# Norway (Somali diaspora)

> About 43,300 people of Somali background lived in Norway in 2020, 0.8% of the country, and about a third of them live in Oslo.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/diaspora/norway/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## Who lives there

Statistics Norway (SSB) counted 43,273 people of Somali background in 2020: 28,554 born in Somalia and 14,719 born in Norway to two Somali-born parents. About 36.5% live in Oslo ([Somalis in Norway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalis_in_Norway), citing SSB). Other main towns include Stavanger, Skien, Bergen, Bærum, Trondheim, Drammen, Kristiansand and Tromsø ([SSB](https://www.ssb.no/befolkning/artikler-og-publikasjoner/de-fleste-somaliere-bor-i-oslo)).

## Work and money

- **Work:** about 32.4% of Somalia-born people aged 15 to 74 were employed in 2016. Unemployment was about 7.5% in 2017. Only 11% of Somalia-born women worked 30 hours a week or more.
- **Housing:** 38% of Somali-background households are crowded, the highest of any group, against 20% of all immigrants and 5% of everyone else ([SSB, 2018](https://www.ssb.no/bygg-bolig-og-eiendom/artikler-og-publikasjoner/innvandrere-fra-somalia-bor-trangest)).
- **Money home:** Somalis in Norway sent about $177 million home in the first half of 2023, more than any other immigrant group listed ([Somalis in Norway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalis_in_Norway)).

## Who serves the community

The Storting and the national government. Municipalities, led by Oslo, run housing, schools and the introduction programme for newcomers. NAV handles work and welfare, and UDI handles immigration.

## What the community faces now

- **Crowded homes:** the highest crowding of any group (2018).
- **Schools abroad:** in 2019 the research group Fafo found many Somali young people had been sent to schools abroad. Authorities proposed cancelling the passports of children at risk.
- **Citizenship checks:** in 2015 and 2016 some people lost Norwegian citizenship after authorities found they were not from Somalia ([Somalis in Norway](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somalis_in_Norway)).
- **Money with no shared record:** large sums go home person to person, with no public view of what they achieve.

## Top needs

1. Paid work, especially for women.
2. A trusted, open channel for the large sums already sent home.
3. Records and documents families can rely on.
4. A healthy, open link to Somalia for young people.
5. Space for families in crowded homes, and company for isolated elders.

## What we don't know yet

Figures after 2020, Oslo district numbers and the names of community groups. If you know, use "Fix this page".

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