Four of ten immigrant children in Norway live in poverty
NTB/The Local - [email protected]
Published: 11 Aug, 2016 CET.
Updated: Thu 11 Aug 2016 10:08 CET
A new report shows that 36 percent of immigrant children live in poverty in Norway today, compared to just five percent of children with Norwegian parents.
“Generally, we can say that many children of immigrants living in households with low labour market affiliations, and many live on social benefits. And those parents who do have jobs often have low incomes,” Statistic Norway (SSB) researcher Elisabeth Omholt told Dagsavisen.
A report submitted by Omholt and her colleagues shows that 36 percent of children of immigrants live in poverty in Norway, and the numbers are slightly higher in Oslo.
In comparison, only five percent of children of Norwegian parents in the same situation.
Athar Ali, the head of the Norwegian Immigrant Forum, said that poverty among immigrants often leads to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.
“It has negative consequences on children's upbringing, and it makes people's lives difficult,” he said.
He said that many immigrants are unable to apply their education and work experience from their home countries to new careers in Norway.
“Additionally, many immigrants have large families and maybe only one income. Although there are more immigrant working now than before, there are still many large families living on one income,” he said.
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“Generally, we can say that many children of immigrants living in households with low labour market affiliations, and many live on social benefits. And those parents who do have jobs often have low incomes,” Statistic Norway (SSB) researcher Elisabeth Omholt told Dagsavisen.
A report submitted by Omholt and her colleagues shows that 36 percent of children of immigrants live in poverty in Norway, and the numbers are slightly higher in Oslo.
In comparison, only five percent of children of Norwegian parents in the same situation.
Athar Ali, the head of the Norwegian Immigrant Forum, said that poverty among immigrants often leads to mental disorders such as anxiety and depression.
“It has negative consequences on children's upbringing, and it makes people's lives difficult,” he said.
He said that many immigrants are unable to apply their education and work experience from their home countries to new careers in Norway.
“Additionally, many immigrants have large families and maybe only one income. Although there are more immigrant working now than before, there are still many large families living on one income,” he said.
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