These average figures are used in the subchapters below to compare the different groups of leavers, returners, and stayers to the average respondent.

Graph 4. The average profile by certain indicators of all respondents by country.

The first group we examine is also the biggest group: people who have left their place of origin, with either no inclination or some inclination to return there in the future. The following graphs illustrate the share of people in this group, as well as some of their characteristics.

Graph 5. Share of leavers not planning to return.

Most people who have left their place of origin remain somewhat open to returning. Denmark emerges from these statistics as the country with the highest internal mobility in the sense that it contains the highest percentage of people who have left (64%) and also a high percentage of those who may return (37%). Finland follows a similar pattern with slightly smaller shares of 58% leaving and 35% open to return. Norway, on the other hand, has the highest share of people who have left to never return (the “forever leavers”), 47% of leavers. Iceland, on the other hand, has 56% of respondents leaving their places or origin, but only 29% of this group are sure to never return. Finally, Swedish respondents appear as most attached to their place of origin, with the lowest share of people leaving (44%), of which only 41% plan to never return.

Graph 6. Typology of leavers not planning to return by country.

Graph 7. Typology of leavers open to returning by country.

While leavers open to returning mostly correspond to the profile of our average respondent, the forever leavers have more distinct characteristics. First, there is a clear majority of women in this group in all countries but especially in Finland. They are also more likely to be in a romantic relationship and have children than the national average in all countries, except for Sweden. The employment rate is also somewhat higher among the forever leavers, indicating that they have opportunities in their lives to seek for a more suitable life.

Graph 8. Average respondent opinions on place of origin.

This and following graphs include answers given on a sliding scale of 1-10. To measure the importance of these factors, we counted the sum of answers ranking the choice with the highest numbers (7-10). These graphs show the share of these high rankings compared to the lower ones (1-6).

Graph 9. Opinions on place of origin from people who have left it and do not plan to return.

Graph 10. Opinions on place of origin from people who have left it but may return.

As one might expect, people who have left their place of origin to never return harbour distinctively more negative opinions towards it. This is especially true regarding the more subjective points about finding the place interesting, or how easy people make new friendships there. There are, however, notable national differences at play here. Interestingly, the forever leavers are also less inclined to describe their place of origin as family-friendly, urban or close to nature, perhaps indicating a broader sense of detachment to the place they have left behind. The only characteristic that scores higher in this group is that this group views their original homestead as more socially uniform than other groups. 

In comparison, leavers who remain open to returning to their place of origin have a more positive view on this place, not only compared to people not planning to return but also compared to the average score. For example, they tend to view the place as more family-friendly, closer to nature, more fun and easier to make new friends in than the average respondent. They also come from places that they see as more socially diverse than the forever leavers. Finally, people open to return have a much stronger personal bond to the place, likely explaining the possible wish to return there.

As noted, there are notable differences among the Nordic neighbours in how the leavers view their places of origin, regardless of their possible return plans. Finns appear most critical of their origins, especially in the group of forever leavers, and give especially low scores when it comes to finding new friends or finding the place fun and interesting. Despite these views, they have almost the strongest bond to their place of origin (after Iceland) in both groups. Iceland represents the other opposite here, as even people not planning a return may view their old homestead as more fun and interesting than boring. They also have the strongest personal bond with the place and view it as socially uniform. Most countries agree that the place of origin was family-friendly (except for Finland), close to nature, and more easy than difficult to find new friends in (except for Finland). Denmark scores the lowest when it comes to having a strong personal bond with a place, with only 14% in the forevers leavers’ group.

Graph 11. Main reasons why the average respondent has left their place of origin.

Graph 12. Main reasons why the forever leavers moved for the first time.

Graph 13. Main reasons why people, who have left their origin but might move back, moved for the first time.

When we look at what people were seeking when they decided to move out from their place of origin, practical reasons such as seeking education or work opportunities naturally stand out, whether the respondent moved out to never return or possibly temporarily. Comparing the group of forever leavers and those open to returning, the former stands out by clearly seeking not only work or education, but a different, more urban way of life with richer culture and leisure activities and more possibilities to broaden one’s social network. This indicates that certain people would not wish to live in a more rural or suburban place regardless of the opportunities that it might offer. People leaving their place of origin for good were also keener to improve their access to public and private services. As a final statement, a notable share also wished to move because of the negative view they had on their place of origin. In contrast, people who have left but remain open to returning, reported negative emotions to a much lesser extent as a reason . 

