Norway

Norway regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. The National Police Directorate conducts annual victimization surveys, which include questions about hate crime, with the aim of measuring unreported hate crime.

SELECT YEAR

OFFICIAL DATA

Year	Hate crimes recorded by police	Prosecuted	Sentenced
2021	959	54	17
2020	744	804	67
2019	761	70	37
2018	624	60	37
2017	549	Not available	Not available
2016	466	Not available	Not available
2015	347	Not available	Not available
2014	223	Not available	Not available
2013	238	Not available	Not available
2012	216	Not available	Not available
2011	218	Not available	Not available
2010	307	Not available	Not available
2009	236	Not available	Not available

About 2021 Data

The records presented in this table include incidents of hate speech and discrimination, which fall outside of the OSCE's definition of hate crime. The sum of disaggregated incidents below adds up to more than the total because crimes can be recorded under more than one bias motivation. The records on prosecuted and sentenced cases do not include all hate crimes recorded in 2021.

Hate crime recorded by police

In the breakdown below, the numbers do not correspond with the total number of police-recorded hate crimes. This is because: (i) there may be several motives registered in one criminal case; and (ii) the police records included incidents of hate speech and discrimination. Such incidents were excluded as they constitute hate speech and discrimination, which fall outside of the OSCE's definition of hate crime.

By bias motivation
By type of crime

Download official data

National developments

In January 2021, amendments to Section 77 of the Criminal Code (Aggravating circumstances) came into force, following their adoption by the Norwegian Parliament in November 2020. The amendments extended the list of protected characteristics to gender identity and gender expression, while also changing the term “homosexual orientation” to “sexual orientation”. The amendments have thus allowed harsher penalties to be imposed for crimes motivated by a wider range of protected grounds.

In 2021, the Norwegian Police established a "National competence environment" on hate crime. Its main duty is to increase capacity and build a common framework and standards among police and prosecutors to counter hate crime, including through dialogue and co-operation with civil society.

KEY OBSERVATION

ODIHR recognizes Norway's efforts to address a wider range of bias motivations through amendments to the Criminal Code. However, based on the available information, it observes that Norway's hate crime recording and statistics do not sufficiently distinguish hate crimes from other crimes. In addition, ODIHR observes that Norway would benefit from ensuring that hate crimes are addressed in a comprehensive manner, including by introducing a co-ordination mechanism.

ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, OSCE participating States agreed to a common definition of hate crime and committed to collecting reliable data and statistics on hate crimes. To that end, hate crimes need to be distinguished throughout the recording and data collection process from discrimination and other crimes. In Ministerial Council Decisions 9/09 and 13/06, participating States also committed to ensuring a comprehensive approach to hate crimes. To that end, the authorities are required to co-ordinate among themselves while collaborating closely with civil society. ODIHR stands ready to support Norway in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as by providing further resources and tailored assistance in the area of addressing hate crimes comprehensively.

Our methodology