AlHijjah 29, 1436, October 13, 2015, SPA -- Norway may have to spend an extra 40 to 50 billion crowns ($4.9 billion-$6.2 billion) over the next five years to cope with a rising number of people seeking asylum, Prime Minister Erna Solberg told parliament on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Norway has seen a rising number of people seeking asylum in recent months, albeit fewer than neighbours Sweden or Finland. Some 20,000-25,000 people are expected to arrive in 2015, rising to over 30,000 next year. Norway has 5.2 million inhabitants. "If 40,000 to 50,000 asylum seekers were to receive residency, the costs the next five years would lie between 40 and 50 billion crowns," Solberg said. "With many minors coming alone, those numbers could be even higher." Without measures to cut expenses, she said, the extra costs of accommodating refugees would number several billions of crowns in 2016. The government would "shortly" present an amendment to the 2016 budget it presented last week, based on those new forecasts, she said.
