Statistics Norway

Division for Population Statistics

PO Box 8131, Dept, No-0033 Oslo, Norway

All data used in the Norwegian census 2011 were retrieved from statistical registers. These are mostly based on administrative registers. Most of the statistical registers used were established before the census. However, a combined register of households and dwellings was established as a part of census preparations. The census in 2011 was the first totally register-based census in Norway.

ISCO-08, NACE Rev. 2, ISCED97

Usual residence means the place where a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage.
Persons usually resident in the place of enumeration but absent, or expected to be absent, at the time of the census for less than one year shall be considered as temporarily absent persons and thus included in the total usually population. In contrast, persons living or expected to live outside the place of enumeration for one year or more shall not be considered temporarily absent and shall therefore be excluded from the total population. This is regardless of the length of visits that they may pay to their families from time to time.
Persons who are enumerated but do not meet the criteria for usual residence in the place of enumeration, i.e. do not live or do not expect to live in the place of enumeration for a continuous period of at least 12 months, are considered temporarily present and are therefore not counted in the total usually resident population. .
Registered residence is reported as a substitute for usual residence. Registered place of residence is the residential address where the individual person was registered on census day according to the Central Population Register. To be registered as resident in Norway, a person should have lived, or have the intention to live, in the country for at least six months. The main rule is that a person is to be registered as resident at the address where he/she spends the majority of his/her daily period of rest.
Asylum seekers are not registered as residents before they have granted a residence permit even if they have stayed in the country for more than six months.
Unmarried third level students may choose whether they want to be registered at their parents’ address or at the address at their place of study. This applies to students with their place of study in Norway as well as abroad.
Primary and secondary homeless persons are included if they are registered as resident in the country, but they cannot be identified as 'homeless.'
Resident persons that according to the Population register of Svalbard are residing in Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund, are counted as residents in 'Extra-regio' at NUTS 2, NUTS 3 and LAU 2 level. At NUTS 1 level the 'Extra-regio' is included in region 'NO0 Norge'.

Classification as male or female as in the Central Population Register.

The age reached at the reference date (in completed years).

Marital status is the (legal) conjugal status of an individual in relation to the marriage laws of the country (de jure status).A person shall be classified according to his/her most recently acquired legal marital status at the reference date.
From 1993 it was possible for same-sex couples to enter into a registered partnership. In 2009 the Marriage Act was changed to allow same-sex marriages and at the same time the possibility to enter into registered partnership was cancelled. Registered partners may continue as such or have their partnership converted into marriage. The number of persons in 'registered partnership' is consequently very small (approximately 2000). Furthermore, there are in practice no legal distinction between registered partnerships and same-sex marriages. For confidentiality reasons, persons in 'registered partnership' are classified under 'married', 'surviving partners' under 'widowed' and 'divorced partners' under 'divorced'.
'Legally separated' persons (including 'separated partners') are classified under 'married'.

The family nucleus is defined in the narrow sense, that is as two or more persons who belong to the same household and who are related as husband and wife, as partners in a registered partnership, as partners in a consensual union, or as parent and child. Thus a family comprises a couple without children, or a couple with one or more children, or a lone parent with one or more children. This family concept limits relationships between children and adults to direct (first-degree) relationships, that is between parents and children.
Child (son/daughter) refers to a blood, step- or adopted son or daughter (regardless of age or marital status) who has usual residence in the household of at least one of the parents, and who has no partner or own children in the same household. Foster children are not included. A son or daughter who lives with a spouse, with a registered partner, with a partner in a consensual union, or with one or more own children, is not considered to be a child. For a child who alternates between two households (for instance if his or her parents are divorced) the household is considered to be the one corresponding to the registered resident address
The term couple shall include married couples, couples in registered partnerships, and couples who live in a consensual union.
Registered partnerships are reported only by countries that have a legal framework regulating partnerships that:
(a) lead to legal conjugal obligations between two persons;
(b) are not marriages;
(c) prevent persons to commit themselves into multiple partnerships with different partners.
Partners in a registered partnership are classified under 'persons in a married couple’; see definition for the topic 'Legal marital status'.
Two persons are considered to be partners in a 'consensual union' when they
— belong to the same household, and
— have a marriage-like relationship with each other, and
— are not married to or in a registered partnership with each other.
'Skip-generation households' (households consisting of a grandparent or grandparents and one or more grandchildren, but no parent of those grandchildren) are not included in the definition of a family.

Private households may be defined according to the 'housekeeping concept' or, if this is not possible, Member States may apply the 'household-dwelling' concept. .
As the information required to establish households according to the 'housekeeping concept' is not available from registers, the 'household-dwelling concept' is used for Norway. This concept considers all persons living in a housing unit to be members of the same household, such that there is one household per occupied housing unit. Using the household dwelling concept, then, the number of occupied housing units and the number of households occupying them should be equal, and the locations of the housing units and households should be identical. Due to quality problems the number of private households and occupied housing units is not fully equivalent.
The basic principle for identifying households is that all persons with the same residential address in the population register belong to the same household. However, a household count following this principle gives too few and too large households. Therefore, an estimation method using additional information has been developed. When members of the original household are not relatives, are not classified as living in a consensual union and did not move to the dwelling on the same day, households are in some cases divided. However, the majority of households are identified according to the basic principle.
Families are identified as persons living in the same household who are related as a couple or as parent and child, using the relationships established (see below).
Information on relationships between household members is collected from registers. Relations between spouses/registered partners and between children and parents are obtain directly from the population register. Relations between persons in a consensual union are based on estimation. To be classified as cohabitants, two persons must be living in the same dwelling. If they do not have common children, they must additionally be of opposite sex, not closely related and the age difference must not be more than 15 years. Other relations than between persons in couples and children - parents are not identified, but these are sufficient to derive all mandatory values for the variable household status.
The category 'Persons living in a private household' comprises 'Persons in a family nucleus' and 'Persons not in a family nucleus'. The category 'Persons in a family nucleus' comprises all persons who belong to a private household that contains a family nucleus of which they are a member. 'Persons not in a family nucleus' comprises all persons who either belong to a non-family household or to a family household without being member of any family nucleus in that household.
A non-family household can be a one-person household ('Living alone') or a multiperson household without any family nucleus. The category 'Not living alone' comprises persons that live either in a multiperson household without any family nucleus or in a family household without being member of any family nucleus in that household. Persons who belong to a skip-generation household and who are not member of any family nucleus in that household shall be classified in the optional category 'Persons living in a household with relative(s)'.
The term 'son/daughter' is defined as the term 'child' in the technical specifications for the topic 'Family status'. 'Husband/wife couple' means a married opposite-sex couple.
'Registered partnership' is defined as in the technical specifications for the topic 'Legal marital status'. Partners in a registered partnership are classified under 'persons in a married couple’; see definition for the topic 'Legal marital status'.
'Consensual union' is defined as in the technical specifications for the topic 'Family status'.
The category 'Partners' comprises 'Persons in a married couple', 'Partners in a registered partnership' and 'Partners in a consensual union'.
'Primary homeless persons' are persons living in the streets without a shelter that would fall within the scope of living quarters as defined in the technical specifications for the topic 'Type of living quarters'. 'Primary homeless persons' are included in the census if they are registered as residents in the country. However, it is not possible to identify this category separately and persons with no fixed place of residence are classified under 'Persons not living in a private household, but category not stated'.

