Norway: Somalis, Afghans and Iraqis top list of new citizens

Norway: Somalis, Afghans and Iraqis top list of new citizens

The original article's headline is a bit misleading, since the three groups together make up about 30% of new citizens.

Via Views and News from Norway:

Norway attracted 14,300 new citizens last year and around 2,100 came from Somalia, which ranked as the largest single group of immigrants taking on Norwegian nationality. More than half of all Norway’s new citizens are women. 

(source)

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Belgium: 60% immigrants by 2060

Belgium: 60% immigrants by 2060

Via VRT:

An immigration report by think-tank Itinera says that 25% of the people in Belgium have at least one parent born abroad.

Half a million people immigrated to Belgium in the last decade, 4.5% of the population.  "There total there are about 10% foreigners, 7.5% Belgians of immigrant origin and 7.5% are 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants," says researcher Laurent Hanseeuw.  "That doesn't mean that those 25% aren't Belgians, but it's always interesting to show that the proportion is much greater than 50 years ago, and that it will certainly grow."

According to official figures, just 3% are registered as foreigners.  Itinera says that because so many people are cut from those figures, there's is a systematic under-estimation

"Our country has become a true migration nation," says Hanseeuw.  "By 2060, 60% of the population will be of foreign origin."  But the immigration policy is not prepared for it.

Hanseeuw says the policy too often concentrates on immigrants who have just arrived.  An integration policy that falls short.  "If you see the figures, there should be a more horizontal policy for almost all Belgians, instead of the small target group which is currently reached.  It's important to find a broad consensus about how we can live together in our country."

See also: Flanders: 25% of children are of foreign origin

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Flanders: 25% of children are of foreign origin

Flanders: 25% of children are of foreign origin

Via HLN:

The number of Turks and Moroccans in Flanders is grossly underestimated, according to a new study by the Flemish government.

7% have foreign nationality, but many immigrants naturalize and their children are considered Belgians. If the former nationality of the parents is taken into account, 15% of the people in Flanders in 2011 were of foreign origin. Among children 0-5, 25% are of foreign origin.

Most immigrants come from the Netherlands, Morocco and Turkey, with Italy far behind in 4th place. Most Dutch live along the border, South-Europeans and Turks in Limburg and Moroccans in Antwerp and Brussels.

Researchers Edith Lodewijckx and Jo Noppe conclude that the number of people of foreign origin is 2.2 times higher than the number of foreign nationals. This underestimation factor goes up to 3.4% among youth younger than 17.

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Norway: Immigrants ‘save’ outlying areas

Norway: Immigrants ‘save’ outlying areas

Via Views and News from Norway:

(...)

Many Norwegian communities far from Oslo see these new settlers as their hope for the future of regions otherwise threatened by depopulation.

Newspaper Aftenposten reported over the weekend that fully 118 municipalities in Norway would have registered population declines last year if it weren’t for the immigrants moving in. Just as Norwegian and other European immigrants helped populate desolate areas of the US Midwest and prairie in the 1800s, asylum seekers and immigrants are playing an important role in Norway’s “district politics” of today.

(source)

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Oslo: Mayor welcomes immigrant boom

Oslo: Mayor welcomes immigrant boom

Via the Local:

Oslo’s mayor Fabian Stang has said he is unconcerned by statistics showing that immigrants will make up half of Oslo’s population three decades from now.

(...)

The mayor pointed out that 2040 remains a distant point in time: by then, many immigrants will have lived in Norway for almost 100 years.

“It’s an interesting question as to how long one should be considered an immigrant. For me, the most important thing is to be able to provide all immigrants with the best possible schools so they can receive a good education and get a job. It’s then of lesser importance what skin colour, religion or sexual orientation one has,” said Stand.

(source)

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Oslo: 47% immigrants by 2040

Oslo: 47% immigrants by 2040

Statistics Norway estimates Oslo's immigrant population in 2040 will be between 40% to 56%, most probably 47%.

Via the Local:

Immigrants are set to make up almost half of Oslo’s population by 2040, according to Statistics Norway, new figures show, prompting an immediate call for more restrictive immigration policies from Progress Party leader Siv Jensen.

In less than 30 years from now, 70 percent of the Norwegian capital’s first and second generation immigrants will have their roots in countries outside the 30-member European Economic Area, Statistics Norway said.

(...)

According to Statistics Norway’s most likely scenario, Oslo’s immigrant population will rise from today’s 28 percent to 47 percent in 2040.

In the country as a whole, the immigrant population is expected to jump from 12 to 24 percent, or from 600,000 people today to 1.5 million in 2040.

(source)

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France: Sarkozy says 'we have too many foreigners'

France: Sarkozy says 'we have too many foreigners'

Via AFP (h/t DW):

PRESIDENT Nicolas Sarkozy says there are too many immigrants in France, as the country's presidential election campaign becomes caught up in issues of religion and identity.

Defending a re-election campaign promise to cut the number of new arrivals in half, Mr Sarkozy bluntly declared that France's attempts to integrate foreign arrivals into its culture and society had become paralysed.

"Our system of integration is working more and more badly, because we have too many foreigners on our territory and we can no longer manage to find them accommodation, a job, a school," Mr Sarkozy said.

(source)

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