Women and men in Norway - SSB
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Women
and men
in Norway What the
figures say
Revised edition 2010
© Statistics Norway, 2010
When using material from this publication,
Statistics Norway shall be quoted as the
source.
ISBN 978-82-537-7805-1 Printed version
ISBN 978-82-537-7806-8 Electronic version
Who are the women and men in Norway? Statistics Norway presents similarities and differences between women and men in Norway within areas of society we can describe with statistics in Women and men in Norway. The publication is easy to read and under- stand, and each chapter contains links to more information on the relevant topic. The first edition of Women and men in Norway was published in 2006 and was written by Jan Erik Kristiansen and Toril Sandnes. This edition is largely based on the previous publication but also includes a new chapter on culture and media use. The publication has been compiled by Agnes Aaby Hirsch (ed.), Gro Flatebø, Ingrid Modig, Toril Sandnes, Vebjørn Aalandslid, Lotte Rustad Thorsen and Reid Jone Stene. Marit Vågdal and Siri Boquist were responsible for design and layout. Oslo/Kongsvinger, January 2010 Øystein Olsen Director General
Population: More elderly women 2
Family and household: Single or cohabiting? 4
Births and children: From generation to generation 6
Health: Women are sicker, men die quicker 8
Education: Thirsty for knowledge 10
Work: Still male and female professions 12
Wages: A woman’s worth 14
Income and wealth: Mind the gap! 16
Culture and media use: Women are culture vultures 18
Time use: Around the clock 20
Crime: Few female criminals 22
Power and influence: Breaking the glass ceiling? 24
Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents: Piotr and Gunilla 26
Gender equality index 2009: Regional differences in gender equality 28
Population
More elderly women
More boys born Number of men per 100 women. 2009
More boys than girls are born each 120
year – approximately 105 boys per 100 100
girls. However, because of a higher
80
death rate among men this ratio evens
60
out eventually. At the age of 60, there
are almost as many men as women, 40
but the difference between the sexes 20
then increases considerably as women 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
begin to outnumber men. At the age of Age/years
85, there are about 50 per cent more Source: Population statistics.
women than men.
Life expectancy at birth for women and
men
Women live almost five years Year
longer 90
A lower death rate among women 85
Women
means that they live almost five years
80
longer than men. Today a newborn
75
boy can expect to live to 78.3 years of Men
age, whereas a girl can expect to reach 70
Life expectancy at birth in selected
83.0 years of age. 65
countries. 2007 0
1946- 1956- 1966- 1976- 1986- 1996- 2008
Women Men After World War II, the difference 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
Japan1 85.8 79.0 in life expectancy between women Source: Population statistics.
France 84.8 77.6 and men was slightly more than
Switzerland 84.4 79.5 three years. It then increased, especially because deaths from cardiovascular
Spain 84.3 77.8 diseases among men increased. At the beginning of the 1980s, the age gap
Italy1 84.2 78.5 had widened to almost seven years, but it has now narrowed to less than five
Iceland 83.4 79.6 years. One reason for this is the decline in the death rate for cardiovascular
Sweden 83.1 79.0 diseases among men.
Finland 83.1 76.0
Austria 83.1 77.4 According to population projections from 2009, life expectancy will also
Norway 82.9 78.3 increase markedly in the years to come: based on the alternative where we
Germany 82.7 77.4 assume a medium increase, a boy born in 2060 will have a life expectancy
Belgium 82.6 77.1 of 87.1 years and a girl 90.3 years. In other words, the gender gap will be
Netherlands 82.5 78.1 further reduced to around three years.
Portugal 82.2 75.9
Greece 81.8 77.1 Norwegian women no longer live longest
United Kingdom 81.8 77.6 Up to the early 1980s, Norwegian women had the highest life expectancy in
Denmark 80.6 76.2 the world. Today women in a number of countries can expect to live longer:
Poland 79.8 71.0 Japanese women top the list with a life expectancy of almost 86 years, com-
Estonia 78.8 67.2 pared with 83 for Norwegian women. Other women too, for example those
Lithuania 77.2 64.9
from the south of Europe and other Nordic countries, can expect to live longer
Latvia 76.5 65.8
than their Norwegian counterparts.
Russia1 73.2 60.4
1
2006.
Source: Eurostat. Japan: Japan Statistical
The difference between men and women’s life expectancy varies between
Yearbook. Russia: OECD Factbook. the different countries. Life expectancy of men and women in Iceland and
2 Statistics Norway
Sweden is most similar among the European countries, with women living Ageing population: Women and
men aged 67 or over1
four years longer than men. Finland has a bigger gap in life expectancy com-
pared with other Nordic countries, which is the same as in some of the south Mill.
1.6
European countries – seven years. The Baltic States have the greatest differ- 1.4
ences in life expectancy in the EU, where the women live 11 and 12 years 1.2
longer than the men. Russian women and men have a shorter life expectancy 1.0
than women and men in the EU countries, and the gap is also somewhat 0.8
Women
greater than in the Baltic States. 0.6
0.4
Ageing population: women in majority 0.2
Men
Much has been said about the expected growth in the number of elderly 0.0
1970 1990 2010 2030 2060
people. In some respects we can say that it has already started. In 1950, only
8 per cent of the population were aged 67 or over, while today the share is 13 Projection based on medium national
1
growth (Alternative MMMM).
per cent. Not until 2020 will this proportion increase further, reaching 15 per Source: Population statistics.
cent in 2020 and 22 per cent in 2060.
With diminishing differences in life expectancy, the future population of
elderly people will be less dominated by women, although women will still be
in the majority.
Mobile women
If we take the country as a whole, there are slightly more men than women up
to the age of 60, but there are major regional differences in some age groups.
This is due to the fact that women and men have different migration pat-
terns: young women move and men stay behind. Women move from the least
central municipalities to urban settlements and cities, which results in a lack
of young women in the central municipalities.
Norway as a whole has a 4 per cent deficit of women in the 20-39 age group
(104 men per 100 women). This ratio varies considerably from region to
region, however. Whereas the ratio in 2009 was around 108 men per 100
women in municipalities where agriculture or fisheries is the main indus-
try, the figure was more balanced in central municipalities dominated
by the service industry, with 102 men per 100 women. Number of men per 100
women aged 20-39. 2009
The differences are even greater when we look at individual 67 - 102
municipalities: in one municipality there are twice as many 103 - 109
men as women in the 20-39 age group (207 men per 110 - 207
100 women), while at the other end of the spectrum
Source: Population statistics.
one municipality has a large deficit of men, with only
68 men per 100 women. However, these are special
cases. Most other municipalities vary between 90 and
130 men per 100 women.