'Current activity status' is the current relationship of a person to economic activity. The reference period is the last seven days prior to enumeration.
The 'currently economically active population' comprises all persons who fulfil the requirements for inclusion among the employed or the unemployed.
'Employed' persons comprise all persons aged 15 years or over who during the reference week:
(a) performed at least one hour of work for pay or profit, in cash or in kind, or
(b) were temporarily absent from a job in which they had already worked and to which they maintained a formal attachment, or from a self-employment activity.
The 'unemployed' comprise all persons aged 15 years or over who were:
(a) 'without work', that is, were not in wage employment or self-employment during the reference week; and
(b) 'currently available for work', that is, were available for wage employment or self-employment during the reference week and for two weeks after that; and
(c) 'seeking work', that is, had taken specific steps to seek wage employment or self-employment within four weeks ending with the reference week.
The category 'Currently not economically active' includes persons below the national minimum age for economic activity (15 years).
In ascribing a single activity status to each person, priority is given to the status of 'employed' in preference to 'unemployed', and to the status of 'unemployed' in preference to 'not economically active'.
Data from several registers are used to produce a classification of 'Current activity status' which is as close as possible to the ILO definition. For classification of persons as 'employed' and 'unemployed' a system for jointly utilizing different labour market related registers has been established. The system comprises modules for consistency management between various data sources and selection of main job. For person with more than one job, allocation to main job is based on hours worked. For self-employed/employers hours worked are estimated from income. The method used is calibrated in such a way that the total number of employed persons 15-74 years is the same as in the labour force survey.

Occupation' refers to the type of work done in a job (that is the main tasks and duties of the work). Persons doing more than one job are allocated an occupation based on their main job, which is identified according to the time spent on the job or, if not available, to the income received.
The breakdown by occupation is available for persons aged 15 or over that were:
— employed during the reference week, or
— unemployed during the reference week, but have ever been in employment
Persons are classified according to the occupation they had during their most recent employment. The categories included in the breakdown 'occupation' correspond to the major groups of the ISCO-08 (COM) classification.
Persons under the age of 15 years, as well as persons aged 15 or over that were:
— not economically active during the reference week, or
— unemployed, never worked before (i.e. they have never been employed in their lives)
are classified under 'not applicable'.
The allocation of a person within the breakdowns of the topics 'Occupation', 'Industry' and 'Status in employment' is based on the same job.

Industry (branch of economic activity) is the kind of production or activity of the establishment (or similar unit) in which the job of a currently economically active person is located.
Persons doing more than one job shall be allocated an industry (branch of economic activity) based on their main job, which is to be identified according to the time spent on the job or (if not available) the income received.
The breakdown by industry is available for persons aged 15 or over that were:
— employed during the reference week, or
— unemployed during the reference week, but have ever been in employment
Persons are classified according to the industry they worked in during their most recent employment. The categories included in the breakdown 'industry' list the 21 sections of the NACE Rev. 2 classification and appropriate aggregates.
Persons under the age of 15 years, as well as persons aged 15 or over that were:
— not economically active during the reference week, or
— unemployed, and have never worked before (i.e. have never been employed in their lives)
are classified under 'not applicable'.
The allocation of a person within the breakdowns of the topics 'Occupation', 'Industry' and 'Status in employment' is based on the same job.

An 'employee' is a person who works in a 'paid employment' job, that is a job where the explicit or implicit contract of employment gives the incumbent a basic remuneration, which is independent of the revenue of the unit for which he/she works.
An 'employer' is a person who, working on his or her own account or with a small number of partners, holds a 'self-employment' job and, in this capacity, on a continuous basis (including the reference week) has engaged one or more persons to work for him/her as 'employees'.
If a person is both employer and employee, he/she shall be allocated to only one group according to the time spent on the job or (if not available) the income received.
An 'own-account worker' is a person who, working on his/her own account or with one or a few partners, holds a 'self-employment job' and has not engaged, on a continuous basis (including the reference week), any 'employees'.
A 'contributing family worker' is a person who
— holds a 'self-employment’ job in a market-oriented establishment operated by a related person, living in the same household, and
— cannot be regarded as a partner (that is an employer or own-account worker) because the degree of commitment to the operation of the establishment, in terms of working time or other factors to be determined by national circumstances, is not at a level comparable to that of the head of the establishment.
A 'member of a producers' cooperative' is a person who holds a 'self-employment' job in an establishment organised as a cooperative, in which each member takes part on an equal footing with other members in determining the organisation of production, sales and/or other work, the investments and the distribution of the proceeds among the members.
In the registers available, 'contributing family workers' cannot be identified as a separate category. However, when comparing with the Labour Force Survey, most persons who belong to this category are in the census coded as 'employed persons' and classified as 'employees' or 'self-employed.'
Persons who are both employers and employees are classified by the general rule for allocation to main job that is based on hours worked. For self-employed/employers hours worked are estimated from income.

