Norway - September 2025

The September parliamentary elections saw the highest voter turnout since 1989, with 80.1 per cent (roughly 3.3 million votes) of the total 4.1 million registered voters participating. While voter turnout has been fairly stable since the 1990s, 2025 saw a notable increase. In particular, voter turnout among immigrants and Norwegian-born people with an immigrant background in Oslo increased by 9 percentage points from 2021. Record numbers of Norwegian citizens voted in the advance voting period, comprising 63 per cent of total votes cast. Voters were galvanised by frustrations over rising living costs, public spending and economic inequalities, in particular debates about the wealth tax. Additionally, both the Red-Green alliance and the Centre-Right alliance included parties fighting to pass the 4.0 per cent electoral threshold (including the Green party, the Christian People’s party and the Liberal party), contributing to a perception that every vote matters. 

Sources: International IDEA, Forskning.no, NRK, The Guardian, Valgdirektoratet