More information:
Because of the natural surplus of males, municipali- http://www.ssb.no/folkemengde_en/
ties with a surplus of men clearly outnumber munici- http://www.ssb.no/dode_en/
palities with a surplus of women. http://www.ssb.no/folkfram_en/
Statistics Norway 3
Family and household
Single or cohabiting?
Percentage of men and women More elderly women than men live alone
aged 20 and over in one-person
households. 2009 The post-war period was the great era of the nuclear family. Large numbers
of people were getting married and the proportion of one-person households
Per cent
100 decreased slightly. From the beginning of the 1970s, there were fewer mar-
riages, while the number of divorces increased. This has resulted in more
80
Women
than twice as many one-person households: 40 per cent of households are
60 now one-person households, and persons living alone accounted for 18 per
40 cent of the entire population as of 1 January 2009.
20
Men In the population as a whole, roughly as many women as men live alone.
0 However, more men than women are living alone in the age group up to and
20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Age/years including 44, while single women are in the majority in the oldest part of
Source: Population statistics. the population. Roughly as many women as men live alone in the 45-66 age
group.
Average age at marriage Single life in the city
Age One-person households are more common in cities and central municipalities
40 than in more remote municipalities, both for men and women. In the most
35
Men central municipalities, 27 per cent of men aged 20-59 live alone, and the cor-
30
25
responding figure for women in the same municipalities is 17 per cent. The
Women
20 most remote municipalities have a large surplus of single men aged 20-59,
15 with two out of ten men living alone but only one out of ten women living
10 alone.
5
0
1901- 1921- 1941- 1961- 1981- 1996- 2008
1905 1925 1945 1965 1985 2000 Living together: widening age gap – both ways
Traditionally, the age difference at the time of marriage has been relatively
Source: Population statistics.
large. Men have on average been three to four years older than their wives.
Along with a higher degree of gender equality in many areas of life, such as
education and the labour market, it would seem reasonable to assume that
this age gap would diminish. However, this does not seem to be the case.
Age difference at marriage. 1966 and 2008
Per cent
30
Man older Woman older
than woman than man
25
20
15
1966
10 2008
5
0
Man 10 years Man 8-9 Man 6-7 Man 4-5 Man 2-3 Same age Woman 2-3 Woman 4-5 Woman 6-7 Woman 8-9 Woman
older or more years older years older years older years older (± 1 year) years older years older years older years older 10 years
older or more
Source: Population statistics.
4 Statistics Norway
Over the past 50 years, the age difference has changed very little. Following
a fall in the marriage age towards the end of the 1960s, the average age at
marriage has increased considerably for both women and men, but the age
difference is the same. At the start of the 1970s, the average marriage age was
27 for men and 24 for women. By 2008, this had increased to 38 for men and
34 for women, which is mainly due to a large number of couples cohabiting
before getting married.
However, this average does not reflect the age differences in individual mar-
riages. Looking at individual marriages we find that since 1966 there has
been a considerable increase in marriages with relatively large age differenc-
es. The proportion of marriages where the man is more than nine years older
than the woman has almost doubled. In addition, there has been a systematic
increase in marriages where the woman is older than the man.
Marriages by immigrant
More international marriages background of spouses
Increasing globalisation and international mobility have gradually impacted Per cent
100
the Norwegian marriage market, and marriages where one or both partners
are immigrants or Norwegian-born to immigrant parents are becoming more 80
and more common. In 1990, 4 per cent of all marriages were between two im-
migrants or two Norwegian-born to immigrant parents. By 2008, this had in- 60
creased to 11 per cent. Among the rest of the population, it is more common 40
for men than women to marry an immigrant or Norwegian-born to immigrant
parents; 13 and 6 per cent of all marriages in 2008 respectively. 20
0
Marriages between men from the rest of the population and female immi- 1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008
grants/Norwegian-born to immigrant parents in particular have increased in Two immigrants or Norwegian-born
recent years, from 6 per cent of all marriages in 1990 to 13 per cent in 2008. to immigrant parents
Immigrant man or Norwegian-born
The majority of these men marry women from Thailand, the Philippines to immigrant parents/woman from
and Russia. The number of marriages between women from the rest of the the rest of the population
Immigrant woman or Norwegian-born
population and male immigrants/Norwegian-born to immigrant parents has to immigrant parents/man from the
remained relatively stable in recent years; 6 per cent of all marriages in both rest of the population
Two from the rest of the population
1990 and 2008. These women usually marry men from Sweden, Denmark,
Source: Population statistics.
the USA and UK.
Number of same-sex
More women than men in same-sex partnerships partnerships contracted
Same-sex partnerships have been included in the statistics since 1993, and 300
since then a total of around 2 700 such partnerships are registered. In the ear- Women
ly years there was a significant dominance of male partnerships, but women 250 Men
have been in the majority since 2006. More than 200 same-sex partnerships 200
were entered into in 2008.
150
100
50
More information: 0
1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008
http://www.ssb.no/familie_en/
http://www.ssb.no/ekteskap_en/ Source: Population statistics.
Statistics Norway 5
Births and children
From generation to generation
Total fertility rate Low fertility ...
3,5 The post-war baby boom lasted until the mid-1960s and was followed by a
3,0 decline in birth rates that reached its lowest point at the beginning of the 1980s.
2,5 Fertility then increased somewhat, and has been at around 1.9 in recent years.
2,0 In 2008, fertility was almost 2.0; the highest since 1975.
1,5
1,0 If we disregard immigration and emigration, the fertility rate in any country must
0,5 be approximately 2.1 to ensure the long-term natural replacement of the
0,0 population. Norway has remained below this level since the mid-1970s.
1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2004 2008
Source: Population statistics. The proportion of childless women has remained stable for many years. For
women born between 1935 and 1950, less than 10 per cent of the 45-year-olds
were childless. This increased to almost 12 per cent for women born in 1960.
Total fertility rate
The average number of live
The proportion of 45-year-old childless men is considerably higher than for women
births per woman during her of the same age, and an increasing number of men are childless. For men born in
lifetime if the fertility pattern 1940, 14 per cent were childless at the age of 45, and this figure increased to 21 per
in the period is the same cent among men born in 1960. This means that a large and increasing proportion
throughout her childbearing of men are having children with more than one woman.
age and no deaths occur.