The location of the place of work is the geographical area in which a currently employed person does his/her job.
The place of work of those mostly working at home is the same as their usual residence. The term 'working' refers to work done as an 'employed person' as defined under the topic 'Current activity status'. 'Mostly' working at home means that the person spends all or most of the time working at home, and less, or no, time in a place of work other than at home.
Persons with place of work 'not in the territory of the member state' comprise only employees in the Norwegian embassies. Persons working in Svalbard or in the oil industries on the Continental Shelf are classified under 'Extra-regio' at NUTS 2 level. At NUTS 1 level the 'Extra-regio' is included in region 'NO0 Norge'.

'Educational attainment' refers to the highest level successfully completed in the educational system of the country where the education was received. All education which is relevant to the completion of a level is taken into account even if this was provided outside schools and universities.
Persons aged 15 years or over are classified under only one of the categories according to their educational attainment (highest completed level). Persons under the age of 15 years are classified under 'not applicable'.

A locality is defined as a distinct population cluster, that is an area defined by population living in neighbouring or contiguous buildings. Such buildings may either:
(a) form a continuous built-up area with a clearly recognisable street formation; or
(b) though not part of such a built-up area, comprise a group of buildings to which a locally recognised place name is uniquely attached; or
(c) though not meeting either of the above two criteria, constitute a group of buildings, none of which is separated from its nearest neighbour by more than 200 metres
Locality is defined according to (c), that is as an area defined by population living in neighbouring or contiguous buildings. A cluster of buildings is registered as a locality (urban settlement) if it is inhabited by at least 200 persons. The distance between the buildings shall normally not exceed 50 metres. Distances more than 50 metres are allowed in areas that cannot or should not be built up (parks, facilities for sports, industrial areas and natural barriers such as bridged rivers or arable land). Smaller clusters of buildings that naturally belong to the urban settlement are included if situated in a distance up to 400 meters from the main cluster.

Place of birth is defined as the place of usual residence of the mother at the time of the birth, or, if not available, as the place in which the birth took place.
Information on the country of birth is based on the international boundaries existing on 1 January 2011. 'EU Member State', in particular, means a country that is a member of the European Union on 1 January 2011. The list of countries in the breakdown 'country/place of birth' serves only for statistical purposes.
For reporting countries that are EU Member States, the sub-category under the category 'other EU Member State' that refers to their Member State does not apply. For reporting countries that are not EU Member States, the category 'Other EU Member State' shall be read as 'EU Member State'.
Persons whose country of birth existed at the time of the birth, but no longer exists at the time of the census, and who cannot be allocated uniquely to one country existing at the time of the census, are classified in the categories 'Other countries in the continent' (for instance 'Other European countries'). The category 'Information not classifiable according to current borders' is accordingly not used.
The category 'outside any country' covers persons for whom the usual residence of the mother at the time of the birth is not known and who were born outside the borders of any country, for example at sea or in the air.

Citizenship is defined as the particular legal bond between an individual and his/her State, acquired by birth or naturalisation, whether by declaration, option, marriage or other means according to the national legislation.
A person with two or more citizenships is allocated to only one country of citizenship, to be determined in the following order of precedence:
1. reporting country; or
2. if the person does not have the citizenship of the reporting country: other EU Member State; 3. if the person does not have the citizenship of another EU Member State: other country outside the European Union.
'EU Member State' means a country that is a member of the European Union on 1 January 2011. The list of countries in the breakdown 'Country of citizenship' shall only apply for statistical purposes.
For reporting countries that are EU Member States, the sub-category of the category 'citizenship not of reporting country, but other EU Member State' that refers to their Member State does not apply. For reporting countries that are not EU Member States, the category 'citizenship not of reporting country, but other EU Member State' shall be changed to 'citizenship of an EU Member State'.
Persons who are neither citizens of any country nor stateless and who have some but not all of the rights and duties associated with citizenship shall be classified under 'recognised non-citizens'.

The year of arrival is the calendar year in which a person most recently established usual residence in the country. The data for 2011 refer to the time span between 1 January 2011 and the reference date.

This indicates the relationship between the current place of usual residence and the place of usual residence one year prior to the census. Children under one year of age are classified under 'Not applicable'.
For all persons that have changed their usual residence more than once within the year prior to the reference date, the previous place of usual residence is the residence one year prior to the census.

The topic 'Housing arrangements' covers the whole population and refers to the type of housing in which a person usually resides at the time of the census. This covers all persons who are usual residents in different types of living quarters, or who do not have a usual residence and stay temporarily in some type of living quarters, or who are roofless, sleeping rough or in emergency shelters, when the census is taken.
Occupants are persons with their usual residence in the places listed in the respective category.
'Conventional dwellings' are structurally separate and independent premises at fixed locations which are designed for permanent human habitation and are, at the reference date, either used as a residence, or vacant, or reserved for seasonal or secondary use.
'Separate' means surrounded by walls and covered by a roof or ceiling so that one or more persons can isolate themselves. 'Independent' means having direct access from a street or a staircase, passage, gallery or grounds.
'Other housing units' are huts, cabins, shacks, shanties, caravans, houseboats, barns, mills, caves or any other shelter used for human habitation at the time of the census, irrespective if it was designed for human habitation. In Norway no persons are classified as living in 'Other housing units'.
'Collective living quarters' are premises which are designed for habitation by large groups of individuals or several households and which are used as the usual residence of at least one person at the time of the census.
'Occupied conventional dwellings', 'other housing units' and 'collective living quarters' together represent 'living quarters'. Any 'living quarter' must be the usual residence of at least one person.
The sum of occupied conventional dwellings and other housing units represents 'housing units'.
The homeless (persons who are not usual residents in any living quarter category) can be persons living in the streets without a shelter that would fall within the scope of living quarters (primary homelessness) or persons moving frequently between temporary accommodation (secondary homelessness). Primary and secondary homeless persons are included in the census if they are registered as residents in the country. However, it is not possible to identify this category separately and persons with no fixed place of residence are classified under 'Not stated'.