Education and work act as important catalysts especially in Finland, Sweden, and Norway, while in Denmark and Iceland other reasons may play a more prominent role. The Danish respondents not wishing to return to their place of origin put as much emphasis on culture and hobby opportunities as education and work, while those open to return mainly moved out for these practical reasons. As for Iceland, the reasons for leaving the place of origin behind are rather similar with other Nordic forever leavers. Furthermore housing has somewhat more emphasis in both groups. 

Graph 14. Main reasons for the most recent move for average respondent.

Graph 15. Main reasons for the most recent move for forever leavers.

Graph 16. Main reasons for the most recent move for people who have left their place of origin and might return.

Besides the respondents’ reasons for leaving their place of origin, we were interested in knowing the reasons behind their latest move (of a distance of over 50 km). When it comes to this decision, the two groups have a similar emphasis on the range of factors offered, with work (especially in Norway) and a romantic relationship (especially in Sweden) coming up as dominant reasons for a move. The group of forever leavers stands out slightly from those open to returning by emphasising a wider variety of factors in their decision to move, among them the urban characters of the new place (except for Sweden), forming new friendships, and seeking  more culture and leisure opportunities (especially for Finland and Iceland). People not willing to return also put more emphasis on the availability of public and private services. 

When it comes to a personal bond with the new place, people who remain open to returning to their place of origin reported this as a factor to a much lesser extent than the average respondent; and much less compared to the personal bond they continue to have with their place of origin. As for the forever leavers, they have a stronger bond with the place where they live now but the difference is not very significant. 

Graph 17. What the average respondent most values in their current home.

Graph 18. What forever leavers most value about their current home.

Graph 19. What leavers (open to return) most value about their current home.

This question set out to discover how people view their current place of residence after having moved at least once in their lives. Family-friendliness and closeness to nature are most appreciated factors across both groups. When it comes to Finland, however, urbanity emerges as a strong positive among the group of forever leavers. People not willing to return seem to have also had more luck in forming new relationships where they live now, and they value social diversity more than the average respondent. Nonetheless, their bond with the new place of residence is not much stronger than within the group of potential returners.

If we compare this data to peoples’ views on their place of origin, we notice that both groups view their place of origin more positively in some respects. In their view, the place they left behind was more family-friendly, closer to nature and easy to find new friends in (except for Finland). To balance these shortcomings, people (again, especially Finns) appreciate the urban and interesting characteristics of their current place of residence. Interestingly, only Danish respondents in the “forever leavers” group report having a (slightly) stronger bond with their current home than with their place of origin. 

Graph 20. Main possible reasons for a future move for the average respondent.

Graph 21. Main possible reasons for a future move for forever leavers. Iceland is not included due to the lack of data in this group.

Graph 22. Main possible reasons for a future move for people who have left their place of origin but are open to return.

Finally, respondents were asked about the reasons that could drive them to move again in the future. Here, we see some differences between those not willing to return to their place of origin and those open to the possibility when it comes to their future needs and preferences. Work and career opportunities remain an important factor for both groups. The forever leavers continue to prefer an urban setting compared to the average respondent and especially compared to the other group. They also put more emphasis on the availability of public and private services and culture and recreation opportunities. As for those open to returning, they might move in the future to seek  stronger social networks, and especially a safer, more family-friendly area near nature, possibly pointing to potential reasons for considering a return to the place of origin. 

Some national differences also emerge. Danish respondents stand out in their lesser need for better housing, public or private services or transport connections compared to their Nordic neighbours. They are also less moved by a personal bond to a new place or the wish to leave a more urban lifestyle. Finnish respondents, on the other hand, consider these factors to a considerable extent, while also putting a special emphasis on culture, leisure opportunities and access to nature. Norwegians are especially prepared to move for career opportunities.

Graph 23. Main reasons preventing all respondents from moving where they would wish to move.

Graph 24. People who have returned to their place of origin and plan to stay.

We have chosen not to analyse in more detail the people who may have returned but are open to moving away in the future, as they do not differ from the average respondent as a group to a significant extent. 

Icelandic respondents are most likely to move back to their place of origin: 25% of respondents, with 64% of those returning planning to remain there. In contrast, only 15% of Swedish and Danish respondents have moved back but of them, 66% and 80% plan to remain there indefinitely.