... but high compared to other countries
Total fertility rate in selected The fall in the fertility rate in recent decades is a general phenomenon in western
countries. 2007
countries, and Norway has actually had one of the highest fertility rates in recent
Iceland 2.09
years. Portugal and Poland have the lowest fertility rate in the EU, at roughly 1.3. The
Ireland 2.01
France 1.98
highest fertility rate is to be found in Iceland and Ireland, with slightly more than 2.0.
Norway 1.90
Sweden 1.88 Norway’s relatively high fertility rate is assumed to be related to the high number
United Kingdom1 1.84 of kindergarten places available and the cash support scheme for parents at birth,
Denmark 1.84 which makes it easier for women to combine a career and children. Parental leave
Finland 1.83 was extended for children born after 30 June 2009 by two weeks to 46 weeks with
Greece 1.41 full pay, or 56 weeks with 80 per cent pay. Two out of three women with an entitle-
Spain 1.40
Germany 1.37
ment to such leave choose the option with 80 per cent pay. An increasing propor-
Italy1 1.35 tion of women are, however, opting for the shorter leave period with full pay.
Portugal 1.33
Poland 1.31 Part of the parental leave is earmarked for fathers (father’s quota), and this was
1
2006. extended from six weeks to ten weeks for children born after 1 July 2009. Three
Source: Eurostat. out of five fathers entitled to such leave in the first half of 2009 took six weeks of
Percentage of children born the leave or more. The extent to which fathers use their quota varies throughout
outside marriage Norway. Men in Oslo took seven out of ten weeks or more, which was the case for
Per cent only four out of ten men in Aust-Agder. The use of cash for care has fallen since it
60
was introduced: only 34 per cent of the parents of 1 and 2 year-olds received cash for
50 care in 2009, compared with 75 per cent in 1999.
40
30 More than half born outside marriage …
20 More than half of all children are now born outside marriage (56 per cent in
10 2008), compared with only 3 per cent in the 1950s. The largest increase took
0
place in the 1970s and 1980s, but this has now levelled off. The vast majority of
1951- 1961- 1971- 1981- 1991- 2001- 2008
1955 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005
children born outside marriage have parents who live together. Only 12 per cent
Source: Population statistics.
are born to single mothers. However, in the case of the first child, 52 per cent are
6 Statistics Norway
born to parents who live together and 17 per cent to single mothers. When the Percentage of children born outside
marriage in selected countries. 2007
second child comes along, the parents are more likely to be married.
Iceland 63.8
Sweden 54.8
… and most up north Norway 54.5
Most births outside marriage take place in the three northernmost counties France 51.7
Denmark 46.1
and Trøndelag, while Agder and Rogaland have the lowest figures. A clear United Kingdom 1
43.7
north-south divide can also be seen in Europe as a whole: Iceland heads the Netherlands 39.5
list, followed by Sweden and Norway. Births outside marriage are still a rela- Ireland1 33.2
Germany 30.8
tively rare phenomenon in many countries in Southern Europe. Spain1 28.4
Italy 20.7
First-time mothers average 28 years Poland 19.5
Greece 5.8
Until the 1970s, first-time mothers were getting younger. However, with the 1
2006.
growth in educational opportunities and career options the average child- Source: Eurostat.
bearing age began to increase, and has since the early 1970s increased by ap- Average childbearing age. All
proximately four years to 30.3 years. Fathers are three years older on average. births and first births
The average age of women at the first birth was 28.1 years in 2008, which has 35
been stable since 2005. The increase in age of first-time mothers is particularly 30
clear among teenagers. At the end of the 1970s, 20 per cent of first-time moth- 25
ers were teenagers, compared to only 5 per cent today. 20
15
10
More multiple births All births
5
The proportion of multiple births (mainly twins) remained around 1 per cent for First births
0
a long time, but this started to increase at the end of the 1980s and was almost 1971-75 1981-85 1991-95 2006 2008
2 per cent in 2002. This development is mainly attributed to the rise in child- Source: Population statistics.
bearing age and to the increased use of in-vitro fertilisation. However, the pro- Percentage of children born by
portion of multiple births has fallen in recent years, to 1.8 per cent in 2008. Caesarean
Per cent
20
Caesareans more common
Over the past 30 years, the proportion of births by Caesarean has increased 15
markedly: from 2 per cent in 1968 to more than 17 in 2008. The largest
increase took place in the 1970s and 1980s. The trend levelled off during the 10
1990s, but is now on the rise again. Older mothers in particular undergo
5
Caesarean deliveries, and the development must therefore be seen in conjunc-
tion with the marked increase in childbearing age. The increase in multiple 0
births may also have contributed to this development. 1970 1980 1990 2000 2008
Source: The Medical Birth Registry.
Abortion level remains stable Number of abortions
Since 1979, women in Norway have been legally entitled to decide for them- 1 000
20
selves if they want to terminate a pregnancy in the first 12 weeks. The number
of abortions peaked at the end of the 1980s, and has since totalled between 15
14 000 and 16 000 abortions a year, or 13-14 per 1 000 women aged 15-49. In
2007, almost 15 200 abortions were performed in Norway, which corresponds 10
to 13.8 per 1 000 women of a childbearing age. The frequency of abortions
is highest among women aged 20 to 24. Since 2002, the abortion rate has 5
increased somewhat. 0
1970 1980 1990 2000 2007
More information:
Source: Statistics Norway and the Medical
http://www.ssb.no/fodte_en/ Birth Registry.
Statistics Norway 7
Health
Women are sicker, men die quicker
Age standardised mortality Women more illnesses – men die younger
rates – cardiovascular
diseases1, 2. Women and men In a nutshell, this is the main difference between women and men’s health:
men live an average of five years less than women, while women have more
Per 100 000 inhab.
600 illnesses and health problems than men throughout their lives. This apparent
Men paradox can be explained by a number of factors – both biological and social:
500
it is assumed that men’s lower mortality age is partly attributable to biological
400 factors, but also to differences in lifestyle and various types of risk behaviour.
Women
The fact that women are more ill than men is often put down to differences in
300 lifestyle and living conditions, for instance strains in relation to care work at
200
home and in their professional lives.
100
1951- 1966- 1981- 1996- 2007
Gender differences in life expectancy have lessened in recent years. Can this
1955 1970 1985 2000 be an indication of a narrowing of the gap in health and mortality?
1
Year average for 5-year period.
2
Age standardised with WHO’s European
standard population. Fewer cardiovascular deaths – particularly among men
Source: Cause of death statistics. Cardiovascular diseases have long been the most common cause of death
among men and women. In 2007, around 35 per cent of all deaths were
Percentage of daily smokers. caused by cardiovascular diseases, with a higher figure for men than women.
