Low population growth continues in Norway

A further reduction in immigration and a small decrease in the number of births in Norway resulted in low population growth in the third quarter, news agency NTB reported Saturday.

The population grew by 12,526 in the third quarter as a result of an excess of births of 5,658 and net migration of 6,868, according to Statistics Norway, the country's statistics bureau.

A total of 16,800 persons immigrated to Norway in the third quarter, which was 3,800 fewer than the same quarter of 2016, and the lowest figure since the third quarter of 2006.

According to Statistics Norway, the main reason is lower labor immigration from the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) countries.

Until the end of the third quarter, Norway had registered 31,971 more citizens this year, which brought the country's population to 5,290,288.