The family nucleus is defined in the narrow sense, that is as two or more persons who belong to the same household and who are related as husband and wife, as partners in a registered partnership, as partners in a consensual union, or as parent and child. Thus a family comprises a couple without children, or a couple with one or more children, or a lone parent with one or more children. This family concept limits relationships between children and adults to direct (first-degree) relationships, that is between parents and children.
Child (son/daughter) refers to a blood, step- or adopted son or daughter (regardless of age or marital status) who has usual residence in the household of at least one of the parents, and who has no partner or own children in the same household. Foster children are not included. A son or daughter who lives with a spouse, with a registered partner, with a partner in a consensual union, or with one or more own children, is not considered to be a child. A child who alternates between two households (for instance if his or her parents are divorced) are regarded as belonging to the household corresponding to his/her residential address in the population register.
The term couple shall include married couples, couples in registered partnerships, and couples who live in a consensual union.
Registered partnerships are reported only by countries that have a legal framework regulating partnerships that:
(a) lead to legal conjugal obligations between two persons;
(b) are not marriages;
(c) prevent persons to commit themselves into multiple partnerships with different partners.
'Registered partnership' couples are classified under 'married couples'; see definition for the topic 'Legal marital status'.
Two persons are considered to be partners in a 'consensual union' when they
— belong to the same household, and
— have a marriage-like relationship with each other, and
— are not married to or in a registered partnership with each other.
'Skip-generation households' (households consisting of a grandparent or grandparents and one or more grandchildren, but no parent of those grandchildren) are not included in the definition of a family.

Size of family nucleus is the number of persons living in the family nucleus.The  family nucleus is defined in the narrow sense, that is as two or more persons who belong to the same household and who are related as husband and wife, as partners in a registered partnership, as partners in a consensual union, or as parent and child. Thus a family comprises a couple without children, or a couple with one or more children, or a lone parent with one or more children. This family concept limits relationships between children and adults to direct (first-degree) relationships, that is between parents and children.
Child (son/daughter) refers to a blood, step- or adopted son or daughter (regardless of age or marital status) who has usual residence in the household of at least one of the parents, and who has no partner or own children in the same household. Foster children are not included. A son or daughter who lives with a spouse, with a registered partner, with a partner in a consensual union, or with one or more own children, is not considered to be a child. A child who alternates between two households (for instance if his or her parents are divorced) are regarded as belonging to the household corresponding to his/her residential address in the population register.
The term couple shall include married couples, couples in registered partnerships, and couples who live in a consensual union.
Registered partnerships are reported only by countries that have a legal framework regulating partnerships that:
(a) lead to legal conjugal obligations between two persons;
(b) are not marriages;
(c) prevent persons to commit themselves into multiple partnerships with different partners.
'Registered partnership' couples are classified under 'married couples'; see definition for the topic 'Legal marital status'.
Two persons are considered to be partners in a 'consensual union' when they
— belong to the same household, and
— have a marriage-like relationship with each other, and
— are not married to or in a registered partnership with each other.
'Skip-generation households' (households consisting of a grandparent or grandparents and one or more grandchildren, but no parent of those grandchildren) are not included in the definition of a family.

Private households may be defined according to the 'housekeeping concept' or, if this is not possible, Member States may apply the 'household-dwelling' concept.
1. Housekeeping concept
According to the housekeeping concept, a private household is either:
(a) A one-person household, that is a person who lives alone in a separate housing unit or who occupies, as a lodger, a separate room (or rooms) of a housing unit but does not join with any of the other occupants of the housing unit to form part of a multiperson household as defined below; or
(b) A multiperson household, that is a group of two or more persons who combine to occupy the whole or part of a housing unit and to provide themselves with food and possibly other essentials for living. Members of the group may pool their incomes to a greater or lesser extent.
2. Household-dwelling concept
The household-dwelling concept considers all persons living in a housing unit to be members of the same household, such that there is one household per occupied housing unit. In the household dwelling concept, then, the number of occupied housing units and the number of households occupying them should be equal, and the locations of the housing units and households should be identical. Due to quality problems the number of private households and occupied housing units is not fully equivalent.
As the information required to establish households according to the 'housekeeping concept' is not available, the 'household-dwelling concept' is used. Information on relationships between household members is collected from registers. Only relations between persons in a couple and between parents and children are available.
The category 'non-family household'can be a one-person household ('Living alone') or a multiperson household without any family nucleus. The category 'one-family household' comprises a couple (married, in a registered partnership or in a consensual union) with or without children or a lone father/mother with children. A one-family household may also comprise persons not in a family nucleus who are living in the same household as a family nucleus.
The term 'son/daughter' is defined as the term 'child' in the technical specifications for the topic 'Family status'. 'Husband/wife couple' means a married opposite-sex couple.
'Registered partnership' is defined as in the technical specifications for the topic 'Legal marital status'. Registered partnership couples are classified under ' married couples’; see definition for the topic 'Legal marital status'.
'Consensual union' is defined as in the technical specifications for the topic 'Family status'.
The category 'Partners' comprises 'Persons in a married couple', 'Partners in a registered partnership' and 'Partners in a consensual union'.
Primary homeless persons and persons in institutional households are not considered to live in a private household.

Size of private household is the number of persons living in the household. Private households may be defined according to the 'housekeeping concept' or, if this is not possible, Member States may apply the 'household-dwelling' concept.
1. Housekeeping concept
According to the housekeeping concept, a private household is either:
(a) A one-person household, that is a person who lives alone in a separate housing unit or who occupies, as a lodger, a separate room (or rooms) of a housing unit but does not join with any of the other occupants of the housing unit to form part of a multiperson household as defined below; or
(b) A multiperson household, that is a group of two or more persons who combine to occupy the whole or part of a housing unit and to provide themselves with food and possibly other essentials for living. Members of the group may pool their incomes to a greater or lesser extent.
2. Household-dwelling concept
The household-dwelling concept considers all persons living in a housing unit to be members of the same household, such that there is one household per occupied housing unit. In the household dwelling concept, then, the number of occupied housing units and the number of households occupying them should be equal, and the locations of the housing units and households should be identical. Due to quality problems the number of private households and occupied housing units is not fully equivalent.
As the information required to establish households according to the 'housekeeping concept' is not available, the 'household-dwelling concept' is used. Information on relationships between household members is collected from registers. Only relations between persons in a couple and between parents and children are available. .
Primary homeless persons and persons in institutional households are not considered to live in a private household.

