making it the fastest growing city in Europe. This growth stems for the most part from immigration and high birth rates among immigrants, but also from intra - national migration. The Norwegian population in the city is not decreasing in absolute numbers, but in relative terms the percentage of native Norwegians of the total population in the city proper is decreasing due to a growing immigrant population and thus a growing total population. The immigrant share of the population in the city proper now counts more than 25% of the city's total.
As of 1 January 2012, the population of the municipality of Oslo in excess of 610,000. The urban area extends beyond the boundaries of the municipality into the surrounding county of Akershus, (municipalities of B�rum, Asker, R�yken, L�renskog, Skedsmo, Gjerdrum, S�rum, Oppeg�rd) its agglomeration total 912,046 inhabitants. The metropolitan area of Oslo, also referred to as the Greater Oslo Region (Norwegian: Stor-Osloregionen), has a land area of 8,900 km (3,400 sq mi) with a population of 1,422,442 as of 1 April 2010. The Inner Oslo Fjord Region, or the Capital Region made up by the five counties of Oslo, Akershus, Buskerud, Vestfold (west bank of the Oslo fjord) and �stfold (east bank) has a population of 1,908,231 people (as of October 2010). The city centre is situated at the end of the Oslofjord, from which point the city sprawls out in three distinct "corridors" from its centre; inland north-eastwards and southwards along both sides of the fjord giving the city area more or less the shape of a reclining "Y" when seen from the north.
To the north and east, wide forested hills (Marka) rise above the city giving the location the shape of a giant amphitheatre. The urban municipality (bykommune) of Oslo and county of Oslo (fylke) are two parts of the same entity, making Oslo the only city in Norway where two administrative levels are integrated. Of Oslo's total area, 115 km (44 sq mi) is built-up and 7 km (2.7
