section_path: Demographics/Migration
section_name: Migration
paragraph_text: Migration
  
  Particularly in the 19th century, when economic conditions were difficult in Norway, tens of thousands of people migrated to the United States and Canada, where they could work and buy land in frontier areas. Many went to the Midwest and Pacific Northwest. In 2006, according to the US Census Bureau, almost 4.7 million persons identified as Norwegian Americans, which was larger than the population of ethnic Norwegians in Norway itself. In the 2021 Canadian census, 466,500 Canadian citizens identified as having Norwegian ancestry.
  
  In 2024, approximately 931,081 individuals (16.8% of the population) of the population of Norway were immigrants. Of these, 386,559 (41.5%) had a Western background (Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand), while 544,521 (58.5%) had a non-Western background (Asia, Africa, South and Central America). 221,459 individuals (4% of the population) were children of immigrants, born in Norway.
  
  The largest groups of immigrants have come from Poland, Lithuania, Sweden and Syria, as well as Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
  
  Immigrants have settled in all Norwegian municipalities. In 2013, the cities with the highest share of immigrants were Oslo (32%) and Drammen (27%). According to Reuters, Oslo is the "fastest growing city in Europe because of increased immigration". In recent years, immigration has accounted for most of Norway's population growth.