The numbers aren’t very big, but Norway’s state statistics bureau could report some new figures late last week that show some changes in the domestic status of Norwegians. There were more marriages in Norway last year, and fewer divorces and separations.
A total of 24,350 marriages were recorded in 2012, an increase of 1,200 from 2,011. That only amounts to an increase of around 0.05 percent, but significant that several media outlets found the numbers from Statistics Norway (Statistisksentralbyrå) significant enough to report.
Meanwhile, divorces registered in the country declined by 300, to 9,900. That’s a decline of just 0.03 percent from the year before, but after several decades of rising divorce of rates, any decline seems noteworthy. SSB reported that the number of divorces annually was around 11,000 as late as 2004 and 2005.
Most importantly, perhaps, was that the number of divorces in 2012 was the lowest since 1999. Registered separations also declined, to 11,100 last year, the lowest level since 1987.
newsinenglish.no staff