Women and men 16-74 years1
However, a clear fall in cardiovascular deaths is emerging for both men and
Per cent
women, and the fall has been more pronounced for men. This decline is a con-
60
tributing factor to the increase in life expectancy for both men and women.
50
Men
40 With regard to the second most common cause of death – cancer – there have
not been any major changes in the past 20 years, either for men or women.
30
Women One in four deaths in 2007 was related to cancer. Cancer is one of the most
20 common causes of death among the younger age groups in particular.
10
0 One in five smoke daily
1973 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2008
The decline in cardiovascular diseases is assumed to be related to the decline
1
Three-year moving average
Source: Health statistics. in smoking: the proportion of men who smoke every day has fallen from more
than 50 per cent at the start of the 1970s to 21 per cent in 2008. The cor-
responding figure for women was slightly higher than 30 per cent for a long
Age standardised mortality
rates, accidents1. Women and time, but has now fallen to 21 per cent.
men
Per 100 000 inhab. In Sweden, more women than men smoke on a daily basis – 17 and 12 per
80 cent respectively in 2006. This is the trend in a number of countries among
70 the younger age groups, with Norway, Sweden and Spain all having more
60 women than men aged 15-24 smoking daily. It may therefore seem as if the
50
Men numerous awareness campaigns in recent years have had an effect on middle-
40 aged men, but have not prevented young girls from taking up smoking to the
30
same extent.
Women
20
10
Fewer dying in accidents
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2006 As is the case for cardiovascular diseases, the gender gap in accident-related
1
Age standardised according to European deaths has also narrowed gradually. The number of fatalities due to accidents
standard population.
Source: Cause of death statistics. has fallen since 1980, both for men and women, with the biggest reduction
for men.
8 Statistics NorwayMore health complaints among women Selected health indicators.
Women and men aged 16 and
The differences between men and women with regard to diseases and health over. 2008
problems are evident in many ways: women do not consider their own health
as good or very good as often as men. They report more long-term illnesses, Very good or
good health
particularly illnesses that significantly affect their daily lives.
Long-term illness
Women more often suffer from diseases of the nervous system, respiratory
system and musculo-skeletal system. They also suffer from headaches or Illness that significantly
affects daily life
migraine and bodily pain more often than men. In addition, they tend to
have more psychological problems and symptoms such as problems sleeping, Nervous illness
feeling down and depression, and they take medicine for such problems to a
greater extent than men. Diseases of the
nervous system
Men
It is a paradox that women have a higher illness rate than men, as women Cardiovascular diseases
Women
in many ways lead a much healthier life than their male counterparts: the
majority of smokers have until now been men, and women drink less alcohol Diseases of the
and less often than men. Furthermore, women have a healthier diet (they eat respiratory system
more fruit and vegetables, for instance), they exercise more often than men, Diseases of the
and tend to be less overweight. musculo-skeletal system
Obesity (BMI 27-30)
Women visit GPs more often than men ...
Because women report various health problems and symptoms more of- Problems sleeping.
Within last 3 months
ten than men, it is not surprising that they visit their GPs and specialists in
hospitals and elsewhere more often. In addition, they consult acupuncturists, Exercise at least
once a week
masseurs and alternative practitioners more often than men.
Eat fresh fruit
Working women also have a higher sickness absence rate than men: while the and berries daily
sickness absence for men is slightly more than 6 per cent of the total number 0 20 40 60 80 100
Per cent
of man-days, the figure for women is more than 9 per cent. Sickness related to
Source: Living conditions survey.
pregnancy can partly explain this difference.
Number of disability pensioners1. Sickness absence rate for
Women and men women and men
... and are more likely to become disability 1 000 Per cent
pensioners 200 12
Women’s health problems are also evident in 10
160 Women
the statistics on disability pensioners. In the Women
8
mid-1970s, the number of disability pensioners 120
was around 140 000, of which men accounted 80
Men
6
Men
for slightly more than half. The number of dis- 4
ability pensioners increased markedly in the 40 2
1980s, particularly among women. It then lev- 0
0
elled off, but started to increase again in 1995. 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2008 2001 2003 2005 2007 Q3
2009
In 2009, the total number of disability From 2004 figures also include persons
1
Source: Sickness absence statistics.
with indefinite disability benefit.
pensioners was 341 400: 198 500 women Source: NAV. More information:
and 142 900 men. The strong increase in the http://www.ssb.no/dodsarsak_en/
number of female disability pensioners must be viewed in connection with http://www.ssb.no/royk_en/
http://www.ssb.no/helseforhold_en/
the number of women entering the labour force during this period. http://www.ssb.no/sykefratot_en/
Statistics Norway 9Education
Thirsty for knowledge
Number of female and male Upper secondary education: Percentage of women in upper
students. 1 000 secondary education, by education
different choices programme. 2008
1 000
250
Around 90 per cent of 16-18 year-olds
are in upper secondary education, with Design, arts and crafts
200 around the same number of boys as Health and social care
girls. Whereas girls are in the majority
150
Women in general studies, vocational studies Music, dance and drama
100 have a majority of boys. Agriculture,
fishing and forestry
Specialisation
50
Men In the vocational subjects, boys and in general studies
0
girls choose very different lines of Restaurant and
food processing
1971 1978 1988 1998 2008 study. In health and social care, as well
Media and
Source: Education statistics. as design, arts and crafts, nine out of communication
ten pupils are girls, while building and Service and transport
construction and electricity and elec-
Sports and
tronics are completely dominated by physical studies
boys. Among pupils on the Programme Technical and
industrial production
for Specialisation in General Studies,
Electricity and electronics
girls are in the majority, with 57 per
cent in 2008. The differences in studies Building and
construction
undertaken by boys and girls in upper 0 20 40 60 80 100
secondary education are reflected in Per cent
Proportion of women and men the gender gap in the labour market. Source: Education statistics.
aged 19-24 years in higher
education, by county. 2008
It is more common for boys than for girls to drop out of upper secondary edu-
Men cation: 75 per cent of the girls who enrolled in upper secondary education in
Women
2003 attained qualifications for entry into university or vocational qualifica-
Oslo
tions within five years, compared with just 62 per cent of the boys.
Sør-Trøndelag
Akershus
Sogn og Fjordane Wise women
Hordaland Since the mid-1980s, women have been in the majority in higher education,
Aust-Agder and today more than six out of ten students are women. The proportion of
Rogaland
women is particularly high at university colleges (64 per cent). Whereas 39
Telemark
per cent of women aged 19-24 years were in higher education in 2008, this
Vest-Agder
Møre og Romsdal
applied to only 25 per cent of the men.
