Norway

Did you know

The 24.5 km Lærdal Tunnel, opened in 2000, is the longest road tunnel in the world. (source)

Elders in numbers

of people are 65 or older

19.1%

people aged 65 or older

1.1M

will be 65 or older in 2050

26.8%

is how long people live after 60, on average

24.8 years

of people 65+ live alone

32.2%

women 39.6%, men 23.8%

of people 65+ live in collective quarters: care homes, hospitals, hostels and the like

3.2%

Sources: World Bank, 2025; World Bank projection for 2050; WHO, 2023; UN, 2021; UN, 2011 census

Compare with the world

Languages

13 languages, 8 of them endangered

• Pite SamiCritically endangered
• Skolt SamiCritically endangered
• KvenSeverely endangered
• Inari SamiDefinitely endangered
• Lule SamiDefinitely endangered
• Northern SamiDefinitely endangered
• Norwegian Sign LanguageDefinitely endangered
• Southern SamiDefinitely endangered
• Finnish
• Norwegian
• Russian
• Swedish

Languages and their status: Glottolog v5.3, CC BY 4.0. Names: Wikidata.

UNESCO intangible heritage

• Traditional costumes in Norway, craftsmanship and social practice2024
• Summer farming at fäbod and seter: knowledge, traditions and practices related to the grazing of outlying lands and artisan food production2024
• Nordic clinker boat traditions2021
• Craft techniques and customary practices of cathedral workshops, or Bauhütten, in Europe, know-how, transmission, development of knowledge and innovation2020
• Practice of traditional music and dance in Setesdal, playing, dancing and singing (stev/stevjing)2019
• Oselvar boat - reframing a traditional learning process of building and use to a modern context2016

List and years: ich.unesco.org