Immigrant workers now make up a sizable share of Norway's health sector
Statistics show that one in five health-care employees in Norway now has an immigrant background, with the share rising sharply over the past decade.
According to Statistics Norway, the health and social-care sector has seen a marked rise in employees with immigrant backgrounds over the last ten years. By 2025, roughly one-fifth of all staff in the sector were immigrants, up from a considerably lower share in 2015. The increase is especially pronounced among health-care assistants, where more than a quarter are immigrants, reflecting an 11.8-percentage-point jump since 2015.
Almost a third of these workers have resided in Norway for over twenty years, and the majority of the new immigrant hires are in positions that involve direct patient interaction. The agency warns that a shortage of health-care personnel is expected to worsen, projecting a shortfall of tens of thousands of full-time equivalents by 2040 across key health-education programmes.
Why it matters
The growing reliance on immigrant staff highlights labour shortages and integration challenges in Norway's health system.
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