The most violent category of inhabitant in Norway is a Norwegian-born male aged 15–24 with parents from Somalia. The frequency of violence in this group is nine times higher than for peers without an immigrant background. In second place come descendants of Moroccans, followed by immigrants from Somalia. These increase the consumption of tax-funded services such as the Police and Prosecution Authority, which stands at 31.9 billion kroner in this year’s state budget.
The violent incident in Bergen on 17 May, which was filmed and spread across social media into thousands of homes, has received enormous attention. Especially after Progress Party politician Jon Helgheim commented on the incident on Facebook, accompanied by a photograph. First out was Arild Hermstad from the Green Party (MDG), who demands that Helgheim resign as chairman of the Justice Committee.
Many politicians from the Norwegian Left have joined in. They claim that Helgheim violates privacy and makes stigmatising statements about minors with minority backgrounds. Document wrote about the matter.
Gang of foreign youths attack 17-year-old graduation celebrant on Norway’s national day
What is shown in the video is a group of suit-clad men of apparently foreign origin attacking a russ (high school seniors’ red/blue-cap spring party) in broad daylight in central Bergen. The russ receives targeted punches and kicks to the head, even after he falls to the ground. He tries to protect himself as best he can. The recording ends with one of the attackers gaining momentum and jumping onto his head.
Rage boils on the Left
In Nettavisen, Member of Parliament Kamzy Gunaratnam (Labour Party) wrote an opinion piece entitled “The Progress Party chooses fear and scapegoats over knowledge”. In the text she elaborates: “There exists no party in Norway that has shown greater contempt for knowledge than the Progress Party.” She believes that when young men with foreign cultural backgrounds attack in groups, this is primarily due to social conditions.
Document.no has delved into the Statistics Norway report “Charges and charged persons by immigrant background” in order to find answers.
Kamzy Gunaratnam (Labour Party) believes that the Progress Party shows contempt for knowledge.
Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
Somalis are the most violent
The crime statistics are clear regarding where in the population violent criminals are found.
The most violent category in Norway is a young male aged 15–24 born in Norway to Somali immigrant parents. Based on the number of charges, it can be established that the frequency of violent crime in this group is nine times higher than for peers without an immigrant background.
The following table shows the frequency of charges for violence and abuse according to immigrant background, and the extent to which they are overrepresented compared with the corresponding age group without an immigrant background.
Male descendants of immigrants from Somalia aged 15–24 are the most violent in Norwegian society, measured by the number of charges relative to the size of the group.
During the measurement period, 312 charges for violence and abuse per 1,000 persons in this category were brought, expressed as 31.2 per cent in the table. This gives an overrepresentation of 8.9 compared with young men in the same age group without an immigrant background.
The high frequency of violent crime in this group means that at the average individual level, they consume almost nine times as many resources from the violent crime division of the police and prosecution authority as another peer citizen.
All country groups, whether immigrants or Norwegian-born descendants (2), are sorted according to the frequency of charges for violence and abuse.
All country groups with double overrepresentation or more in the violent crime division of the police are marked in red. Within the violence statistics they are powerful “plus variants”, as they pull the average sharply upwards.
That Swedish immigrants have ended up in that category may be connected to the Swedish gang war, although Statistics Norway provides no specific explanation.
Moderate plus variants are marked in yellow.
The immigrant groups marked in green are “minus variants” in the violence statistics, as they reduce the general frequency of violence by being on average less violent than ethnic Norwegians.
Among non-Western immigrants in this group we find Thais, Norwegian-born descendants of Vietnamese who fled communist tyranny in their homeland, and Filipinos.
Non-Western descendants more violent than their parents
The next table summarises the frequency of charges for violence and abuse, and over-/underrepresentation, sorted by continent.
Norwegian-born descendants of African immigrants come at the top, followed by African immigrants.
All categories have a higher frequency of charges for violence and abuse than peers without an immigrant background. Those with a Western immigrant background are modestly overrepresented.
The remarkable aspect of this table is that Norwegian-born persons with Western immigrant parents have a lower frequency of charges for violence and abuse than Western immigrants.
