Norway as a whole has had the largest population growth ever in 2007, but still the population decline in Northern Norway continues. Out of 19 counties in Norway, only Nordland and Finnmark, both situated in the north, had a decreasing population. Nordland’s population decreased with 600 persons, while Finnmark lost 266 inhabitants. The total population in Nordland was 234 996 at the start of 2008, while in Finnmark there were 72 399 inhabitants at the same time.
The only county in northern Norway with a grow th in 2007 is Troms, which gained 506 inhabitants last year. It is especially the growth of the region’s largest city, Tromsø, which contributes to this growth. Tromsø has 65 286 inhabitants, which is 794 more than at the end of 2006. In general there is a population growth in the cities of northern Norway, while smaller communities slowly are depopulated.
Also Norrbotten County in northern Sweden is experiencing depopulation, in spite of large investments in the mining industry and high business activity in general. The net population decrease in Norrbotten in 2007 was 1300 inhabitants, and at de end of the year there were 250 602 persons living in the county.
Murmansk Oblast has lost almost 400 000 inhabitants over the last 20 years, but it now seems like the situation has stabilized. In 2007 the population decreased with only 0,7 percent and by the end of the year there were 851 000 persons living in the county. The other Russian counties in the Barents Region have also experienced large depopulation over the last years. The largest county, Arkhangelsk Oblast, has decreased from 1 569 000 inhabitants in 1990, to 1 280 000 inhabitants at the beginning of 2007.
Finnish Lapland had 184 390 inhabitants at the start of 2008, which is a decrease of 545 inhabitants from the previous year. Also in this part of the Barents Region depopulation has been a huge problem over the latest years and it doesn’t seem to stop yet.
