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Since 2013, Vadsø in Finnmark has lost more than 10 percent of the population.
The Immigrants Monument in Vadsø, erected in 1977 in memory of the significant Finnish and Kven immigration to Finnmark in the 19th century.
Berit Keilen / NTB
Published:
Vadsø Mayor Wenche Pedersen (Labor Party) had a long-awaited conversation with District Minister and Digitization Linda Hofstad Helleland (H) on Thursday.
– We were informed about the situation in our municipality and how the lack of state coordination has resulted in a very negative development in the number of state jobs. At the same time, we have given constructive proposals for measures and initiatives, the mayor tells Nationen.
Since the current government took power in late 2013, Vadsø’s population has dropped from 6,223 to 5,653 in the third quarter of 2020. This is a 10 percent decline in seven years.
Mayor Pedersen believes that Vadsø, which was previously the county seat of Finnmark, has been hit hard by the regional reform, where Troms and Finnmark were merged.
On Friday, former Conservative minister Victor Norman will present the report of the Demographics Committee, which Norman has chaired. He believes that the main cause of population stagnation in rural areas is lower immigration.
– Norway is heading into a situation where we cannot reproduce. If we cannot do it ourselves, we must bring people from other places. There are more than enough people who want to come here, Norman tells Nationen.
