision makers in what their society should accept as OK and a democratic government must listen to the voices of the vast majority of Norwegians. However, I do feel sickened by comments that pass bigoted remarks on immigrants that are usually stereotypical and are generalizations of a community as a whole based on isolated cases. Such is the attitude that is not based on human values and promotes only hatred. Acceptance is something that is hard to swallow in some societies...

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2012-04-07 12:19:20 by wbarmasai

I really think that the best way Europe can fight immigration is by refusing to fall to American propaganda in middle east and Arab world. personally, i have attended a language school in a small town in Europe and in our class, 90% of the learners are from Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya and Palestine. They all came to Europe by lorries or boats and have no passports or any ID. Europe is forced to absorb them. Meanwhile, US smiles at Europe as it becomes bankrupt. NATO , of which Greece, Spain, Portugal are members, spend so much money in useless Afghan wars, Libya invasion and soon Iran while they cannot spend a dime on their citizens. I was amused to see Portuguese going to beg in Angola and Brazil. The Breiviks should not be fighting a race war. They should start a political party, convince Norwegians on why Norway and EU looses and then rout the current government via elections. Then they can change the constitution to take Norway out of entangling alliances like NATO..... Meanwhile, boat loads of Libyans, Iraqis, Afghans etc keep landing on coasts of Italy, France, Greece, Spain.......KARMA!

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2012-04-17 16:33:36 by Icarusty

2012-03-14 16:20:06 by Gerald @nomania. It is not about racism and by the way what race is Islam. The problem is with immigrants who do not want to integrate ========= So why does Norway count the children of immigrants as immigrants? This is purely on racial grounds, not including Norwegian born people as Norwegian. We all know this is politispeak for "non whites just don't fit in"... the majority of immigrants want to - but are prevented from doing so from the host majority. They have just as much duty to assimlate these immigrants and their descendants as the immigrants do to integrate.

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2012-04-26 16:16:22 by nathan45

I dont support violence or hate but I dont think the government has the right to make people a minority in there own country if half of Oslo is immigrants by just 2040 imagin what the rest of Europe will look like by the time i have grandchildren.

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