Today, Statistics Norway presented population figures per 1.1.2024. It shows that we are 5,550,203 Norwegians per the fourth quarter of 2023. There is an increase of 16,621 in this quarter, and an increase of 61,219 during the whole of 2023. There was also a slight increase last year as well. But like this year, the increase was mainly due to refugees from Ukraine. The number of immigrants was 86,600, and was only higher in 2022, statistics from Statistics Norway show. In Northern Norway’s sixth largest municipality, Narvik, the population arrows have pointed in the wrong direction for many years. Population figures from Northern Norway Troms: 1,270 more inhabitants in 2023. Immigration: 3,608 Finnmark: 941 more inhabitants. Immigration: 1786 Nordland: 1997 more inhabitants. Immigration 5,067 Total in Northern Norway: 4,208 more inhabitants, where immigration accounts for 10,461 On average, 50 per cent of immigration in Norway is Ukrainian according to Statistics Norway, the figure is 60 per cent in Nordland. That is to say that without Ukrainian refugees, the real population development in Northern Norway would have been; Minus 2,068 Births: Nordland: -244 Troms: +215 Finnmark: -10 Here the numbers would also have decreased this year, if it hadn’t been for the refugees. That despite promises of industrial ventures and many Ukrainian refugees. – We are about 300 fewer residents in Narvik than we were on 1 January 2020. That alone gives us NOK 21 million less in the framework subsidy from the state, said the mayor of Narvik, Rune Edvardsen, from the podium during a municipal council meeting earlier this winter. At the same time, across the border in northern Sweden, several municipalities are experiencing large-scale population growth. Northern Sweden among the regions with the greatest population growth in the Nordic region. Here from Skellefteå, which gained more than 1,000 new residents last year. Photo: Ole-Christian Olsen / news Battery factories, mining and production of “green steel” have led to the purest Klondyke atmosphere. The battery factory with the name Northvolt has already been in production for a few years, and they are convinced that it has had a positive effect. – There are job vacancies and a lot of exciting things are happening here. That makes it attractive to live and work in northern Sweden today. Strong growth In Nordland, Ukrainians accounted for 60 per cent of immigration. In total, just over 3,000 refugees arrived from Ukraine in 2023. Without these, the county would have gone into the red and lost 1,043 inhabitants. The town of Skellefteå in the Västerbotten region increased the number of inhabitants by 1.4 per cent from 2022 to 2023. news visited the municipality with around 75,000 inhabitants this week. – There has been a completely unique transformation in the last 6-7 years. We are growing by a couple of thousand new residents a year. It is absolutely extreme, says municipal councilor Evelina Fahlesson from the Social Democrats party. – In the 1990s until 2010, we lost 5,000 inhabitants. Now the situation is reversed, says municipal councilor Evelina Fahlesson in Skellefteå. Photo: Ole-Christian Olsen / news The growth started after the establishment of the Northvolt battery factory in 2017. Now they are growing the most in Sweden – There was a common political agreement that we now invest more in schools and cultural life. We are talking about NOK 40 billion. We are the municipality that invests the most per head in Sweden. In northern Sweden, total investments of NOK 1,000 billion in northern Sweden are estimated in the coming years. – Many Norwegian municipalities have visited us here. They are very interested in what we have achieved here. – It means an incredible amount that the city is growing. It’s fun to be part of such a journey. Both the municipality and the business community have been good, Petra Umerus and Petra Pyhelle believe. The goal is 100,000 – We aim to have 100,000 inhabitants in 2050. We see that we are on our way to that goal, says Evalina Fahlesson. In the Norwegian industrial municipalities across the border, the situation is quite different. The battery factory of Freyr in Mo i Rana has been put on hold due to a more profitable investment in the USA. Matti Kataja is communications manager at the Swedish battery factory Northvolt. Photo: Ole-Christian Olsen / news In Narvik, it is currently relatively quiet around Aker Horizon’s large industrial plans. Edvardsen believes his own government must get on board. – We need Swedish conditions Storting representative Bård Ludvig Thorheim (H) recently wrote the column “We need Swedish conditions in Northern Norway” on Ytring. He praises the Swedish authorities for investing in increased power production, mineral hunting and mining projects, which provide products that the world is in demand right now. – This results in insane growth, which reverses the population trend. We would like to see that in Northern Norway as well, he says to news. That this has not happened is because Norway has not prioritized the way Sweden has, Thorheim believes. – We have the same natural resources as in northern Sweden. If we are to have industrial growth, the industrial players must see that the Norwegian authorities have as clear a plan for developing us in terms of power, minerals and industrial expertise as Sweden Food stalls outside the Northvolt factory in Skellefteå. Photo: Ole-Christian Olsen / news
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Increasing in the south, while municipalities in the north are struggling despite the influx of refugees – news Nordland
