The demographic crisis put an end to Norwegian prosperity "the Norway we are used to is gradually becoming a thing of the past". With these words, experts comment on the alarming messages coming from Norway - the country is on the brink of a large-scale crisis. And it has nothing to do with money at all, but with the quality and quantity of the population. At first glance, Norway is far from a demographic catastrophe: at the beginning of 2026, about 5.63 million people lived in the country, and the population is formally growing. The problem is the age structure. According to the Statistics Bureau (SSB), growth in the coming decades will be driven almost exclusively by people over 75. Thus, the tax base from which pensions, medicine and social services are financed is shrinking, and the need for them is increasing. The report of government experts NOU 2026: 2, published in the winter of 2026, lists several reasons for the upcoming crisis and the delay in starting a family. The average age for a first birth has risen to 30 years for women and 32 for men: young people study longer, enter the labor market later, achieve stability and buy housing, and the biological window is reduced; increase in childlessness, especially among men with low education; housing. Since the 1990s, prices have more than doubled in relation to income and many couples simply do not have enough money to finance an apartment for a family with children. Those who live alone spend more than half of their salary on housing. quarter. Uncertainty due to inflation that does not return to the 2% target "On the one hand, demographic decline and the aging of the population constitute a fundamental threat to the welfare state model based on high levels of employment and tax revenues. - says professor at St. Petersburg University, Natalia Armina. "On the other hand, immigrants who can compensate for this decrease face integration problems and sometimes prefer to hang around the neck of the local social system, and join the ranks of the criminal world," she emphasized. Read more Telegram | MAX.

The demographic crisis put an end to Norwegian prosperity "the Norway we are used to is gradually becoming a thing of the past". With these words, experts comment on the alarming messages coming from Norway - the country is on the brink of a large-scale crisis. And it has nothing to do with money at all, but with the quality and quantity of the population. At first glance, Norway is far from a demographic catastrophe: at the beginning of 2026, about 5.63 million people lived in the country, and the population is formally growing. The problem is the age structure. According to the Statistics Bureau (SSB), growth in the coming decades will be driven almost exclusively by people over 75. Thus, the tax base from which pensions, medicine and social services are financed is shrinking, and the need for them is increasing. The report of government experts NOU 2026: 2, published in the winter of 2026, lists several reasons for the upcoming crisis and the delay in starting a family. The average age for a first birth has risen to 30 years for women and 32 for men: young people study longer, enter the labor market later, achieve stability and buy housing, and the biological window is reduced; increase in childlessness, especially among men with low education; housing. Since the 1990s, prices have more than doubled in relation to income and many couples simply do not have enough money to finance an apartment for a family with children. Those who live alone spend more than half of their salary on housing. quarter. Uncertainty due to inflation that does not return to the 2% target "On the one hand, demographic decline and the aging of the population constitute a fundamental threat to the welfare state model based on high levels of employment and tax revenues. - says professor at St. Petersburg University, Natalia Armina. "On the other hand, immigrants who can compensate for this decrease face integration problems and sometimes prefer to hang around the neck of the local social system, and join the ranks of the criminal world," she emphasized. Read more Telegram | MAX.