Primary hip prosthesis insertions – contacts per 1,000 inhabitants, 50 years and older
In 2025, a total of 9,728 hip replacements were performed in patients aged 50 and older. This represents a 31% increase since 2015. The most likely explanation for this increase is population growth within this age group. The number of surgeries per 1,000 inhabitants increased by 2% over the same period.
There was a marked decline in the annual number of surgeries during the pandemic. After the pandemic, the number has been higher than before.
The number of surgeries per 1,000 inhabitants was 4.5 in 2025, a rate that remained at roughly the same level in the two preceding years.
Women undergo hip replacement surgery more often than men, and the proportion of surgeries performed on women has remained stable at around 65% throughout the period. Among patients aged 50 and older, the average age at surgery was 70 years, similar for both sexes and stable over time.
The analysis is based on activity data from the Norwegian Patient Register (NPR) for somatic specialist healthcare services. The data includes activities in public hospitals and private hospitals providing publicly funded services.
The selection includes contacts recorded with one or more of the procedure codes NFB20, NFB30, NFB40, or NFB99. Contacts containing diagnosis codes for hip fractures (S72.0, S72.1, and/or S72.2) are excluded.
The place of treatment is divided into three categories:
Hip replacement surgery is performed primarily on adult patients. The population therefore includes only patients aged 50 and older. Hip replacements in individuals aged 0–49 account for around 5%.
In order to compare the catchment areas and between years, the rates have been adjusted for gender and age. The adjustment was done using the direct method with the countrys population in 2023 as the reference population.
In graphs with patient‑aggregated data, the numbers are adjusted to avoid double‑counting patients. The actual number of patients is therefore higher when looking at a single variable for a focus area. For example, patients who have received both private and public treatment during a year are counted only once in total, which means that the number of patients in private treatment will be underreported.
SKDE is solely responsible for the interpretation and presentation of the data provided by NPR. FHI/NPR is not responsible for analyses or interpretations based on the data.
All of the data used in the charts for this analysis can be downloaded as a JSON file.