The topic 'Tenure status of households' refers to the arrangements under which a private household occupies all or part of a housing unit.
Households that are in the process of paying off a mortgage on the housing unit in which they live or purchasing their housing unit over time under other financial arrangements are classified under 'Households of which at least one member is the owner of the housing unit'.
Households of which at least one member is the owner of the housing unit and at least one member tenant of all or part of the housing unit are classified under category 'Households of which at least one member is the owner of the housing unit'.

'Conventional dwellings' are structurally separate and independent premises at fixed locations which are designed for permanent human habitation and are, at the reference date, either used as a residence, or vacant, or reserved for seasonal or secondary use.
'Separate' means surrounded by walls and covered by a roof or ceiling so that one or more persons can isolate themselves. 'Independent' means having direct access from a street or a staircase, passage, gallery or grounds.
'Other housing units' are huts, cabins, shacks, shanties, caravans, houseboats, barns, mills, caves or any other shelter used for human habitation at the time of the census, irrespective if it was designed for human habitation. In the registers available no housing units are classified as 'other housing units'.
'Collective living quarters' are premises which are designed for habitation by large groups of individuals or several households and which are used as the usual residence of at least one person at the time of the census.
'Occupied conventional dwellings', 'other housing units' and 'collective living quarters' together represent ‘living quarters'. Any 'living quarter' must be the usual residence of at least one person

'Occupied conventional dwellings' are conventional dwellings which are the usual residence of one or more persons at the time of the census. 'Unoccupied conventional dwellings' are conventional dwellings which are not the usual residence of any person at the time of the census.
Conventional dwellings with persons present but not included in the census are classified under the category 'Dwellings reserved for seasonal or secondary use', a sub-category of 'Unoccupied conventional dwellings'.

The topic 'Type of ownership' refers to the ownership of the dwelling and not to that of the land on which the dwelling stands.
'Owner-occupied dwellings' are those where at least one occupant of the dwelling owns parts or the whole of the dwelling.
'Cooperative ownership' refers to ownership within the framework of a housing cooperative. Housing co-operatives are governed by the Co-operative Housing Associations Act and the Housing Co-operatives Act date from 1960 and have undergone a major legislative revision resulting in two new acts in 2005. The objective of the housing co-operative is to provide its shareholders with an exclusive right of use to a housing unit in a property owned and controlled by the co-operative. 'Cooperative ownership' also includes owner-tenant flats (condominiums).
'Rented dwellings' are those where at least one occupant pays a rent for the occupation of the dwelling, and where no occupant owns parts or the whole of the dwelling.

The number of occupants of a housing unit is the number of people for whom the housing unit is the usual residence.

Useful floor space is defined as the floor space measured inside the outer walls excluding non-habitable cellars and attics and, in multi-dwelling buildings, all common spaces; or the total floor space of rooms falling under the concept of 'room'.
A 'room' is defined as a space in a housing unit enclosed by walls reaching from the floor to the ceiling or roof, of a size large enough to hold a bed for an adult (4 square metres at least) and at least 2 metres high over the major area of the ceiling.
Since data on useful floor space are not available in registers, 'Utility floor space' is reported as a substitute. The concept 'Utility floor space' includes all floor space within the outer walls, also storage rooms. Storage rooms which can only be accessed by going out of the dwelling are not included.

A 'room' is defined as a space in a housing unit enclosed by walls reaching from the floor to the ceiling or roof, of a size large enough to hold a bed for an adult (4 square metres at least) and at least 2 metres high over the major area of the ceiling. Number of rooms is not reported for Norway.                

The topic ‘Density standard’ relates the useful floor space in square metres or the number of rooms to the number of occupants, as specified under the topic 'Number of occupants'. Since data on useful floor space are not available in registers, 'Utility floor space' is reported as a substitute.
‘Density standard‘ is measured by 'useful floor space' and not by 'number of rooms'.

The topic ‘Density standard’ relates the useful floor space in square metres or the number of rooms to the number of occupants, as specified under the topic 'Number of occupants'.
For Norway density standard measured by the 'number of rooms' is not reported.

The topic ‘Water supply system‘ relates to the existence of piped water in the housing unit.

The topic ‘toilet facilities relates to the existence of flush toilet(s) in the housing unit.

A bathing facility is any facility designed to wash the whole body and includes shower facilities.

A housing unit is considered as centrally heated if heating is provided either from a community heating centre or from an installation built in the building or in the housing unit, established for heating purposes, without regard to the source of energy. Housing units with permanent electric heaters are regarded as having central heating.

The topic 'Dwellings by type of building' refers to the number of dwellings in the building in which the dwelling is placed.

The topic 'Dwellings by period of construction' refers to the year when the building in which the dwelling is placed was completed.

The EU programme for the 2011 population and housing censuses include data on persons, private households, family nuclei, conventional dwellings and living quarters

Persons enumerated in the 2011 census are those who were usually resident in the territory of the reporting country at the census reference date. Usual residence means the place where a person normally spends the daily period of rest, regardless of temporary absences for purposes of recreation, holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business, medical treatment or religious pilgrimage. In Norway registered residence is reported as a substitute for usual residence, see definition of the topic 'Usual residence' (3.4.1).

Data are available at different levels of geographical detail: national, NUTS2, NUTS3 and local administrative units (LAU2).

Data refer to the situation in the reporting country at the census reference date (see item 5)

Counts of statistical units

Common reminder of EU legislation.
The legal base for conducting a census in Norway is the Statistics Act of 1989.

Statistics Norway

Not available.

According to The Norwegian Statistics Act, Article 2.6, information collected in accordance with 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 to 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. In frequency count tables counts cells with less than three do not necessarily lead to disclosure.
The operational definition of disclosure as applied to the 2011 Census Hypercubes is as follows: Disclosure is assumed to take place if for any subset A of variables spanning the hypercube there is a combination of values a that can be traced to an identifiable statistical unit and for which there exists only one combination of values b with positive count for a subset B of the spanning variables where A ∩ B = Ø.
Further details are given in the annex.

