Since 1990, the population of the Nordic countries has grown by 15 percent up to 26.5 million people, mainly due to immigration from abroad. Still many Nordic municipalities struggle with declining and ageing populations, and labour shortages. In this extended policy brief, Nordregio compares the process of integration of labour migrants and refugees into local communities and labour markets in five rural and rather remote Nordic regions, and the Faroe Islands. The aim has been to identify both good practices and barriers to successful integration, and to understand the roles of labour migrants and refugees in these local labour markets. Nordregio has conducted the research on commission by the Nordic Working Group on Demography and Welfare.