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1. Main challenges to social inclusion

2. Main concepts

Main challenges to social inclusion

Norway is a wealthy country that scores well on international rankings of income and living conditions. The Norwegian welfare state protects the population in most situations of risk through universal health care and education, as well as other welfare services. Nevertheless, over the last couple of decades there has been an increase in families living with persistent low incomes. Families with an immigrant background and single parents are overrepresented among households with persistent low incomes.

9.9 percent of young people under the age of 30 were out of work, education, and work-oriented measures (NEET) in 2024. According to the OECD report Investing in Youth: Norway NEETs in Norway tend to be more disadvantaged than in other OECD countries. More than half have not completed upper-secondary education and young people born abroad are more than twice as likely to be NEETs as their Norwegian-born peers. NEETs are also nine times more likely to be of poor health and six times more likely to feel depressed than other young people.

Statistics show that immigrants and Norwegian-born with immigrant parents experience discrimination in many areas of society in Norway, such as in the labour and housing market.

Main concepts

In Norway social exclusion [utenforskap] among young people is often defined as lack of participation in education and work, lack of or very limited social network and lack of belonging to a community or to society at large. The Norwegian Government has launched a Societal Mission on the Inclusion of Children and Youth in Education, Work and Societal Life. The mission is intended to be a ten‑year effort leading up to 2035 with an aim to mobilise different sectors towards a shared goal of significantly reducing social exclusion among children and young people.