There are more people receiving old-age pensions in Norway than there are children receiving child benefits for the first time, according to the latest figures from Nav.

It revealed that there were 1,097,400 recipients of old-age pensions and 1,096,500 children with child benefits in June.

“In June, the number of old-age pensioners exceeded the number of children with child benefit for the first time,” said Nav director of labour and welfare, Hege Nilssen.

“This marks a historic shift in the population composition, and shows a development that will have great significance for working life and the welfare society in the years to come.”

The number of old-age pensioners in Norway has increased “sharply” since March 2021, rising by over 100,000.

Over the same period, the number of children receiving child benefit has fallen by more than 8,000.

This trend is expected to continue, with Nav’s analysis showing that three-quarters of the population growth up to 2035 will come from the elderly.

Meanwhile, the working-age population is expected to decline in more than half of Norway’s municipalities, while fewer people aged under 18 is expected in three quarters of them.

Nav forecast that the number of old-age pensioners would continue to rise, while the number of children with child benefit will fall.

In 2035, it anticipated there will be around 1,350,000 old-age pensioners, 300,000 more than the number of children with child benefit.

“The proportion of people of working age will fall,” said Nilssen. “This makes labour an increasingly scarce resource.

“It will therefore become even more important to get more people into work and facilitate the possibility for more people to stay in work longer.”

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