The primary language spoken in Norway is Norwegian, which is a North Germanic language closely related to Swedish and Danish. Norwegian is used by about 95% of the population as their first language
. There are two official written standards of Norwegian: Bokmål and Nynorsk. Bokmål is more widely used, especially in urban areas and for official purposes, while Nynorsk is used mainly in some western and rural regions
. In addition to Norwegian, Sámi is also an official language in Norway. Sámi is a group of Finno-Ugric languages spoken by the indigenous Sámi people, primarily in northern parts of Norway. Although Sámi speakers make up less than one percent of the population, the language has constitutional protection and official status in certain areas
. English is widely spoken as a second language by most Norwegians, with about 88-90% of the population having proficiency in English
. To summarize:
- Official languages: Norwegian and Sámi
- Norwegian: Main language spoken by about 95% of the population, with two written forms - Bokmål (more common) and Nynorsk
- Sámi: Indigenous language spoken by a small minority, with official status in certain regions
- English: Widely spoken as a second language by most Norwegians
Thus, if you visit or move to Norway, Norwegian is the dominant language, but you will also encounter Sámi in the north and find that many people speak English fluently
