 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 11,405 (2019) constituting 0.21% of the population. | |
| Religions | |
| Hinduism | |
| Scriptures | |
| Bhagavad Gita, Vedas | |
| Languages | |
| Sanskrit (sacred) Main Tamil, Hindi, English, Norwegian |
| Hinduism by country |
|---|
  |
| Full list |
There are about 11,405 Hindus (0.21% of the population) in Norway as of 2019. [1] The majority of Norwegian Hindus are of South Asian descent with around 50% of those being ethnic Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka.
Hinduism was first introduced to Norway in 1914 by Swami Sri Ananda Acharya (1881-1945).
A small number of Gujarati Hindus came to Norway after the Dictator Idi Amin expelled the Indians from Uganda 1972. During the Sri Lankan Civil War of 1983, many Tamil Hindus migrated from Sri Lanka to Norway. [2]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 864 | — |
| 2000 | 1,303 | +50.8% |
| 2005 | 3,769 | +189.3% |
| 2010 | 5,175 | +37.3% |
| 2015 | 8,181 | +58.1% |
| 2019 | 11,405 | +39.4% |
| Source: [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] | ||
| Year | Percent | Increase |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0.020% | - |
| 2000 | 0.029% | +0.009 |
| 2002 | 0.060% | +0.031 |
| 2004 | 0.066% | +0.006 |
| 2006 | 0.079% | +0.013 |
| 2008 | 0.096% | +0.017 |
| 2010 | 0.10% | +0.004 |
| 2012 | 0.12% | +0.02 |
| 2014 | 0.14% | +0.02 |
| 2016 | 0.17% | +0.03 |
| 2019 | 0.21% | +0.04 |
Diaspora Hindus in Norway include Tamil (Sri Lankan and Indian) families, Punjabi families, families from the Uttar Pradesh region, as well as Gujaratis and Bengalis.
Specifically among Norwegian Hindus, Sri Lankan Tamils are the dominant ethnicity constituting a large number (roughly half of the entire Hindu population or greater) of around 5,000 to 7,000 people.
There are numerous Hindu associations in Norway.
ISKCON has a Centre in Norway Address- Oslo, Norway, Jonsrudvej 1G, 0274, Oslode presence.
There are currently 5 Hindu Temples in Norway [13]
Most major Hindu festivals such as Diwali are celebrated annually in Norway.
Hindus in Norway, mainly Tamil Hindus from Sri Lanka, celebrate the 12-day annual temple festival, the Mahotsav of which processions is the main feature. It is the main annual ritual gathering of the Tamil Hindus in Norway.[ citation needed ]
Indian classical vocalist Sniti Mishra performed at a live concert in Oslo during the Holi festival in 2015. The festival is organized annually by the Norway branch of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. [16]
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Hinduism:
Satnarayan Maharaj, also known as Sat Maharaj, was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian Hindu religious leader, educationalist, and civil rights activist in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the Secretary-General of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha, a major Hindu organisation in Trinidad and Tobago and the wider Caribbean.
Hinduism is a third largest religion in Australia consisting of more than 684,002 followers, making up 2.7% of the population as of the 2021 census. Hinduism is the fastest growing religion in Australia mostly through immigration. Hinduism is also one of the most youthful religions in Australia, with 34% and 66% of Hindus being under the age of 14 and 34 respectively.
Hinduism is the third-largest religion in Canada, which is followed by approximately 2.3% of nation's total population. As of 2021, there are over 828,000 Canadians of the Hindu faith.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Korea. There are 24,414 Indians in South Korea, most of whom are Hindus. Through Buddhism, it has also had an indirect impact on certain aspects of traditional Korean thought. The Four Heavenly Kings that can be seen in Korean Buddhist temples originated from the Lokapālas. Also Skanda,Daeyejeok Geumgang, Sakra,Yama and Brahma were worshipped.