Small count rounding has been applied in order to protect the Norwegian Census hypercubes against reasonable means of attack. Counts of 1 and 2 were rounded unbiasedly to 0 or 3. Marginal counts were recalculated and the maximum deviation from original counts at one and two variable level was calculated. 10 000 solutions were generated and the solution with the smallest maximum deviation was selected. I order to ensure as much consistency as possible groups of hypercubes were combined to aggregated cubes and rounded jointly. Only 1s and 2s in the aggregated cubes that contributed to 1s and 2s in the corresponding hypercubes were selected for rounding.  In order to secure the credibility of the method and the quality of the rounded results, the rounding of some aggregated cubes were based on the 1s and 2s in the Primary Marginal Distributions. For hypercubes in these aggregated cubes, all secondary cells were labeled Confidential. Applying this method the census hypercubes have to our best ability been protected against all disclosure attacks that Statistics Norway considers likely to occur.
Further details of the method are given in the annex.
The level of inconsistency between hypercubes due to rounding may be judged from the average absolute deviations given in quality hypercubes 04-20 and 24.

Data are made available 27 months after the end of the reference period (March 2014)

All statistics and associated metadata published on the web-site of Statistics Norway (ssb.no) are available free of charge. Additional tabulations can be produce on request. Data are free of charge, but users will be charged for data extraction costs.
According to The Statistics Act bona fide researchers at approved research units can have access to data at an individual level. Such data may only be accessed according to special conditions. Statistics Norway normally only supplies anonymous or de-identified data. The delivery of data requires a written application including a project description. A data security agreement is required. When the project is completed, the data supplied are to be returned to Statistics Norway or deleted.

Data on population and housing censuses are disseminated every decade.

The national dissemination consists of five press press relases: Main figures, Households, Dwellings, Employment and education, Income.

No publications with census statistics have been released. All data have been disseminated on Statistics Norway's web site (ssb.no).

Census statistics are available from StatBank Norway   (http://www.ssb.no/en/statistikkbanken).

Microdata are accessible for bona fide researcher only. Such data may only be accessed according to special conditions (see item 9.3).

Census Hub

In a register-based census data are retrieved from several statistical registers that are operated continuously. Methodologies applied are documented for each statistical register, but there exist no specific census methodology reports.  Some information on methodology is given in About the statistics for each of the national census releases, see annexes. 

In a register-based census data are retrieved from several statistical registers that are operated continuously. Quality management is documented for each statistical register, but there exist no specific census quality reports.  Some information on quality management is given in About the statistics for each of the national census releases, see annexes. 

In a register-based census data are retrieved from several statistical registers that are operated continuously. Quality assurance is basically managed for each statistical register system and is not specific for the census. However, some additional measures have been taken to ensure maximum compliance with the EU regulation.
In a register-based statistical system a cornerstone in quality assurance is cooperation between the statistical institute and the register authorities (register keepers). Statistics Norway reports quality problems to the register keepers who will, depending on resources available, take measure to improve the quality. For all main administrative registers this cooperation is formalized through agreements signed by the top management, involving regular reporting and meetings between institutions involved.

Coverage related to registered population: In the Norwegian census registered resident population is reported as a substitute for usual resident population. Given this definition, the target population could be defined as those persons who according to the regulations for population registration should be registered as resident at census time. Under-coverage is very difficult to assess in a register-based statistical system due to lack of independent data (all statistical surveys are using the registered population as frame). Registrations of births and deaths are complete and very rarely delayed. Notifications of immigration are also rarely delayed since persons legally living in Norway will indeed have self-interest to register as residents. Consequently, under-coverage will be very low.
For persons emigrating de-registration will not be as important, meaning that some persons that no longer live in Norway most probably are included in the census population (over-coverage).Emigrants who have not reported to the population register that they have left the country, will according to practice be de-registered by an administrative procedure in the population registry. Persons who potentially belong to this group are persons not registered with any kind of income or activity in administrative registers. For the calendar years 2010 – 2012 the number of persons administratively de-registered was 9 – 10 000. Over-coverage assed this way is most surely lower since not all of these persons were living in the country on census day. Roughly estimated over-coverage in relation to registered population is in the order 0.1 to 0.2 per cent.
Coverage related to usual resident population: For international comparisons it is useful to compare the Norwegian census population with a target population according to usual place of residence. Unmarried third level students may choose whether they want to be registered at their parents’ address or at the address at their place of study. This also applies to students abroad. In total 14 000 persons in the census population were, according to the register of education, studying abroad. Over-coverage assessed this way are most probably lower, since these were persons studying abroad during the whole semester, and also included those who stayed abroad for less than one year. Roughly estimated over-coverage in relation to usual resident population is in the order of 0.5 per cent or even less.
Asylum seekers (staying legally in the country) are not registered as residents before they have granted a residence permit even if they have stayed in the country for more than 6 months. Furthermore, it is known that some asylum seekers whose application has been denied, stay illegally in the country. Persons staying illegally in the country are obviously not registered as residents. In a report prepared by Statistics Norway (see annex) the number of irregular resident population with non-EU origin is estimated to 18 200 by 1 January 2006 (0.4 per cent of the total registered population). The estimated lower and upper bounds of a 95 per cent confidence interval are 10 550 and 31 900.It is estimated that 12 300 were previous asylum seekers and the rest had never applied for asylum. Roughly estimated under-coverage in relation to usual resident population is in the order of 0.5 per cent

No post-enumeration surveys have been conducted.

The census data disseminated by Eurostat are addressed to policy makers, researchers, media and the general public.

No user satisfaction surveys are carried out. User inquiries are handled by the Eurostat User Support service.

Depends on the availability of data transmitted by the National Statistical Institutes.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic. However, it should be noticed that registered residence is reported as a substitute for usual residence.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic. However it should be noticed that persons in 'registered partnership' are classified under 'married'.

Partners in same-sex consensual unions are not identified as relevant data are not available from registers. It should be noticed that persons in 'registered partnership' are classified under 'married'.

Partners in same-sex consensual unions are not identified as relevant data are not available from registers. For confidentiality reasons persons in 'registered partnership' are classified under 'married'.

For a small group of employees and self-employed/employers, classification by employment is based mainly on information from tax registers. For these groups there is some uncertainty attached to the whether the persons actually were employed in census week or not. The data source for unemployment is a register on unemployed kept by the national labour and welfare administration. This register only comprises those persons seeking work through an employment office. Hence only unemployed seeking work this way are classified as ‘unemployed' in the census.