Vestfold
Buskerud The female majority in higher education is not unique to Norway. The situa-
Oppland tion is similar in most EU countries, including the new member states.
Nord-Trøndelag
Hedmark Women now make up the majority (61 per cent) of the graduates at universi-
Troms ties and university colleges. 55 per cent of students at Master degree level
Nordland
and 63 per cent at Bachelor degree level are women. Women are also in the
Østfold
majority among students who study abroad (59 per cent).
Finnmark
0 10 20 30 40 50
Per cent In the autumn of 2008, women were in the majority in all the major fields of
Source: Education statistics. study apart from natural sciences, vocational and technical subjects, where
10 Statistics Norwaytwo out of three students were men. The largest majority of women was
found in health, welfare and sports subjects, as well as teaching training,
where almost eight out of ten students were women.
Women from rural areas
Traditionally, the recruits to higher education were men from urban areas,
often with parents with higher education. This is about to change, however.
Women’s entry to higher education has resulted in a more even geographical
distribution of applicants to higher education.
Proportion of women and men
In 2008, 39 per cent of women and 25 per cent of men aged 19-24 years were with higher education in
different age groups. 2008
in higher education (including those studying abroad). Although the female
Per cent
proportion varies considerably depending on where they live, it is highest in 60
the least central/most sparsely populated counties like Sogn og Fjordane and Women
50
Møre og Romsdal. Taking the regional dimension into account, this figure
40
varies to a far lesser extent for men.
30 Men
Consequently, the greatest differences between men and women are found in 20
these areas. In Sogn og Fjordane for instance, the proportion of female stu- 10
dents is 42 per cent, compared with 25 per cent male students. In Finnmark 0
– also a sparsely populated county – the corresponding figures are 30 and 20- 25- 30- 40- 50- 60- 67
24 29 39 49 59 66 years
15 per cent. In central counties such as Oslo and Akershus the differences Age/years
and
older
between women and men are far less, but there is also a clear majority of
Source: Education statistics.
women in these areas studying at university colleges and universities.
More women than men have higher education Proportion of female teachers
A growing proportion of men and women in the population are educated at Primary and lower
universities or university colleges. However, the share of women with higher Per cent
secondary education
Upper secondary education
education is increasing at a quicker rate than the share of men. In 2008, 29 80
per cent of women and 25 per cent of men had higher education. 70
60
In the population as a whole, there still are more men than women who have 50
completed a university degree at Master level (more than four years), with 8 40
and 5 per cent respectively in 2008. However, since 2004, more women than 30
men have completed a Master degree course. If this trend continues, there 20
will also gradually be more women than men with a Master degree from uni- 10
versities or university colleges. 0
1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2006 2008
Source: Labour force survey.
Women dominate the staff room
Female teachers have long been in the majority in primary and lower second-
ary education, and the proportion continues to increase: seven out of ten More information:
teachers in primary and lower secondary schools are women. Women are also http://www.ssb.no/utuvh_en/
http://www.ssb.no/utniv_en/
making their mark in upper secondary education, with more than half of all http://www.ssb.no/yrkeaku_en/
teachers at upper secondary schools now being women. http://www.ssb.no/vgu_en/
Statistics Norway 11Work
Still male and female professions
Women aged 15-64 in employ- High labour force participation ...
ment and share in part-time
work. Selected countries. Q1 2009 There are approximately 2.5 million people aged 15-74 in employment in
Norway, of which women account for 47 per cent.
Part-time
Economically active
Italy
Labour force participation for women in- Percentage of women and men in
creased significantly from the beginning the labour force. 15-74 years
Spain of the 1970s until the end of the 1980s, Per cent
100
France but remained more or less stable for men.
Men
During the economic recession from the 80
United
Kingdom end of the 1980s to 1993, the participa- 60
Finland tion rate for women remained steady, but Women
40
fell for men. Since then, the share has
Sweden
increased for both sexes. In 2008, almost 20
Denmark 71 per cent of women and 77 per cent
0
of men aged 15-74 participated in the 1972 1980 1990 2000 2008
Norway
labour force. Source: Labour force survey.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Per cent
Labour force participation for women is high in Norway, and the gap between
Source: Eurostat.
women’s and men’s participation is small compared with other countries.
Since the 1980s, women aged 25-40 in particular have been more active in
Proportion in the labour force the labour market. This can be attributed to the increased number of kinder-
aged 15-74 years. Women and garten places available and good welfare schemes that make it easier to
men 2008 and women 1980 combine a career and family.
Per cent
100 Men 2008
... but many women still work part time
80 Women 2008 The trend is that countries with a high proportion of women in employment
60 Women 1980 also have a high share of women working part time, and there are still far
more women than men working part time in Norway. However, fewer women
40
and more men work part time today than 10 years ago. In 1990, 48 per cent
20 of women and 9 per cent of men worked part time, compared with 43 and
0
13 per cent respectively today.
15- 20- 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60- 65-
19 24 29 34 39 44 49 54 59 64 74
Age/years It is particularly women with more than one child under the age of 16 who
Source: Labour force survey. work part time. For men, part-time work is more common in combination
with studies or at the end of their career.
Weekly hours of work for
women and men in employment Since the 1970s, the weekly working hours for men has fallen from 44 to
No. of hours 37 hours. Weekly working hours for women fell by three hours by the mid-
50
Men
1980s, but have since increased. In 2008, weekly working hours for women
40 totalled 31.
Women
30
Majority of unemployed are men
20
From the beginning of the 1970s until the recession of 1983-84, the unem-
10 ployment rate remained steady at just under 2 per cent of the labour force,
0 but was slightly higher for women than for men. When unemployment
1972 1980 1990 2000 2008
increased in the 1980s, these gender differences levelled out.
Source: Labour force survey.
12 Statistics NorwayAt the beginning of the 1990s, the unemployment rate was higher for men. Unemployed women and men
aged 15-74 years. Percentage of
In 1993, unemployment peaked at its highest level ever, with 6.6 per cent for the labour force
men and 5.2 per cent for women.
