Share of births that are twins in Norway

Norway: Share of births that are twins was 1.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
1.3%
Change on year
down 11.6%
World rank
16th
of 23 countries
All-time high
1.9%
in 2002
All-time low
0.9%
in 1972
Years of data
122
1899–2020

Share of births that are twins in Norway, 1899–2020

00.511.52189919592020

Source: Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2020, share of births that are twins in Norway stood at 1.3%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 11.6% on the previous year and down 17.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of births that are twins in Norway peaked at 1.9% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.9%, in 1972.

That places Norway 16th out of 23 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 122 years of available data.

Share of births that are twins in Norway, year by year

Annual values for Share of births that are twins in Norway, 1899 to 2020.
Year % Change
1899 1.4% —
1900 1.3% -3.3%
1901 1.4% +7.0%
1902 1.3% -6.2%
1903 1.3% +1.8%
1904 1.3% -2.2%
1905 1.4% +4.5%
1906 1.4% -0.8%
1907 1.4% +2.8%
1908 1.3% -3.8%
1909 1.4% +3.5%
1910 1.3% -2.6%
1911 1.4% +1.9%
1912 1.5% +6.4%
1913 1.4% -6.8%
1914 1.3% -7.6%
1915 1.4% +14.8%
1916 1.4% -3.7%
1917 1.5% +8.4%
1918 1.4% -8.2%
1919 1.5% +6.6%
1920 1.4% -2.2%
1921 1.5% +2.9%
1922 1.5% -1.6%
1923 1.4% -0.9%
1924 1.5% +0.3%
1925 1.4% -3.6%
1926 1.5% +8.8%
1927 1.4% -5.3%
1928 1.4% -4.0%
1929 1.5% +7.9%
1930 1.5% +1.9%
1931 1.4% -7.3%
1932 1.4% -2.6%
1933 1.4% +4.4%
1934 1.3% -8.6%
1935 1.4% +3.2%
1936 1.4% +0.4%
1937 1.3% -1.8%
1938 1.4% +3.9%
1939 1.4% -0.6%
1940 1.4% -0.7%
1941 1.3% -6.4%
1942 1.1% -13.0%
1943 1.2% +8.2%
1944 1.2% -0.8%
1945 1.2% -2.2%
1946 1.3% +9.9%
1947 1.4% +5.8%
1948 1.4% +0.8%
1949 1.3% -6.3%
1950 1.4% +9.3%
1951 1.3% -6.8%
1952 1.3% -1.8%
1953 1.3% +0.6%
1954 1.2% -5.3%
1955 1.2% -4.4%
1956 1.2% +1.7%
1957 1.2% -2.7%
1958 1.1% -1.5%
1959 1.2% +0.8%
1960 1.1% -1.0%
1961 1.2% +2.7%
1962 1.1% -6.7%
1963 1.1% -3.9%
1964 1.1% +5.9%
1965 1.0% -6.6%
1966 1.0% -3.3%
1967 1.0% -2.5%
1968 1.0% -2.4%
1969 1.0% +9.6%
1970 1.0% -7.0%
1971 0.9% -2.8%
1972 0.9% -8.1%
1973 1.0% +10.1%
1974 0.9% -6.6%
1975 1.0% +6.7%
1976 1.0% +0.9%
1977 0.9% -4.6%
1978 1.1% +16.1%
1979 0.9% -15.5%
1980 0.9% +2.9%
1981 0.9% -0.3%
1982 1.0% +7.2%
1983 0.9% -5.3%
1984 0.9% +0.3%
1985 1.1% +16.6%
1986 1.0% -8.8%
1987 1.1% +8.9%
1988 1.1% +0.2%
1989 1.2% +7.1%
1990 1.2% +5.5%
1991 1.2% +0.4%
1992 1.3% +6.9%
1993 1.4% +3.1%
1994 1.4% +4.2%
1995 1.5% +7.2%
1996 1.5% -3.7%
1997 1.6% +7.3%
1998 1.6% -0.6%
1999 1.8% +12.6%
2000 1.8% +0.3%
2001 1.8% +2.8%
2002 1.9% +5.3%
2003 1.9% -1.5%
2004 1.9% -1.4%
2005 1.8% -1.6%
2006 1.8% -4.0%
2007 1.8% +1.1%
2008 1.7% -2.5%
2009 1.7% +0.3%
2010 1.6% -6.8%
2011 1.6% +1.3%
2012 1.7% +2.7%
2013 1.6% -2.6%
2014 1.6% -4.0%
2015 1.6% +4.2%
2016 1.6% -3.8%
2017 1.6% -0.4%
2018 1.5% -6.0%
2019 1.5% +1.7%
2020 1.3% -11.6%

Norway compared with similar countries

  • Norway's 1.3% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.4%, 93% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
  • Norway's 1.3% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.4%, 92% of the median. (15 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1890s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
1900s 1.3% 1.3% 1.4% 10
1910s 1.4% 1.3% 1.5% 10
1920s 1.5% 1.4% 1.5% 10
1930s 1.4% 1.3% 1.5% 10
1940s 1.3% 1.1% 1.4% 10
1950s 1.2% 1.1% 1.4% 10
1960s 1.1% 1.0% 1.2% 10
1970s 0.9% 0.9% 1.1% 10
1980s 1.0% 0.9% 1.2% 10
1990s 1.5% 1.2% 1.8% 10
2000s 1.8% 1.7% 1.9% 10
2010s 1.6% 1.5% 1.7% 10
2020s 1.3% 1.3% 1.3% 1

Countries ranked near Norway

  1. 13 Denmark 1.4% compare
  2. 14 Sweden 1.4% compare
  3. 15 Czechia 1.3% compare
  4. 17 New Zealand 1.3% compare
  5. 18 Uruguay 1.3% compare
  6. 19 Finland 1.3% compare

See the full ranking of 23 places →

More reference data data for Norway

All data for Norway →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of births that are twins in Norway?
Share of births that are twins in Norway was 1.3% in 2020, according to Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of births that are twins recorded in Norway?
The highest recorded value was 1.9% in 2002.
What is the lowest share of births that are twins recorded in Norway?
The lowest recorded value was 0.9% in 1972.
How does Norway rank for share of births that are twins?
Norway ranks 16th out of 23 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of births that are twins rising or falling in Norway?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Norway data come from?
The figures come from Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of births that are twins. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of births that are twins in Norway. Statizoid, drawing on Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/rate-of-twin-deliveries/norway/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of births that are twins
Unit
%
Source
Human Multiple Births Database (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
23 places, 2,436 data points, 1815–2022
Last refreshed

Number of twin deliveries per 100 deliveries.