Graph 25. Typology of people who have returned and are planning to stay.

As with forever leavers, returners are somewhat more likely to be women, again especially in Finland. Icelandic returners stand out from the rest as they are significantly more likely to be in a relationship. As for having children, however, the returners are definitely more likely to be parents than the average respondent. In Sweden and Finland, the likelihood of having children in the returners’ group is up to 20 percentage units higher than the average (see graph 4). Returners are also notably more likely to be employed than the average respondent, except in Denmark.

Graph 26. Opinions on place of origin from people who have returned or plan to return there.

Unsurprisingly, people who have or are planning to return to their place of origin have a significantly higher opinion of the place than people who have left it for good (or the average respondent). But why is that?  These differences are especially high when it comes to more social reasons such as finding the place fun and interesting or easy to find new friends in. Conversely, they are lower regarding family-friendliness (except in Finland) and closeness to nature, which typically score high in all groups, as well as urbanity, which scores low overall. Finally, the difference is highest when it comes to having a personal bond with the place, and returners score especially high in this regard. 

As within the leavers’ group, Finnish respondents continue to hold a distinctively negative stance towards their place of origin compared to other Nordics, despite having the strongest personal bond by far. The trend of Icelandic respondents viewing their place of origin especially positively also continues within this group. They are also the only ones viewing their place as more socially uniform than diverse, which may help explain their strong belief in finding new friends there.

Graph 27. Main reasons why people, who have left their origin but moved or plan to move back, moved for the first time.

People who moved out of their place of origin to (potentially) return later, either left for education or for work reasons, although romantic relationships and housing or seeking a safer or more nature-friendly environment are also featured relatively highly as motivations. There are some differences compared to the forever leavers’ group: work has a slightly lower importance and seeking a different way of life (seeking urbanity or new friends) clearly rank  lower as reasons for moving out. Maybe most notable, however, is the lack of a clear driver for the first move in this group, suggesting that it may have happened at a later age and, therefore, for a wider variety of reasons.

A cross-comparison between the Nordic countries reveals that education plays a bigger role as a first move driver in Iceland, Norway and Finland than elsewhere, while for Sweden, work is the biggest factor. Iceland sets itself apart from others  regarding seeking better housing, culture or leisure opportunities, or public services. In comparison, Danish respondents have much weaker drivers behind this first move.

Graph 28. Main reasons for the most recent move for people who have returned or are planning to return to their place of origin.

The moves depicted in this data include people who moved back to their place of origin. However, there are unfortunately no singular data of this specific move. We can, however, note the factors that the returns view as important in their subsequent moves. Compared to the forever leavers, we notice that several factors decrease in importance, among them work, romantic relationship, housing (except for Denmark), culture and leisure opportunities, public and private services and transport connections. A strong bond with the place features as a noticeably more important reason for moving (back), as well as education when it comes to Finland and Norway. Iceland continues to differ from others by having a larger emphasis on social relations, housing and public services, while the Swedish respondents put more emphasis on private services and transport connections.

Graph 29. People who have stayed in their place of origin by country.

Sweden has the least amount of leavers and returners, but the largest share of stayers (together with Finland). Most people who have stayed in their place of origin plan to remain there. On average 55% of stayers. In Iceland, only 16% of people choose to remain in their place of origin but of them, 63% plan to remain indefinitely.

Graph 30. People who have stayed in their place of origin by country.

Graph 31. People who have stayed in their place of origin and have no plans to move by country.

Compared to the other leavers and returners, the stayers’ group includes more men, especially in Sweden. In Sweden, stayers are also noticeably less likely to be in a relationship, have children or to be employed, which is also true for Iceland regarding a relationship and children but not employment. In Norway and Denmark, stayers are more likely to lack these characteristics only when compared to the returners’ group. Finally, the Finnish stayers are actually slightly more likely to have children or be employed than the average or leavers, and most likely to be employed of all groups. 

When we compare all stayers to those certain to remain in their place of origin, the share of men increases in Sweden and Norway, the likelihood to have children increases in all countries except for Finland to even surpass the national average (except in Denmark), and the respondents are increasingly likely to be employed especially in Sweden and Norway. In other words, respondents have further reasons keeping them satisfied where they live now.

Graph 32. Opinions on place of origin from people who have remained there and plan to stay.

