Despite the enduring appeal of rural living, a surprising number of farms across Norway are lying vacant, a trend highlighted by new data showing 23 percent of the nation’s agricultural properties are currently unoccupied. As demand for “small farm” properties rises online, a complex set of factors is contributing to this paradox, raising concerns about the future vitality of rural communities and the evolving landscape of Norwegian agriculture. This report examines the reasons behind the increasing number of abandoned farms and potential solutions to ensure their continued use.
For many, the dream of a quieter life includes owning a rural property with plenty of space. But a growing number of farms in Norway are sitting vacant, despite the desire for this lifestyle.
The trend is increasingly common.
“Small farm” is among the most frequently searched terms on the Norwegian real estate website finn.no/eigedom. Yet, data reveals that 23 percent of all farms in the country are currently unoccupied, according to recent statistics from Statistics Norway (SSB).
View from a small farm in Lote, Stad municipality.
Photo: Maria Gunnarsdotter Svedal / NRK
Seeking Solutions
Table of Contents
“I wish there was life in more of those empty houses,” says Jan Erik Fløtre, leader of the Vestland County Farmers’ Association. The trend raises concerns about the vitality of rural communities.
Fløtre believes many people desire more space, not necessarily to run a farm.
Photo: Privat / Privat
The county leader acknowledges that farms are often passed down within families. However, he maintains that people are needed in rural areas to keep local communities alive.
SSB data shows that while more agricultural properties are becoming unoccupied, only one-third of those properties are sold outside of families.
Do you dream of life on a small farm?
This poll does not reflect what the population thinks about the issue.
The result shows what those who have chosen to vote think,
and the poll does not have a selection that makes it representative of everyone living in the country.
“It’s important that people living on farms with concessions adhere to those requirements,” Fløtre said. “Farms without concessions are more difficult to regulate.”
He would like to see a way to keep people living permanently in rural areas to sustain local communities.
Not all abandoned farms are equally suitable as year-round homes. What about one like this?
Photo: Roar Hansen
The decline in the number of people living on farms also coincides with a significant decrease in the number of farmers and active farming has declined sharply.
During the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, over half (85,000) of the farms in Norway were shut down. In the 2000s, nearly half of the remainder disappeared.
A Reverse Trend
- In 2024, approximately 350,000 people lived on agricultural properties – 6.3 percent of the population.
- That’s 40,000 fewer than ten years ago, and nearly 100,000 fewer than twenty years ago.
- In 2006, 9.6 percent of Norway’s residents lived on agricultural properties.
“The farm population” is trending in the opposite direction of the country’s overall population:
- The country’s population has increased by more than 20 percent in the last 20 years.
- The number of people living on farms has decreased by more than 20 percent.
An abandoned house in Lyngen, Troms.
Photo: Ingrid Wester Amundsen
Empty Homes Concentrated in the North
The number of unoccupied farmhouses varies significantly across the country.
Northern Norway has the highest percentage of agricultural properties with residential buildings without permanent residents:
- Nordland: 42 percent
- Troms: 38 percent
- Finnmark: 34 percent
There is significant geographic variation in the amount of agricultural property that does not have year-round housing. Colors indicate percentage.
Graphic: SSB
At the other end of the spectrum, Innlandet county has the lowest rate. Over 16 percent of residents there live on agricultural properties. And in the municipality of Lesja, in the north of the county, that figure is as high as 48 percent.
“Competition Can Be Tough”
Einar Bergsholm, a researcher in legal studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), says there is no single reason for the trend of many farmhouses being unoccupied.
“Some people buy their childhood home to use it as a vacation home. Another explanation may be that competition in agriculture is tough, where farmers need to own two farms to make the operation profitable. Then they can only live in one place.”
Bergsholm points to the concessions law, which aims to protect agricultural land and ensure that ownership conditions are in the best interests of society. The law highlights the importance of maintaining rural communities and food production.
However, there may be differences between municipalities in how the law is enforced.
He wonders if it might be easier to subdivide agricultural land. That could make it easier to expand operating units.
“And to consider more who is buying the land. If it’s a young couple who wants to invest and run a farm as a profession, it may be easier for them to buy land and not have to buy the whole farm,” the researcher suggests.
Published
December 4, 2025, at 10:23 PM
