In this survey, a representative sample of people with immigrant backgrounds answered questions regarding their use of cultural activities. The sample consisted of immigrants and Norwegian-born children aged 9 years and older to immigrant parents.
Results from the 2023 Cultural Access Survey show a significant increase in the number of people attending cultural events compared to 2021, when there were pandemic-related restrictions. In 2023, individuals with immigrant backgrounds participated in cultural activities to the same extent as the overall population. Total population refers to the entire population, including people with immigrant backgrounds. Immigrants and the population as a whole participated almost equally in activities such as films, ballet and dance performances, festivals, museums, and art exhibitions. Individuals with immigrant backgrounds reported more frequent visits to public libraries and participation in religious and philosophical meetings compared to the general population. However, people with immigrant backgrounds were less likely to have attended a theater, concert or sporting event in the past year than the population as a whole.
In 2023, children and young people with immigrant backgrounds were the most active participants in cultural activities compared to other age groups. People aged 9 to 15 had the highest visitation rates of all age groups for all activities except opera. The difference between the youngest and oldest age groups was most pronounced for visits to movie theaters, dance performances, and sporting events, and least pronounced for visits to concerts and art exhibitions. The oldest age group, those 67 and older, also attended more opera performances and religious and philosophical meetings than younger age groups. Women with immigrant backgrounds participated in cultural activities as much or more than men, with the exception of sporting events. The trend, both for the population as a whole and for individuals with immigrant backgrounds, was that cultural participation increased as education level increased.
In 2023, movies were most popular among individuals with immigrant backgrounds, followed by visiting public libraries. Eight in 10 people between the ages of 9 and 15 have visited a movie theater or public library in the past year. Also, a larger proportion of people with immigrant backgrounds visited public libraries than the population as a whole. He was 6 out of 10 people who visited a public library in the past year, compared to 4 out of 10 people in the general population. Individuals with immigrant backgrounds will read more e-books than the entire population in 2023. 3 in 10 girlfriends have read at least one e-book in the past year, compared to 2 in 10 in the general population. However, the most read form of book was the paper book.
In 2021, due to the pandemic, some people turned to digital cultural events. In 2023, digital visits will decrease and physical visits will increase. However, his digital visits to religious and philosophical meetings have increased significantly since 2021. In contrast to the overall population, digital concert attendance also increased slightly. From 2021 until 2023, he targeted individuals with immigrant backgrounds.
The proportion of people with an immigrant background who have not participated in various cultural events in Norway is high compared to the total population. Throughout, there was also a desire to attend more often, especially movies and concerts. The most common barriers among those wanting to participate more often were lack of time and finances.
In 2023, 2 in 10 people with an immigrant background were members of a sports club. One in four people participated in organized sports in the past year, which is particularly common among children and young people. Also among the youngest, in addition to sports activities, it was also common to play a musical instrument or participate in art in their free time.