Graph 33. Opinions on place of origin from people who have remained but are open to move in the future.

As with other groups, people who have made the decision to stay view their home in a more positive light than people who are open to move, who answer more positively (although not radically so) than the average respondent. Interestingly, stayers do not reach  the level of positive views that the returners feel towards their place of origin, especially when it comes to it being close to  nature or a fun and interesting place. The returners also reported having the closest personal bond with the place in most countries, except for Denmark and Iceland, where the stayers feel the strongest bond. 

Graph 34. Main reasons to remain living in the place of origin for people who have no plans to move.

Graph 35. Main reasons to remain living in the place of origin for people who have some plans to move in the future.

People’s reasons for staying in their place of origin are different to those who are ready to move  in the sense that education and work overall play a smaller role (especially for those committed to staying). Instead, a sense of a strong community plays a bigger role as a keeping factor than the wish to seek new friends does for people leaving. 

Housing (especially in Finland), access to public and private services and transport connections (especially in Sweden) also feature more strongly as a factor here than for people who have left, especially for those without any plans to move out. Stayers appreciate also being close to nature and in a family-friendly environment as reasons to stay more than leavers view them as something they seek out . The importance of these reasons, however, grows in significance during later moves. Finally, having a personal bond with the place emerges as the most important reason to stay here, matching the bond that returners have with the place (except in Denmark).

Graph 36. Main reasons to possibly move from place of origin for people who have remained there but have some plans to move in the future. Iceland not included due to lack of data.

People who have remained in their place of origin but are open to move in the future would primarily move for career opportunities, or especially in the case of Finland, also to seek more suitable housing or a more family-friendly place closer to nature. Compared to the average respondent, education and a romantic relationship have a more prevalent role as a possible reason. This is especially true for Finland, where respondents are also much more likely to leave their place of origin to seek out better housing or a more nature-rich area. 

Overall, people who have remained in their place of origin list more possible reasons to move in the future than the average respondent, possibly suggesting that they have had to compromise more when it comes to their overall life satisfaction.

Graph 37. The share of people in each Nordic country with some plans to move in the near or more distant future.

Taking a closer look at the migration patterns of people divided into other typologies (marital status and number of children, education and employment) allows us to extract more possible indicators for increased mobility or place attachment.   

On average, 54% of respondents have some plans to continue moving in the future (for more details, see graph 37). Compared to this, unemployed people are most likely to continue moving in the future, with an average of 62% having some plans (Sweden 56%, Finland 67%, Norway 62%, Denmark 60%, Iceland 65%). Mobility is also relatively high for people with a higher academic degree, with an average of 59% with some plans. In this group, there are the most national differences, with Icelanders  least and Finns  most likely to move. (Sweden 57%, Finland 70%, Norway 59%, Denmark 59%, Iceland 49%). Regarding relationship status, single people are only slightly more likely to move than people in relationships, with an average of 58% having some plans (Sweden 57%, Finland 65%, Norway 54%, Denmark 58% and Iceland 56%). Finally, having children makes one less inclined to plan a move for the future, as only 45% of respondents with children to raise are planning a move. This figure is the lowest in Denmark and Iceland. (Sweden 46%, Finland 50%, Norway 42%, Denmark 43%, Iceland 42%).

Graph 38. Average reasons for most recent move.

Graph 39. Reasons why people who are single moved the previous time.

Graph 40. Reasons why people who are single moved the previous time.

Graph 41. Reasons why people with a higher academic degree moved the previous time. Iceland is not included due to the lack of data.

Graph 42. Reasons why unemployed people moved the previous time. Iceland is not included due to the lack of data.

Single people move for a variety of reasons, with the most notable being career (for Sweden, Finland, and Norway), education (for Finland and Denmark), and seeking a place with more culture and leisure opportunities (for all but especially Iceland, Sweden, and Finland). Not surprisingly, people with children to raise prioritising more family-friendly and safe environments rather than vibrant ones. In addition to this, they also move for career reasons, romantic relationships and to seek more suitable or affordable housing, especially in Iceland.

Regarding economic factors, having a higher education may make people more prone to move for career or education in all Nordic countries. In comparison, unemployed people have also moved for work, as well as in search of housing (Norway), for better transport connections, or for their social networks. These results further support the findings of a similar analysis by Niedomysl (2011a) and its conclusion that socio-economic characteristics of different groups have an important role to play in their migration decisions.