Hinduism is the second largest religion in New Zealand. It is also one of the fastest-growing religions in New Zealand. According to the 2018 census, Hindus form 2.65% of the population of New Zealand. There are about 123,534 Hindus in New Zealand.
The earliest evidence of Hinduism in Tanzania is from the 1st millennium AD when there was trade between East Africa and Indian subcontinent. Most of these traders came from Gujarat, Deccan and the Chola empire. Archaeological evidence of small Hindu settlements have been found in Zanzibar and parts of Swahili coast, Zimbabwe and Madagascar.
Hinduism is a minority faith in Denmark. There are 40,000 (0.5%) Hindus in Denmark as of 2020.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Sweden practised by 0.13% of the population or 13,000 people out of a population of 10.5 million. Hinduism is practised mainly by persons of Indian origin and non-resident Indians together. A majority of them are Tamils, Punjabis, Bengalis, Gujaratis, Telugu's and Kannadigas.
Karuppu Sami is a regional Tamil god, popular among the rural social groups of Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala. He is one of the 21 associated folk-deities of Ayyanar, and is hence was one among the demigods or kaval deivams in the Dravidian folk religion. He is sometimes considered to be a form of Shiva among Shaivas.
Hinduism in England is the third largest religion in the country, with over 1,020,533 followers as of the 2021 Census. This represents over 1.5% of the English population, up from 1.1% the previous decade. Hindus are predominantly in the cities of London and Leicester, where they make up greater proportions of the population. England has a number of Hindu temples, including the Hindu temple at Neasden which is the largest Hindu temple in Europe. In 2007, the largest Hindu Mandir in the North of England, the Bradford Lakshmi Narayan Hindu Temple opened in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Shree Swaminarayan Temple Willesden is a Swaminarayan Mandir in the London suburb of Willesden. It is the first Swaminarayan Mandir to be opened in the city. Today the Swaminarayan Sampraday has six Swaminarayan Mandirs across London alone.
Hinduism is a minority religion in Wales constituting 0.4% of its population. Under half of Welsh Hindus settled there in the second half of the 20th century.
Tamil German or German Tamizhar refer to the German citizens of Tamil ethnic origins mainly from India in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry then Sri Lanka and Malaysia apart from other parts of the world. Tamil migration to Germany which was mainly composed of higher education and labor migrants increased in the late 1980s and onwards mainly due to the escalation of the Sri Lankan Civil War which saw tens of thousands of those belonging to the Tamil community fleeing the country and seeking asylum elsewhere abroad. The Tamil population figures in Germany currently range somewhere between 50,000-60,000. Karin Stoll is the consul general at the German Consulate in Chennai.
The Council for Religious and Life Stance Communities is an umbrella organization for religious organizations in Norway to foster interfaith dialogue. It was established on 30 May 1996 and has fourteen members from Baháʼí, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Holism, Humanism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. STL has eight local chapters, in Bergen, Drammen, Hamar, Kristiansand, Oslo, Stavanger, Trondheim and Tromsø.
The Fiji Sanatan Society of Alberta, also known as Vishnu Mandir in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada is a modern-style Hindu temple that was built by some of the very first Fijian Hindu immigrants in Edmonton in 1984. Hindus have been living in Canada for over a century, especially in Edmonton. Fijian Hindus began to settle in Edmonton in larger proportions starting in the 1960s and 1970s. They conducted prayers and meditated in individual households via groups they formed in the community. Talks of the need of a temple started in 1983 by four major Hindu Bhakti groups in Edmonton at the time, Shree Sanatan Dharam Ramayan Society, Edmonton Geeta Ramayan Congregation, Edmonton Vedic Congregation and later joined by Edmonton Prem Society, the group founded the Sanatan Board and raised funds to buy a property for the temple. It became the first Fijian Hindu cultural society in all of Canada, and till date is the largest. It started as a small place of worship in the Balwin residential area, constructed out of an old Church building. Since then it has been renovated 2 times, first adding a basement, then in 2006 expanded further making it the second largest Hindu temple in Edmonton.