For 15 per cent of the current economically active persons 'Occupation' is imputed. This may affect the overall accuracy for this topic.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

'Contributing family workers' cannot be identified as a separate category.

The number of persons with place of work 'not in the territory of the member state' is under-estimated as it comprises only employees in the Norwegian embassies.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic. 

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

Registered place of residence is reported as a substitute for usual place of residence. In the registers available no persons are classified as living in 'other housing units' or as 'homeless'. More information, see Comparability - geographical (item 16.1).

Partners in same-sex consensual unions are not identified as relevant data are not available from registers. Furthermore, it should be noticed that persons in 'registered partnership' are classified under 'married'.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

Applying the household dwelling concept, the number of occupied housing units and private households  should be equal, and the locations of the housing units and households should be identical. Due to quality problems in the registers the number of private households and occupied housing units is not fully equivalent. In the census statistics there are 19 000 more private households than occupied dwellings.
Partners in same-sex consensual unions are not identified as relevant data are not available from registers. Furthermore, it should be noticed that persons in 'registered partnership' are classified under 'married'.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic. However, it should be noticed that for 15 per cent of all households 'tenure status' have been imputed.

The number of 'collective living quarters' is estimated from the number of 'persons in an institutional household'. For some persons living in institutions the information on precise address is less reliable than for persons living in conventional dwellings, affecting the reliability of the estimates of the number of collective living quarters.

Data on households and dwellings are produced by combining information from the dwelling register (Cadaster) and the population register. Due to some quality problems in both registers, the estimate for unoccupied dwellings is considered as less reliable than the estimate for occupied dwellings.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic. However, it should be noticed that for 14 per cent of all occupied conventional dwellings 'type of ownership' has been imputed.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

Statistics on this topic is not reported. Instead the preferred topic 'useful floor space' is reported.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

Statistics on this topic is not reported. Instead the preferred topic 'density standard (floor space)' is reported.

In the dwelling register information on this topic is missing for approximately 60 per cent of all dwellings. However, almost all of these dwellings have either bathrooms, toilets or a sewerage system, meaning that they most certainly  should be classified as having ‘piped water‘. Using this method, more than 99.9 per cent of all dwellings would be classified as having ‘piped water‘. For the remaining dwellings it is difficult to determine whether they should be classified as having ‘no piped water‘ or as ‘not stated‘. Based on this fact, and also on results from other surveys, it is estimated that all conventional dwellings have piped water.

According to the dwelling register 96 per cent of all conventional, occupied dwellings have a flush toilet. For the remaining dwellings it is not possible to determine whether they do have a flush toilet or if they should be classified as ‘not stated‘. In the 2001 census 97 per cent of the dwellings had both toilet facilities and bathing facilities. This indicates that the percentage with flush toilets in the 2011 census should be somewhat higher than 96 per cent.

According to the dwelling register 96 per cent of all conventional, occupied dwellings have fixed bath or shower. For the remaining dwellings it is not possible to determine whether they do not have bathing facilities or if they should be classified as ‘not stated‘. In the 2001 census 97 per cent of the dwellings had both toilet facilities and bathing facilities. This indicates that the percentage with bathing facilities in the 2011 census should be somewhat higher than 96 per cent.

In the dwelling register information on this topic is missing for approximately 70 per cent of all occupied conventional dwellings. Even if additional data sources are used, information is missing for more than 20 per cent of the dwellings. Dwellings with permanent electric heaters are regarded as having central heating. According to the sample survey Energy consumption in households, 95 per cent of all dwellings have electric heaters and 6 per cent have other types of central heating. Even if some dwellings have both these types heating, it can be concluded that almost all dwellings have central heating according to the definition applied. Based on this fact it is estimated that all conventional dwellings have central heating.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic.

There are no particular reasons for data unreliability for this topic

All hypercubes were transmitted to Eurostat at 31 March 2014, 27 months after the end of the census year.

Usual place of residence: Registered residence is reported as a substitute. To be registered as resident in Norway, a person should have lived, or have the intention to live, in the country for at least six months, as compared to twelve months in the definition of usual residence. There are a few exceptions. Asylum seekers are not registered as residents before they have granted a residence permit even if they have stayed in the country for more than six months. Unmarried third level students may choose whether they want to be registered at their parents’ address or at the address at their place of study. This means that some third level students with place of study abroad is included in the census population even if they have stayed abroad for more than six mints. This applies to students with their place of study in Norway as well as abroad. More information about coverage, see Coverage assessment (item 12.2.1).
Legal marital status: For confidentiality reasons persons in 'registered partnership' are classified under 'married'. According to the Marriage Act of 2009, there are in practice no legal distinction between registered partnerships and same-sex marriages. There are approximately 2000 persons with marital status 'registered partnership' as compared to more than 1.8 million married persons.
Family status, household status, type of family nucleus and type of private household : Partners in same-sex consensual unions are not identified as relevant data are not available from registers. For confidentiality reasons persons in 'registered partnership' are classified under 'married', see 'Legal marital status'.'Persons in an institutional household' only comprise those persons who are registered as residents in institutions. Some married persons are registered in private households with their spouses even if they in fact are living in an institutional household.
Status in employment: In the registers available, 'contributing family workers' cannot be identified as a separate category. However, when comparing with the Labour Force Survey, most persons who belong to this category are in the census coded as 'employed persons' and classified as 'employees' or 'self-employed.' According to the Labour Force Survey the number of contributing family workers is 5000 or 0.2 per cent of all employed persons.
Location of place of work: The number of persons with place of work 'not in the territory of the member state' is under-estimated as it comprises only employees in the Norwegian embassies. Information on persons resident in Norway and working for foreign employers is not available from registers. According to a survey conducted in 2009, approximately 850 persons living in Norway were working in the neighbouring countries Sweden and Denmark.
Educational attainment: Among the 180,000 persons for whom educational attainment is 'not stated', over 60 per cent are born outside Norway.
Size of locality: A locality is a group of buildings, none of which is separated from its nearest neighbour by more than 50 metres, as compared to 200 metres according to the EU definition. However, distances more than 50 metres are allowed in areas that cannot or should not be built up.
Housing arrangements:In the Norwegian census registered place of residence is reported as a substitute for usual place of residence. According to the rules for population registration, all persons are registered with an address in a conventional dwelling or in an institution. It is known that a few persons in fact are living in 'other housing units', especially in caravans or boats. The majority of these persons are however registered with an address in a conventional dwelling. Therefore, no persons are reported as living in 'other housing units' in the 2011 census. Approximately 10 500 persons were registered with 'no fixed place of residence'. This group comprises both homeless persons and persons for whom the address is unknown. In the census they are reported with housing arrangement 'not stated '. In a survey conducted for The Norwegian State Housing Bank, the number of homeless persons in 2012 is estimated to 6 260. This number has been rather stable over the last 15 years. Five per cent of these are classified as primary homeless. Furthermore, 'occupants living in a collective living quarters' only comprise persons who are registered as residents in institutions. Some married persons are registered in private households with their spouses even if they in fact are living in an institutional household.
Type of living quarters:Collective living quarters' only comprise those addresses where at least one person is registered as resident, see 'Housing arrangements'.
Occupancy status: 'Occupied conventional dwellings' are only those where at least one person is registered as resident. Dwellings that are in fact occupied by other persons, for instance students whose registered address is the family home, are classified as 'unoccupied conventional dwellings'.
Useful floor space and Density standard (floor space): Utility floor space', which is reported as a substitute, also includes storage rooms. Especially in detached houses with a cellar, 'utility floor' space is normally somewhat larger than 'useful floor space'.

