Society at a Glance 2024 - Country Notes: Norway

Spotlight on fertility trends

In 2022, 51 480 babies were born in Norway, corresponding to a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.41 children per woman, below the OECD average of 1.51.

Across the OECD on average, the TFR steadily declined from 1960 until 2002. There was a small fertility rebound in the 2000s until 2008, upon which the TFR dropped to an all-time low of 1.5 in 2022. In Norway, the TFR dropped rapidly from 3 children per woman in 1965, to 1.7 in 1983, but the TFR was close to 2 children per woman over the 1990‑2010 period. However, afterwards the TFR fell markedly and since the late 2010s it has been below the OECD average.

Figure 1. In recent year, total fertility rates in Norway have fallen below the OECD average

Number of children per woman aged 15 to 49, Norway and OECD average, 1960 to 2022

Source: Figure 1.1 in OECD (2024), Society at a Glance 2024, https://stat.link/vxdlnc.

Many factors affect fertility choices, including employment of both men and women, unemployment, financial support for families (e.g. paid parental leave and childcare supports) and housing costs (Figure 1.7, https://stat.link/8zu7m3 and Figure 1.14, https://stat.link/ois3k8). However other factors such as (financial) uncertainty as well as norms and attitudes also play a role. In many OECD countries, the desire to establish oneself in labour and housing markets have contributed to a delay of childbearing. In Norway, the mean age of mothers at childbirth rose from 29.3 years in 2000 to 31.6 years in 2022, slightly above the OECD on average (Figure 1.5, https://stat.link/163n2d).

The fall in TFRs is related to women having fewer children and/or none at all. Childlessness has been on the rise across the OECD, but there is cross-national variation in timing and extent. In Norway, the incidence of permanent childlessness has oscillated around 11‑12% for women born in 1935, 1955 and 1975 (Figure 1.3, https://stat.link/mvkw3b).

How does Norway compare?

Selection of indicators related to the chapter on fertility trends and other social indicators

Source: OECD (2024), Society at a Glance 2024, https://stat.link/vxdlnc.