Population (national level) (demo_pop)

National Reference Metadata in Euro SDMX Metadata Structure (ESMS)

Compiling agency: Statistics Norway


Eurostat metadata
Reference metadata
1. Contact
2. Metadata update
3. Statistical presentation
4. Unit of measure
5. Reference Period
6. Institutional Mandate
7. Confidentiality
8. Release policy
9. Frequency of dissemination
10. Accessibility and clarity
11. Quality management
12. Relevance
13. Accuracy
14. Timeliness and punctuality
15. Coherence and comparability
16. Cost and Burden
17. Data revision
18. Statistical processing
19. Comment
Related Metadata
Annexes (including footnotes)
 



For any question on data and metadata, please contact: Eurostat user support

Download


1. Contact Top
1.1. Contact organisation

Statistics Norway
1.2. Contact organisation unit

Division for population statistics
1.5. Contact mail address

Statistics Norway

Division for population statistics

Postboks 1400 Rasta

NO-2225 Kongsvinger

NORWAY


2. Metadata update Top
2.1. Metadata last certified 14/02/2024
2.2. Metadata last posted 14/02/2024
2.3. Metadata last update 14/02/2024


3. Statistical presentation Top
3.1. Data description

Data and metadata are transmitted to Eurostat by the Member States in the framework of the Unified Demographic Data Collection which is in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 and Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 and their implementing regulations.

This Euro SDMX Metadata Structure is used for the purpose of quality reporting. The definition of the quality concepts and guidelines are described in the European Statistical System Handbook for Quality Reports.

 
3.2. Classification system

The regional breakdown of the Member States in the regional demographic tables is done under the most recent NUTS classification. There are agreements between Eurostat and Candidate countries as well as between Eurostat and EFTA countries, for which statistical regions have been coded in a way that resembles NUTS.

For more information on the versions in force, please see: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/nuts/.
3.3. Coverage - sector

Not applicable.
3.4. Statistical concepts and definitions
3.4.1 Statistical concepts and definitions used in the statistics transmitted to Eurostat
  1.Usually Resident Population  2. Legal Residence Population  3. Registered Residence Population 4. Other 
Population      X  
Live births      X  
Deaths      X  
Immigrants      X  
Emigrants      X  
Acquisitions of citizenship      X  
Loss of citizenship     Not applicable.
Legally induced abortions     Not applicable.
Late foetal deaths      X  
Infant deaths      X  
Marriages      X  
Divorces      X  

 

3.4.2 Statistical concepts and definitions used in the statistics disseminated in the National Statistical Institute's website
Population Resident population in the Population register, with one month waiting for delayed notifications.
Live births Births registered in the Population register, with one month waiting for delayed notifications, and including all the lag.
Deaths Deaths registered in the Population register, with one month waiting for delayed notifications, and including all the lag.
Immigrants Immigration events registered in the Population register, with one month waiting for delayed notifications, and including all the lag.
Emigrants Emigration events registered in the Population register, with one month waiting for delayed notifications, and including all the lag.
Acquisitions of citizenship Acquistions of citizenship registered in the Population register, with one month waiting for delayed notifications, and including all the lag.
Loss of citizenship Not available.
Legally induced abortions Not available.
Late foetal deaths Not available.
Infant deaths Not available.
Marriages Marriages registered in the Population register, with one month waiting for delayed notifications, and including all the lag.
Divorces Marriages registered in the Population register, with one month waiting for delayed notifications, and including all the lag.

 

3.4.3 Differences in statistical concepts and definitions between the statistics transmitted to Eurostat and those disseminated in the National Statistics Institute's website
Population

'Country of birth' is a little different.
Live births 'Country of birth' is a little different.
Deaths 'Country of birth' is a little different.
Immigrants 'Country of birth' is a little different.
Emigrants 'Country of birth' is a little different.
Acquisitions of citizenship 'Country of birth' is a little different.
Loss of citizenship Not available.
Legally induced abortions Not available.
Late foetal deaths Not available.
Infant deaths Not available.
Marriages The alternative “the man or the woman is resident” is chosen. Only different sex marriages.
Divorces The alternative “the man or the woman is resident” is chosen. Only different sex divorces.
3.5. Statistical unit

In stock population statistics: person.