Per cent
8
The recession of the 1980s and 1990s mainly hit male-dominated industries 7
such as manufacturing and building and construction. Women more often 6
5
work in health services, teaching and care services in the public sector, which
4
are less affected by cyclical fluctuations. 3
Women
2
At the start of 2009, Norway had few unemployed men and women aged 1 Men
16-64 compared with other European countries, with 3.6 and 2.4 per cent 0
1972 1980 1990 2000 2008
respectively. In the Nordic countries, Denmark was the next lowest, with 4.6
Source: Labour force survey.
unemployment for women and 5.9 per cent for men. Sweden had the highest
unemployment in the Nordic region, with 7.7 per cent of women and 8.2 per Unemployed women and men
cent of men. The highest unemployment in Europe was in Spain, with 18.1 aged 15-64 years. Selected
countries. Q1 2009. Percentage
per cent for women and 17.0 per cent for men. of the labour force
Spain
More women in the public sector
Today, 48 per cent of women and 19 per cent of men work in the public sec- Italy
tor. These figures have remained stable in recent years. Women are more
often employed in the local government sector, while there is a more even France
distribution of men between the local government and central government Sweden
sectors.
Finland
Still male and female professions Women and men in employment in selected United
Despite the increase in the educa- occupations, 15-74 years. 2008 Kingdom
tion level, male and female career Teachers in primary and Denmark
Women
paths are still quite traditional. lower secondary schools
Men
Drivers Norway
Typical female professions are Nurses 0 5 10 15 20
Per cent
teachers in kindergartens, primary Cleaners Source: Eurostat
and secondary schools, nurses,
Computer engineers
cleaners and secretaries. Typical Labour force
male professions are craftsmen, Kindergarten teachers = Total of employed and
building and construction workers, unemployed. Employed is
Caretakers defined as persons engaged
drivers and engineers. In some pro- in income-generating work.
fessions, e.g. psychologists, postal Physicians
Unemployed are persons wit-
workers, marketing and advertising Secretaries
Women
hout income-generating work,
staff, the numbers are approximate- Men
but who are looking for work
Postal workers and can start immediately.
ly equal for women and men.
0 20 40 60 80 100
1 000 Working hours
Source: Labour force survey.
= Full time is defined as a
minimum of 37 hours a week,
or 30-36 hours when stated
that this is full time. Part time is
More information: therefore less than 30 hours, or
http://www.ssb.no/aku_en/ 30-36 hours when stated that
http://www.ssb.no/yrkeaku_en/ this is not full time.
Statistics Norway 13Wages
A woman’s worth
Average monthly salaries1 for Equal pay
women and men
Equal pay can be defined as equal pay for equal work. But what does “equal work”
Men or “work of equal value” really mean? Women and men work different hours,
Women
NOK
Women’s salaries as
Per cent
100
have different educational backgrounds and work in different occupations and
40 000
35 000
a percentage of men’s
96 industries. However, even when these factors are taken into account there are still
30 000 92 some differences, and this is partly due to the large pay gap between the public
25 000 88 and private sector.
20 000 84 Average monthly salaries1 for
15 000 80
Pay gap continues women and men, by age. 2008
76
10 000 On average, women earn 85 per cent of men’s NOK
5 000 72 50 000
68
salaries, in both part-time and full-time jobs.
0 Men
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 Wages have increased steadily since 1997 for 40 000
1
Full-time equivalents. both men and women, but the pay gap has
Source: Wage statistics.
remained relatively stable. 30 000 Women
20 000
Full-time equivalent Men’s monthly earnings were NOK 5 400 more
monthly earnings than women’s in 2008 on average. While the 10 000
In order to be able to compare average monthly earnings for male employees
salaries of full-time and part- was NOK 36 500, the corresponding figure for 0
time employees, the part-time -24 25- 30- 35- 40- 45- 50- 55- 60+
employees’ earnings are con- females was NOK 31 100. If we only consider 29 34 39 44 49 54 60
verted to full-time equivalents, full-time employees, the pay level was some- Age/years
i.e. the monthly earnings of what higher for both men and women, and the Full-time equivalents.
1
part-time employees will be pay gap was smaller than for all employees as a Source: Wage statistics.
quoted as if they work full
time. Unless otherwise speci-
whole. Full-time male employees earned NOK
fied, the full-time equivalent 37 100 in 2008, while the corresponding figure for full-time female employees
monthly earnings are quoted was NOK 32 300 (including various additional allowances and bonuses). Full-
in this document. time female employees earned 87 per cent of full-time male employees’ salaries.
Additional allowances and overtime – a male privilege?
The differences in earnings become even greater because men more often than
women have various forms of additional allowances and bonuses, and are paid
more overtime.
Women’s salaries as a percent-
age of men’s, by sector Women’s basic salaries were 87 per cent of men’s basic salaries in 2008, regard-
Per cent less of contracted working hours. However, when additional allowances and
90
bonuses/commissions are included, women’s salaries fall to 85 per cent of men’s
88 Public sector salaries. The differences become even greater when overtime payment is includ-
86
ed, with women’s salaries falling to 83 per cent of men’s salaries.
All employees
84
Wider pay gap in private sector
Private sector
82 The differences in earnings between men and women vary by sector, industry, oc-
80 cupation, level of education and age. When considering the public and private sectors
separately, the pay gap is widest within the private sector, which also has the highest
0
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 number of employees. In the private sector, the women’s share of men’s earnings was
Source: Wage statistics. 84 per cent in 2008, compared with 88 per cent in the public sector.
14 Statistics NorwayPay gap increases with age Average monthly salaries1 for men and women in
Wages or income?
selected industries. 2008
Both women’s and men’s sala- How much do you earn? Is it
ries increase with age. This “age Men NOK Women the amount on your monthly
effect” is a result of seniority Financial services
58 000 pay slip or your total income
57 000
in one year? In everyday lan-
and education, but is far greater 56 000
55 000 guage, wages and income are
for men than for women. The 54 000 often confused, but in statis-
53 000
increase in earnings levels out and 52 000
tics there is a clear distinction
falls when the woman passes 40, 51 000 between the two:
50 000
while men’s salaries increase up 49 000 Income is a broader term than
to 50, thus widening the pay gap. 48 000
47 000
wages. Apart from income
When women are in their 20s, 46 000 from work, this term includes
45 000 capital income and benefits
their salaries are 92 per cent of 44 000 such as housing support,
men’s salaries, but when they have 43 000
42 000 child benefit, unemployment
passed 50, their salaries are just 41 000 benefit, pensions, social
40 000 security etc.
about 80 per cent of men’s salaries. Central government 39 000
There is also a “generation effect” Teaching staff in schools
38 000
Financial services Wages represent payment
37 000
since the oldest women belong to Manufacturing 36 000 for work done. Wages are
a generation where women had a Wholesale and retail trade
35 000 Teaching staff in schools often payment for a fixed
34 000
period of time, for instance
much lower education than men. Health and social services 33 000 Central government
hourly wages, weekly wages
32 000
Municipalities and
county municipalities 31 000 Manufacturing or monthly wages. In order to
Teaching staff most equal 30 000
Municipalities and
29 000
make comparisons, all types
county municipalities
The pay gap varies considerably 28 000
Health and social services
of wages are converted to
from industry to industry. In the
27 000
Wholesale and retail trade
monthly salaries in the wage
26 000
statistics.
financial services industry, where Full-time equivalents.
