World Factbook
Norway
Kongeriket Norge
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
note
note: Sami has three dialects (Lule, North Sami, and South Sami) and is an official language in nine municipalities in the northernmost counties of Finnmark, Nordland, and Troms
Languages
Bokmal Norwegian (official), Nynorsk Norwegian (official), small Sami- and Finnish-speaking minorities
major-language sample(s)
Verdens Faktabok, den essensielle kilden for grunnleggende informasjon. (Norwegian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Church of Norway (Evangelical Lutheran - official) 67.5%, Muslim 3.1%, Roman Catholic 3.1%, other Christian 3.8%, other 2.6%, unspecified 19.9% (2021 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.05 male(s)/female
total population
1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.9 male(s)/female
Birth rate
10.35 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
8.6 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
40.1 years
total
41 years (2025 est.)
female
41.5 years
Population
male
2,780,972
total
5,509,733 (2024 est.)
female
2,728,761
Nationality
noun
Norwegian(s)
adjective
Norwegian
Tobacco use
male
12.6% (2025 est.)
total
12% (2025 est.)
female
11.3% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
note
note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
urban population
84% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
16.3% (male 461,979/female 438,243)
15-64 years
64.5% (male 1,820,692/female 1,734,818)
65 years and over
19.1% (2024 est.) (male 498,301/female 555,700)
Ethnic groups
Norwegian 81.5% (includes about 60,000 Sami), other European 8.9%, other 9.6% (2021 est.)
Child marriage
women married by age 15
0% (2022)
women married by age 18
0% (2022)
Dependency ratios
note
note: data include Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
total dependency ratio
55 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
25.3 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
3.4 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
29.6 (2024 est.)
Physician density
4.98 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
8.1% of GDP (2022)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
17.8% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
3.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
3.4 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.58 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
5.5% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
14.5% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
2.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total
1.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
1.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
0.57% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.77 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
most people live in the south; population clusters are found along the North Sea coast in the southwest and Skaggerak in the southeast; the interior areas of the north remain sparsely populated
Life expectancy at birth
male
81.3 years
female
84.6 years
total population
82.9 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
1 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
2.63 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
2.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
6.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.086 million OSLO (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
23.1% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
29.8 years (2020 est.)
note: data is calculated based on actual age at first births
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
57.4% (2021 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
18 years (2023 est.)
total
19 years (2023 est.)
female
20 years (2023 est.)