In event (flow) statistics: event.
3.6. Statistical population
  Statistical population
Population  See 3.4.
Live births  See 3.4.
Deaths  See 3.4.
Immigrants  See 3.4.
Emigrants  See 3.4.
Acquisitions of citizenship  See 3.4.
Loss of citizenship  Not available.
Legally induced abortions  Not available.
Late foetal deaths  See 3.4.
Infant deaths  See 3.4.
Marriages  See 3.4.
Divorces  See 3.4.
3.7. Reference area

Population, live births and deaths data are available at national and regional level of geographical detail.

Norway.

When the area of Svalbard is included in “Norway” in ordinary statistics it is always specified. If there is no specification, it is not included. 

However, those of the population of Svalbard who are registered as residents in Norway are always included in the Norwegian population. Other residents of Svalbard are not. In the special Svalbard statistics, however, all actual residents of Svalbard are included.

Norwegian dependencies are unpopulated, and never included in “Norway”.
3.8. Coverage - Time

Dependant on the variable. In general, the time from the 1960's until yesterday are covered by electronic data.
3.9. Base period

Not applicable.


4. Unit of measure Top

Data is collected at unit (person or event) level.


5. Reference Period Top

The reference date for stock data is 1 January (=31 December the previous year for all variables except administrative geographical units (if borders have been changed)).

The reference period for event statistics is the calendar year referred to in the statistics.  The reference year may deviate from the year when the event occurred.

The reference period for special migration data is the calendar year the migration occurred.

 

 


6. Institutional Mandate Top
6.1. Institutional Mandate - legal acts and other agreements

Statistics Norway's activities are based on those terms and limits set by Norwegian and international laws, regulations and principles in the statistics area. Statistics Norway's requirements for official statistics is based on the Statistics Act, which lays down the formal framework for all Norwegian official statistics, and those requirements developed in international collaborations.

The Statistics Act stipulates that Statistics Norway is the central body for preparing and disseminating official statistics.

Statistics Norway is subject to supervisory guidelines and financial frameworks set for its business at any time by the Government and the Storting (National Assembly). Still, the Statistics Act stipulates that Statistics Norway is an independent institution in its field, including comprehensive research activity. This situation means that Statistics Norway:

— is responsible for the total statistical product within the guidelines and budgets set by superior bodies;

— determines the statistical methods which are to form the basis for the preparation of given statistics;

— is responsible for how and when statistics are published.

 
6.2. Institutional Mandate - data sharing

Not applicable.


7. Confidentiality Top
7.1. Confidentiality - policy

According to The Norwegian Statistics Act, Article 2.6, information collected by any prescribed obligation to provide information, or which is given voluntarily, shall under no circumstances be published in such a way that it can be traced back to the supplier of any data or any other identifiable individual to the detriment of the person concerned.
The general policy is that tables with less than three units in a group (cell) should not be published if this can lead to disclosure. Cells with less than three in frequency tables do not necessarily lead to disclosure.
7.2. Confidentiality - data treatment

None.


8. Release policy Top
8.1. Release calendar

https://www.ssb.no/en/kommende-publiseringer
8.2. Release calendar access

https://www.ssb.no/en/kommende-publiseringer
8.3. Release policy - user access

https://www.ssb.no/en/statbank


9. Frequency of dissemination Top

Nationally: quarterly (core statistics only) and annually.


10. Accessibility and clarity Top
10.1. Dissemination format - News release

https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning

 
10.2. Dissemination format - Publications

No publications.
10.3. Dissemination format - online database

National statistics: https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning.

 

 
10.4. Dissemination format - microdata access

https://www.ssb.no/en/data-til-forskning
10.5. Dissemination format - other

Not relevant.
10.6. Documentation on methodology
  Documentation on methodology
Population http://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/folkemengde. Further documentation is found in the data programmes.
Live births http://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/fodte. Forther documentation is found in the data programmes.
Deaths http://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/dode. Further documentation is found in the data programmes.
Immigrants http://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/flytting. Further documentation is found in the data programmes.
Emigrants http://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/flytting. Further documentation is found in the data programmes.
Acquisitions of citizenship https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/statsborger. Furhter documentation is found in the data programmes.
Loss of citizenship Not available.
Legally induced abortions Not available.
Late foetal deaths http://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/fodte. Further documentation is found in the data programmes.
Infant deaths http://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/dode. Further documentation is found in the data programmes.
Marriages https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/ekteskap. Further documentation is found in the data programmes.
Divorces https://www.ssb.no/en/befolkning/statistikker/ekteskap. Further documentation is found in the data programmes.
Surface in km2 Not available.
10.7. Quality management - documentation

See 10.6. Documentation on methodology.