1
the salary level is relatively high, Source: Wage statistics.
women earn the least compared
with men. In addition, women’s salaries as a percentage of men’s salaries have fallen Average monthly salaries1, by
education level. Women and
in recent years in this industry. In 1997, women earned 73 per cent of men’s monthly men. 2008
earnings within the financial services industry, which fell to 65 per cent in 2008.
Men
Women
The gap is narrowest among teaching staff, where women’s earnings were 97 per NOK
Women’s salaries as
Per cent
100
60 000
cent of men’s earnings in 2008. Two thirds of teaching staff are women. a percentage of men’s
50 000 90
80
Does “female education” pay? 40 000
Women and men still choose traditional subjects: for instance, whereas women 30 000 70
choose the arts and humanities, teacher training and health and care services, 20 000 60
men choose economics and technical subjects. This gender segregation is most 10 000 50
evident at Bachelor degree level, and the results can be seen in the wage statistics. 0
0
Com- Upper Higher Higher
pulsory secondary educa- educa-
Somewhat surprisingly perhaps, women’s earnings as a percentage of men’s edu- educa- tion, tion,
cation tion up to more than
earnings are lowest among the group with a short higher education. This is of 4 years 4 years
course related to the fact that women and men in this group work in very different 1
Full-time equivalents.
occupations and industries. While the men, to a large extent, work as engineers Source: Wage statistics.
or technicians in the private sector, women are more likely to work in the public
sector as teachers or nurses. The pay gap is also greater among those with the
highest level of education than among those with a lower education. This proves More information:
that higher education is no guarantee of equality in terms of equal pay. http://www.ssb.no/lonnansatt_en/
Statistics Norway 15Income and wealth
Mind the gap!
Average gross income. Women Women’s income 64 per cent of men’s
and men
In 2008, the average gross income for all adults was NOK 345 300. While the
1 000 NOK average gross income for women was NOK 269 000, the figure was
450
400
NOK 423 100 for men.
350
Men
300 As shown previously, average monthly earnings for women in full-time
250 Women employment represent 87 per cent of men’s. Women’s gross annual income,
200
however, is only 64 per cent of men’s. In 1984, the corresponding figure was
150
100
47 per cent. In recent years the relative difference has been stable.
50
0 The difference in income is much greater than the difference in earnings
1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008
primarily because there are fewer women than men in the labour force and
Source: Tax statistics for personal taxpayers.
because they are more likely to work part time. In addition, the majority of
pensioners on a basic old age pension are women.
Average or median?
Wages or income?
How much do you earn? Is it Male income distribution is far less equal than women’s; some men have very
the amount on your monthly high incomes. It may therefore be favourable to use the median instead of the
pay slip or your total income average to describe the difference in income between the sexes. The median,
in one year? In everyday lan- which is the value that divides the distribution of income into two equal
guage, wages and income are
parts, was NOK 363 600 for men and NOK 248 000 for women in 2008. Using
often confused, but in statis-
tics there is a clear distinction this measure, women’s income as a percentage of men’s income increase from
between the two: 64 to 68 per cent.
Income is a broader term than
wages. Apart from income Men earn more from self-employment
from work, this term includes Earned income makes up slightly more than two thirds of gross income for
capital income and benefits both women and men. A larger part of women’s income is made up of nation-
such as housing support, child
benefit, unemployment be- al insurance benefits (partly because there are far more female pensioners),
nefit, pensions, social security whereas men have more income from self-employment and dividends.
etc.
Wages represent payment for Majority on basic pension are women Average old age pension. Women
work done. Wages are often The large difference in income between and men and women’s pension as
payment for a fixed period of share of men’s
women and men is not only because women
time, for instance hourly wa- 1 000 NOK Per cent
ges, weekly wages or monthly work less hours and are less likely to be 250
Women
76
Men
wages. In order to make com- part of the labour force than men, it is also W/M
parisons, all types of wages are because the pension of today’s pensioners is 200 75
converted to monthly salaries to a large extent based on and determined 150 74
in the wage statistics.
by their work history.
100 73
In 2009, the average old age pension was 50 72
NOK 209 000 for men and NOK 152 600 for 0 0
women. This means that women’s pensions 2000 2003 2006 2009
are 73 per cent of men’s. This is related to Source: NAV.
16 Statistics Norwaythe fact that almost half of all female pensioners still only receive a basic Average gross income. Women
and men, by county. 2008
pension, whereas this only applies to one in ten male pensioners. In other
words: nine out of ten pensioners with a basic pension are women. Men
Women
Akershus
Smaller gender gap in the north Rogaland
Both the income level and the relative difference between women and men Oslo
vary considerably from county to county and municipality to municipality. Hordaland
Women in Oslo had the highest income in 2008, with NOK 316 600, while Vest-Agder
women in Nord-Trøndelag had the lowest, with NOK 240 500. The differ- Buskerud
ence between women’s and men’s income is greatest in Rogaland and least Vestfold
Møre og Romsdal
in Finnmark. This applies to both absolute values and relative figures. Men in
Aust-Agder
Rogaland had incomes that were NOK 217 900 more than their female Sør-Trøndelag
counterparts, while in Finnmark the difference was NOK 80 500. Telemark
Østfold
The three most northern counties in Norway have a pattern of least relative Sogn og Fjordane
income differences, and the greatest differences are in the south and west Troms Romsa
(Rogaland, the Agder counties, Hordaland and Møre og Romsdal). Nordland
Oppland
Nord-Trøndelag
The differences are even greater at municipality level. In some municipali-
Hedmark
ties in Finnmark, women’s income is about the same as men’s, particularly in
Finnmark Finnmárku
Kautokeino and Karasjok, which is due to the men’s low income level in these 0 100 200 300 400 500
municipalities. Conversely, there are a number of municipalities in Western 1 000 NOK
Norway where the women have less than half the income of the men. Source: Tax statistics for personal taxpayers.
Asker and Bærum have the highest income levels in Norway for men and
women, but women in these municipalities still only have slightly more than
half of the men’s income.
