ABSTRACT
Until a few decades ago, Norway used to be an ethnically homogenous country with fairly low levels of immigration (see, for example, Nielsson 1985). This is clearly not the case any longer. With the proportion of foreign-born resembling the level in the USA, and a diverse and fast-growing immigrant population, the country is rapidly being transformed into a genuine multi-ethnic society. The reasons for this relatively swift increase in immigration are complex and are shared by many other industrialized countries, particularly those in Western Europe. On one hand, the dual processes of European integration and the enlargement of the European Union have resulted in increased numbers of European immigrants. On the other, fairly large numbers of immigrants from developing countries are entering Norway as asylum seekers or through various family reunion schemes.