11. Quality management Top
11.1. Quality assurance
   Quality assurance
Citizenship  The definition stated in Article 2.1. of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 is applied.
Country of birth  The definition stated in Article 2.1. of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 is applied as far as possible. Precise definition is not known for all persons. The definition varies depending on when the information was registered.
Country of birth of the mother  The definition stated in Article 2(c) of Regulation (EU) No 205/2014 is applied as far as possible. Precise definition is not known for all persons. The definition varies depending on when the information was registered.
Country of previous usual residence  The definition stated in Article 2(a) of Regulation (EU) No 351/2010 is applied.
Country of next usual residence  The definition stated in Article 2(b) of Regulation (EU) No 351/2010 is applied.
Deaths  The definition stated in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 is applied.
Divorce  Divorce is a final legal dissolution of marriage.
Emigrants  The definition stated in Article 2.1. of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 is applied.
First-time marrying person  Person contracting for the first time in life the marriage.
First-time registering partner  Person contracting for the first time in life the registered partnership.
Foetal death  Death prior to the complete expulsion or extraction from its mother of a product of conception.
Foreign-born  The definition stated in Article 2(b) of Regulation (EU) No 351/2010 is applied as far as possible. Precise definition is not known for all persons.
Immigrants  The definition stated in Article 2.1. of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007 is applied.
Infant death  The death of a live-born infant who has not yet completed 1 year of life.
Late foetal death  Not available.
Legally induced abortions  Not available.
Level of development  Not available.
Live birth  The definition stated in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 is applied.
Live birth order  The numerical order of the live birth being recorded in relation to all previous live births of the mother.
Marriage  The act by which the legal relationship of the partners is constituted.
Native born  The definition stated in Article 2(b) of Regulation (EU) No 351/2010 is applied as far as possible. Precise definition is not known for all persons.
Person contracting legal union for first-time  Not available.
Regional  The definition stated in Article 2 of Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 is applied.
Registered partnership  Not available.
Registered partnership legally dissolved  Not available.
Separation  Not available.
11.2. Quality management - assessment
11.2.1. Quality assessment: Type of duration of stay used when counting a person as a migrant according to Art. 2(b) of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007
  1. Actual duration of stay of at least 12 months 2. Intended duration of stay of at least 12 months 3. Actual and intended duration of stay of at least 12 months 4. Other. Please specify
Nationals Immigrants X      
Emigrants X      
EEA citizens Immigrants X      
Emigrants X      
Non EEA citizens Immigrants X      
Emigrants X      

 

11.2.2. Quality assessment of the definition of acquisitions of citizenship according to Art. 3(d) of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007
  1. Acquisitions of citizenship granted to persons having their usual residence in the territory of the Member State 2.Other. Please specify
Acquisitions of citizenship  X  


12. Relevance Top
12.1. Relevance - User Needs

The users of data delivered to Eurostat are not known to Statistics Norway.
12.2. Relevance - User Satisfaction

Not known to Statistics Norway.
12.3. Completeness

Not known to Statistics Norway.


13. Accuracy Top
13.1. Accuracy - overall
  Overall accuracy and special cases (Inclusion/exclusion of asylum seekers and refugees, persons living on unauthorised or irregular basis, international students, persons who do not register/deregister,...)
Population Fair. Overcoverage of 20 000.
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Live births Fair.
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Deaths Fair.
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Immigrants Fair.
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Emigrants Fair in the long run.  
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Acquisitions of citizenship Fair.
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Loss of citizenship Not available.
Legally induced abortions Not available.
Late foetal deaths Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Infant deaths Fair.
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Marriages Fair.
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
Divorces Fair.
Asylum seekers and refugees without residence permit are not included. The same rule applies to the Ukrainians who arrived after the war broke out. Virtually all of them have received a residence permit and have consequently been registered as residents. In most cases category “unknown” is the result of missing values in the data received from the National Population Register.
13.2. Sampling error
  Sampling error
Population  Not applicable.
Live births  Not applicable.
Deaths  Not applicable.
Immigrants  Not applicable.
Emigrants  Not applicable.
Acquisitions of citizenship  Not applicable.
Loss of citizenship  Not applicable.
Legally induced abortions  Not applicable.
Late foetal deaths  Not applicable.
Infant deaths  Not applicable.
Marriages  Not applicable.
Divorces  Not applicable.
13.3. Non-sampling error
  Non-sampling error (coverage error, measurement error, non-response error, processing error, model assumption error)
Population Not all actual stays abroad are registered, either because they are not supposed to be registered according to the body of rules or because the emigrant does not notify.
Live births Not available.
Deaths Not available.
Immigrants Not available.
Emigrants Not all actual stays abroad are registered, either because they are not supposed to be registered according to the body of rules, or because the emigrant does not notify. Date of emigration is not very accurate. “Country of next residence” has a share of unknown at more than 30 per cent, but for most of them, a value has been imputed.  The principle is that the distribution of countries among those who have reported one is used on those without a reported country (stratified random drawing).  As stratifying variables, country of birth, citizenship, sex and years of emigration were used.
Acquisitions of citizenship Not available.
Loss of citizenship Not available.
Legally induced abortions Not available.
Late foetal deaths Not available.
Infant deaths Not available.
Marriages Not available.
Divorces Not available.