For the other immigrant groups, sorted by continent, with the exception of Asians, the Norwegian-born descendants are more violent than the immigrants from the same continent.
Palestinians – the most criminal people group in Norway
The objection to crime statistics is often the argument that a few ruin things for the majority. That is correct, but the size of “the few” varies significantly from group to group.
When it comes to all forms of crime, not only violence and abuse, male Palestinians top the crime statistics.
The following table shows general criminality, measured by the number of charged persons per 1,000 in the respective country groups. The table is sorted according to the frequency of charged persons with one or more charges against them. The table also shows the various groups’ over- or underrepresentation compared with peers without an immigrant background.
12.3 per cent of male Palestinians in the age group 15–24 have one or more charges against them for breaches of the Penal Code. This means that every eighth male Palestinian in this age group is a criminal. Thus, Palestinians are the most criminal people group in Norway.
Admittedly, 87.7 per cent of Palestinians in the group are not criminals. But the table shows that the size of “the few” who ruin things for the majority varies greatly from country group to country group.
Powerful plus variants in the crime statistics are marked in red, while moderate plus variants are marked in yellow. Thais have a crime frequency at the same level as peers without an immigrant background, while descendants of Vietnamese reduce the crime statistics and are therefore a statistical “minus variant” in this context.
Groups not mentioned consist of fewer than 5,000 individuals or have a negligible crime frequency. But they are included in the statistics for the continent to which they belong.
Descendants of Westerners reduce criminality
In the final table we show the proportion of criminals from different continents, based on one or more charges for breaches of the Penal Code. The table is sorted from the highest to the lowest frequency of criminals in the various groups.
Norwegian-born male descendants of African immigrants in the age group 15–24 have the highest number of criminals among them. Almost one in ten (9.5%) Norwegian-born boys with African immigrant parents is charged with a criminal act during the age interval 15–24 years.
This is an excess frequency of 2.7 compared with peers without an immigrant background. Peers born in Africa come in second place.
The table shows that inhabitants with a background from Africa are those who pull up criminality among non-Westerners. Compared with other non-Western immigrants, Africans are so-called plus variants in the crime statistics.
Only one category reduces the general crime statistics, and that is descendants of Western immigrants, marked in green.
The conclusion is that Statistics Norway is very clear regarding how violent crime and general criminality are distributed depending on the background of different immigrants.
Nimrah Ranzan lies on Politisk Kvarter
On Politisk Kvarter on 27 May, the Immigration Barometer was the topic. It shows that 7 out of 10 believe immigration leads to more crime.
AUF deputy leader Nimrah Ranzan does not believe this at all. She claimed that the Progress Party, represented by FpU leader Lars Løvold, is engaging in fearmongering, spreading a false narrative and not relating to statistics. The message sounded much like that of her party colleague Kamzy Gunaratnam (Labour Party).
She stubbornly claimed that only 34 immigrants arrived from Somalia last year and only 100 from Iraq, without any reaction from programme presenter Lilla Sølhusvik.
AUF deputy leader Nimrah Ranzan, second from the left, did not know the figures and chose a lie as the best way out. Here together with Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, AUF leader Gaute Børstad Skjervø and a Palestine activist.
Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB
Statistics Norway’s statistics show, however, that the Somali immigrant population increased by 672 persons in 2025, of whom 111 were immigrants and 561 Norwegian-born with immigrant parents.
Inhabitants with a background from Somalia are the fifth-largest immigrant group in Norway and number 44,744 persons, of whom 27,769 have immigrated while 16,975 are born in Norway to Somali immigrant parents. This corresponds to the population of Norway’s twelfth-largest city, Tromsø. In contrast to war refugees from Vietnam and Sri Lanka, they perform worst in almost all statistics.
The Iraqi diaspora in Norway, which is heavily overrepresented in both the violence statistics and the general crime statistics, increased by 505 persons, of whom 163 were immigrants and 342 Norwegian-born descendants.
This means that Ranzan misses badly in her statements. When she with great conviction and self-confidence claims what she does and refers to statistics that do not exist, it appears to be a lie.