Figures provided by the National Statistical Institutes in the framework of the 2011 Population and Housing Census may differ from those transmitted in other statistical domains due to the cross domain differences in definitions and methodologies used.  For additional information please see metadata specific to each domain.

Internal coherence is assured by regulations defining breakdowns and definitions of topics (Regulation (EC) No 1201/2009, Regulation (EU) No 519/2010, Regulation (EU) No 1151/2010)

The 2011 census was totally register-based and hence placed no burden on citizens.
The total cost of the census project was approximately 1.75 million euros. This included establishing a system for joint utilization of data on households and dwellings. The 2011 census was the first totally register-based one. Estimated costs for future census are lower than for the 2011 census.

No major data revision is planned after the first dissemination.

• Statistical Population Register
• Statistical register on families and households
• Statistical labour market register
• Register on education
• Statistical register on activities

• Statistical register on families and households
• Statistical register on households and dwellings

• Statistical register on families and households

• Statistical register on dwellings and buildings
• Statistical register on households and dwellings

• Statistical register on households and dwellings

Data on population and housing censuses are collected every decade, in a reference year that falls during the beginning of every decade

All census data are collected from registers. Most registers used are administrative registers kept by governmental or local authorities; the main exception being the statistical register on education kept in Statistics Norway. Data from administrative registers are combined in several statistical register that are kept in Statistics Norway on a permanent basis. These registers are used in production of subject matter statistics and updated at least annually. The same registers are used as data sources for the census and hence, the census has no separate data collection.
Some statistical registers are based on only one or just a few administrative sources, for instance the Statistical Population Register is based almost solely on the administrative Central Population Register. Other statistical registers are based on many administrative registers. For instance, the statistical labour market register is based on data from job registers, wage registers, income registers, the business register and the register on unemployment. In the statistical register on activities data from the labour market register is combined with data from registers on pensions, income and educational activities.
Most of the statistical registers used in the census have existed for a number of years. However, as a part of census preparations a new statistical register, combining data on households and dwellings, was established. This was necessary to create all census variables and to obtain maximum consistency in data on households and dwellings. This register will be updated annually. The only register created specifically for census purposes was the statistical register on activities. It should be noted that this register only exists in a logical sense. In practice it is just a part of the census micro file.

Census data are collected from several statistical register kept in Statistics Norway. These are permanent registers, and data validation is integrated in the maintenance of these register. The procedures used for validation may vary between the register systems, but some basic principles are applied. All data retrieved from administrative registers are checked for completeness and internal consistency. When data from several sources are combined, procedures have been established to ensure consistent statistical data. In some register systems it has been necessary to establish comprehensive procedures to achieve this goal. For example, in the statistical labour market register, the system comprises modules for consistency management between various data sources (jobs, self-employment and unemployment), selection of main job and classification by employment in the reference week.
Furthermore, register-based data are validated by comparing with data from statistical surveys, for instance the Labour Force Survey, household surveys and surveys on housing conditions. Comparisons are carried out both on macro and micro level.
In production of census statistics it has been ensured that census data is consistent with the corresponding data in statistics published by subject matter statistics. Census statistics for 2011 have also been compared with statistics from the previous census to ensure reasonable time series.

A census micro file is established by combining data from different statistical registers. Data capturing and coding is managed by each statistical register system. All data are captured electronically. Coding is mainly done in the administrative registers, that is, by the authorities responsible for the registers.
For persons the identifying variable is a unique personal identification number (PIN). The PIN is used in all registers involved in the census operation, meaning that linking of records from different registers is straight forward. Another implication is that duplicate records do not exist. For persons no record imputation or record deletion has been carried out.
Generation of households and families: Married couple and lone parent families are generated directly from information in the population register. Consensual union couple families are generated by combining other information from the population register. Two persons are classified as a cohabiting couple if they are living in the same household, are of opposite sex, are not related, are 18 years or older and the age difference between them are less than 16 years.
In principle all persons with the same residential address in the population register belong to the same household. However, a household generation following this principle fully, gives too few and too large households. Therefore, Statistics Norway has developed a method where information from other sources (mainly the 2001 census) is used to modify the data from the population register, that is, splitting “original” household under certain conditions.
For dwellings numerical address is the identifying variable.The main principle in the generation of households is that residents and dwellings are linked by using the dwelling address. Due to quality problems in the registers, a procedure for harmonization of dwellings and households has been developed. As a part of this harmonization, the dwelling population is adjusted by adding 48 000 units, or 2.2 per cent of all occupied dwellings (record imputation). After harmonization there are still 19 000 more private households than occupied dwellings (0.9 per cent of all private households). According to the definition, the number of private households and occupied dwellings should have been the same.