Majority of assets owned by men
Taxable gross wealth. Women
Unlike income, wealth cannot be linked to one individual in a family or and men
household. The registered owner of various assets can be random, in other 1 000 NOK
cases it is an expression of traditional attitudes and the power structure in a 900
family. 800
700
600 Men
In 2008, Norwegian men had a taxable gross wealth of NOK 859 300 on 500
average, compared with NOK 445 400 for women. Women’s gross wealth was 400
Women
300
around half of men’s; an increase from around 40 per cent in 1993. In relation 200
to taxable net wealth, however, the differences between men and women are 100
very small, which is partly due to the fact that men have more debt. In 2008, 0
1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008
women’s taxable net wealth was NOK 133 400 on average, compared with
Source: Tax statistics for personal taxpayers.
NOK 137 100 for men.
More information:
http://www.ssb.no/selvangivelse_en/
Statistics Norway 17Culture and media use
Women are culture vultures
Proportion of women and men Women take up cultural offers such as going to the theatre, operas, ballets, art
taking up various cultural offers
in last 12 months. 2008
exhibitions and libraries to a greater extent than men. Men are most often to be
found at sporting events, however there are no major gender differences when it
Cinema comes to going to the cinema, cultural festivals, museums and concerts.
Concerts
Growing numbers of men are attending the theatre and going to see musicals
Public libraries
Theatre/
and shows; 49 per cent in 2008 compared with just 38 per cent in 1991. The
musicals/shows corresponding figures for women are 57 and 51 per cent respectively. Women
Sporting events
are most keen to take up cultural offers regardless of their age.
Art exhibitions
Museums Opera lovers the oldest …
Religious/ Since 1991, the number attending operas and operettas has been growing
ethics meetings
Cultural festivals
steadily; 8 per cent of women and 5 per cent of men in 2008. The majority of
Ballet/dance these were the more elderly part of the population, with 14 and 11 per cent
performances
Operas/operettas
Women
Men aged 67-74 in 2008.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Per cent … and cinema goers the youngest
Source: Norwegian cultural barometer.
Going to the cinema is a popular pastime, with seven out of ten of the popula-
tion visiting the cinema in 2008. In the same period, 95 per cent of women
and 90 per cent of men aged 20-24 took a trip to the cinema. The average age
Proportion of women and men of cinema goers is 34; the lowest of all users of cultural offers.
who have attended a concert in
last 12 months, by age. 2008
Technical interests for men, art for women
80
Women Visitor numbers for museums in Norway remained similar between 1991 and
70 Men
2008, with 40 and 47 per cent each year for men and women. Whilst men
60 more often visit technical museums, women choose art. The interest in natu-
50 ral history and archaeological museums is the same for both sexes.
40
36 per cent of men and 47 per cent of women had attended an art exhibition.
30
This difference has remained constant since the start of the 1990s.
20
10 More women at the library …
0
9-15 16-24 25-44 45-66 67-79
Fewer people are visiting public libraries than before, and the majority of
years years years years years visitors are women. Six out of ten women had visited a public library in 2008.
Source: Norwegian cultural barometer. Children and young people visit libraries the most. 69 per cent of boys and
girls aged 9-12 visit a public library in a year. Visitors to libraries average
Proportion of women and men
5.5 trips a year.
who have visited a public library
in last 12 months, by age. 2008 … and men at sporting events
80
More men (61 per cent) than women (50 per cent) attend sporting events. 72
70 Women per cent of boys aged 9-15 attend sporting events, whilst the corresponding
60
Men
figure for women aged 67-79 is just 23 per cent. Men attend more football match-
es than women, who are more likely to be found watching a handball match.
50
40 Strong growth for new medias
30 Fewer people are reading printed newspapers than before. The majority of
20 newspaper readers used to be men, but in 2008 69 per cent of women and 67
10 per cent of men read a newspaper an average day. These figures have fallen
0
9-15 16-24 25-44 45-66 67-79
since 1991, from 82 and 87 per cent respectively. Men and women in Norway
years years years years years spend an average of approximately 27 minutes reading the printed news-
Source: Norwegian cultural barometer. paper every day; 12 minutes less than in 1991.
18 Statistics NorwayThe fall in the number of printed newspapers and time spent reading news- Percentage of newspaper
readers on average day. Women
papers is due to the explosive entry into the market of other medias in recent and men
years. 67 per cent of women and 75 per cent of men used the Internet on a
Per cent
typical day in 2008. This is a huge increase from 1997, when the correspond- 100
ing figures were 3 and 10 per cent. The share of children and young people Men
using the Internet is fairly evenly spread between the sexes. From the age of 80
Women
25 and over, the proportion of men is the highest. Women and men in the
60
age group 67-79 spend the least time surfing the Internet; 16 per cent of the
women and 42 per cent of the men. 40
Men use home computers to a greater extent than women. This difference 20
applies to all age groups, with the exception of the young. Nevertheless, a
growing number of women are logging on to the home computer, and the in- 0
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008
crease in the past year applied solely to women. In 2008, the share was 55 per
Source: Norwegian media barometer.
cent for women and 62 for men, compared with 6 and 16 per cent in 1994.
Only 16 per cent of women aged 67-79 use a home computer on a typical day,
compared with 35 per cent of men in the same age group. Percentage using the Internet
on average day. Women and
men
Less TV
Despite the increasing access to 24-hour television channels, we are not Per cent
80
spending any more time watching TV. Approximately 80 per cent of men and
70
women watched television on a typical day in both 1991 and 2008. News
60
broadcasts are the most commonly watched type of programme, followed by Men
50
television series, sport and entertainment programmes.
40
Women
More women read magazines ... 30
19 per cent of women and 7 per cent of men read magazines on a typical day. 20
The number of men and women reading magazines has fallen since the start 10
of the 1990s, with only slight changes in recent years. 23 per cent of women 0
1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008
aged 67-79 read magazines, and the corresponding figure for boys aged 9-15
Source: Norwegian media barometer.
is 3 per cent.
… and books
One out of four reported reading books in their leisure time in 2008. More
women than men read books; 28 and 18 per cent respectively. Fiction books
are most popular with both sexes. Women buy books from book clubs and
borrow books from other people more often than men, and men most often
buy books in book shops or read books they have received as gifts.
Radio less popular
The interest in radio has waned despite a growing number of channels and
longer transmission times. In 1991, 69 per cent of women and 73 per cent of men
listened to the radio on a typical day, compared with 52 and 56 per cent in 2008.
Radio listeners tuned in for an average of 80 minutes a day in 2008. In 1991,
women spent 110 minutes a day listening to the radio. This fell to 69 minutes More information:
in 2008, and the corresponding figures in the same periods for men are 103 http://www.ssb.no/kulturbar_en/
and 91 per cent. http://www.ssb.no/medie_en/
Statistics Norway 19You can also read
