ABSTRACT
The seriousness of the demographic situation of marginal Norway, of which North Norway has been taken as the most characteristic example, has not been fully understood. With the 1970 census data not available, the effects of these important migration flows upon the age and sex structure of the population, and the consequences of migrations for the occupational structure of marginal Norway, are difficult to measure. Age-selective migration from marginal areas has been taking place for much longer in Sweden than in Finland and Norway, where it has been important during the last 10 or 15 years only. Generally, the marginal areas closest to the growth areas entered this demographic situation first; the more distant marginal areas kept their vitality longer, partly because migration started later, partly because the birth-rate was higher. The very strong emigration from Finland to Sweden during recent years, and in particular in 1969 and 1970, accelerated the depopulation process in Northern Finland.