14. Timeliness and punctuality Top
14.1. Timeliness

According to Art 4 (2) of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 205/2014, each year Member States shall provide the Commission (Eurostat) with data at national and regional level as described in Annex II and related standard reference metadata ( In the metadata structure definition defined for the Euro SDMX Metadata Structure) for the reference year within 12 months of the end of the reference year. According to Art 3 (2) of the Commission Regulation (EC) No 862/2007, Statistics on international migration, usually resident population and acquisition of citizenship shall be supplied to the Commission (Eurostat) within 12 months of the end of the reference year.

Statistics Norway's national first releases about populatin and vital events are published about 7 weeks after the end of the reference period.
14.2. Punctuality

Not applicable.


15. Coherence and comparability Top
15.1. Comparability - geographical

Full.
15.2. Comparability - over time
  Comparability - over time
Population  Comparable.
Live births  Comparable.
Deaths  Comparable.
Immigrants  Comparable until 2007. Break in 2008. Fairly comparable after that.
Emigrants  Comparable until 2007. Break in 2008. Fairly comparable after that.
Acquisitions of citizenship  Comparable.
Loss of citizenship  Not available.
Legally induced abortions  Not available.
Late foetal deaths  Not available.
Infant deaths  Not available.
Marriages  Comparable.
Divorces  Comparable.
Surface in km2  Stable over time.
15.3. Coherence - cross domain

The Directory of Immigration is one of the suppliers of data to the National Population Register. The NPR uses the information about the residence permit (for those who need one) as the basis for its registration work.  
15.4. Coherence - internal

There is one source for all the elements, and the same principles are used for the processing of all data. Consequently, the coherence is supposed to be high.


16. Cost and Burden Top

All population data collected are register data. There are no burden on the respondents.


17. Data revision Top
17.1. Data revision - policy

No particular policy.
17.2. Data revision - practice

The statistics on population, live births, deaths, immigration, emigration and acquisition of citizenship were revised in 2023 for the reference years 2010-2020.


18. Statistical processing Top
18.1. Source data
  List of data sources
Population National Population Register for the stock. Additional sources for “country of birth”.
Live births National Population Register.
Deaths National Population Register.
Immigrants National Population Register for the stock. Additional sources for “country of birth”.
Emigrants National Population Register for the stock. Additional sources for “country of birth”.
Acquisitions of citizenship National Population Register.
Loss of citizenship Not available.
Legally induced abortions Not available.
Late foetal deaths Not available.
Infant deaths National Population Register.
Marriages National Population Register.
Divorces National Population Register.
Surface in km2 Norwegian Mapping Authority.
18.2. Frequency of data collection

Since 1995 transactions have been transferred daily from the Popultion register system to Statistics Norway. Technically, the system changed in September 2022, but the reality is the same.
18.3. Data collection

The basis of the statistics is electronic copies to Statistics Norway of all register updates. The reports are also used to update a separate Statistics Norway population database kept for statistical purposes, which forms the basis for the statistics on the composition of the population.
18.4. Data validation

In addition to the checks made by the National Population Register system, Statistics Norway performs checks for statistical purposes.
18.5. Data compilation

The data processing is rather complex and includes a lot of programming.
18.6. Adjustment

No adjustment.


19. Comment Top

No comments.


Related metadata Top


Annexes Top