Administrative divisions of Norway
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Norway
's elongated shape, numerous geographical barriers, and distributed population barriers has led to a number of conventions for it subdivisions. These have changed somewhat over time, and various reforms are under continuous consideration.
As infrastructure for travel and communication has improved over the years, the benefits of consolidation are under ongoing discussion. The number of municipalities has decreased from 744 in the early 1960s to today's number, and more mergers are planned. Similarly, the political responsibilities of the counties has been decreased, and there was talk of combining them into 5–9 regions by 2010. These plans were, however, recently abandoned.
Within the government administration, there are a few exceptions to the county subdivision:
A county municipality is the public elected body that is responsible for certain public administrative and service tasks within a county
. Each county is governed as a county municipality, with the exception of Oslo
, which is both a municipality and a county municipality. The main responsibility of the county municipalities are upper secondary schools
, dental care
, public transport
, county roads
, culture
, cultural heritage management
, land use planning
and business development.
The main body of each county municipality is the county council
(fylkesting), elected by direct election by all legal residents every fourth year. The county councils typically have 30-50 members and meet about six times a year. They are divided into standing committees and an executive board (fylkesutvalg), that meet considerably more often. Both the council and executive board are led by the Chairman of the County Council or County Mayor (fylkesordfører).
The national government, formally the King
, is represented in each county by a county governor . This office mainly function as a supervising authority over the conty and municipality administrations and their decisions can be appealed to him.
are provided at a national level in Norway. The main body of each municipality is the municipality council (kommunestyre), elected by direct election by all legal residents every fourth year.
and Stavanger
, are divided into boroughs. In Oslo and Stavanger, they elect their own political council. They are part of the municipal organization, but have a certain amount of influence in issues regarding health, education and naming.
of the Kingdom of Norway - Queen Maud Land
, Peter I Island
, Bouvet Island
.
In addition, there are a number of informal subdivisions that sometimes also play a political role:
was established in 1838. The introduction of self-government in rural districts was a major political change. The Norwegian farm culture
(bondekultur) that emerged came to serve as a symbol of national resistance to the forced union with Sweden
. The legislation of 1837 gave both the towns and the rural areas the same institutions: a minor change for the town, but a major advance for the rural communities.
The composition and amount of municipalities and their function and the existence and function of the counties are being continuously debated. However there are currently no plans for reform.
Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
's elongated shape, numerous geographical barriers, and distributed population barriers has led to a number of conventions for it subdivisions. These have changed somewhat over time, and various reforms are under continuous consideration.
Formal subdivisions
The political administration of Norway takes place at three levels:- Kingdom, covering all of metropolitan Norway including its integral overseas areas of SvalbardSvalbardSvalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic, constituting the northernmost part of Norway. It is located north of mainland Europe, midway between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The group of islands range from 74° to 81° north latitude , and from 10° to 35° east longitude. Spitsbergen is the...
and Jan MayenJan MayenJan Mayen Island is a volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean and part of the Kingdom of Norway. It is long and 373 km2 in area, partly covered by glaciers . It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by an isthmus wide...
. Whereas Svalbard is subject to an international treaty with some limits to Norwegian sovereignty, Jan MayenJan MayenJan Mayen Island is a volcanic island in the Arctic Ocean and part of the Kingdom of Norway. It is long and 373 km2 in area, partly covered by glaciers . It has two parts: larger northeast Nord-Jan and smaller Sør-Jan, linked by an isthmus wide...
shares county governor (fylkesmann) with NordlandNordlandis a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
county. - CountiesCounties of NorwayNorway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
, known in Norwegian as fylker (singular fylke), of which there are 19. These derive in part from divisions that preceded Norway's constitution in 1814 and independence in 1905. The counties also function as constituencies during elections for Parliament. - MunicipalitiesMunicipalities of NorwayNorway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
, known in Norwegian as kommuner (singular kommune) of which there are 430. In addition the LongyearbyenLongyearbyenLongyearbyen is the largest settlement and the administrative centre of Svalbard, Norway. It is located on the western coast of Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago, on the southern side on Adventfjorden , which continues inland with Adventdalen...
local authority has some similarieties with a municipality. - External dependencies
As infrastructure for travel and communication has improved over the years, the benefits of consolidation are under ongoing discussion. The number of municipalities has decreased from 744 in the early 1960s to today's number, and more mergers are planned. Similarly, the political responsibilities of the counties has been decreased, and there was talk of combining them into 5–9 regions by 2010. These plans were, however, recently abandoned.
Within the government administration, there are a few exceptions to the county subdivision:
- The Norwegian court systemCourts of Justice of NorwayThe structure of the Courts of Justice in Norway is pyramidic and hierarchic with the Supreme Court at the apex. The conciliation boards only hear certain types of civil cases. The District Courts are deemed to be the first instance of the Courts of Justice...
is divided into six appellate districts. - The state Church of NorwayChurch of NorwayThe Church of Norway is the state church of Norway, established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark-Norway in 1536-1537 broke the ties to the Holy See. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith...
is divided into eleven dioceses. - The 13 constituencies for elections to the Sámi Parliament of NorwaySami Parliament of NorwayThe Sami Parliament of Norway is the representative body for people of Sami heritage in Norway. It acts as an institution of cultural autonomy for the indigenous Sami people....
, which is a part of the Norwegian state apparatus, do not follow the county borders - sometimes encompassing several counties. They do, however, follow municipality borders.
County municipality
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
. Each county is governed as a county municipality, with the exception of Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, which is both a municipality and a county municipality. The main responsibility of the county municipalities are upper secondary schools
Education in Norway
Education in Norway is mandatory for all children aged 6–16. The school year in Norway runs from mid August to late June the following year. The Christmas holiday from mid December to early January historically divides the Norwegian school year into two terms...
, dental care
Dental care
Dental care is the maintenance of healthy teeth. Forms include:* Oral hygiene, the practice of keeping the mouth and teeth clean in order to prevent cavities , gum disease, and other dental disorders....
, public transport
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
, county roads
Road
A road is a thoroughfare, route, or way on land between two places, which typically has been paved or otherwise improved to allow travel by some conveyance, including a horse, cart, or motor vehicle. Roads consist of one, or sometimes two, roadways each with one or more lanes and also any...
, culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, cultural heritage management
Cultural Heritage Management
Cultural heritage management is the vocation and practice of managing cultural heritage. It is a branch of cultural resources management , although it also draws on the practices of conservation, restoration, museology, archaeology, history and architecture...
, land use planning
Land use planning
Land-use planning is the term used for a branch of public policy encompassing various disciplines which seek to order and regulate land use in an efficient and ethical way, thus preventing land-use conflicts. Governments use land-use planning to manage the development of land within their...
and business development.
The main body of each county municipality is the county council
County council (Norway)
A County Council is the highest governing body of the county municipalities in Norway. The county council sets the scope of the county municipal activity. The council is led by a chairman or county mayor...
(fylkesting), elected by direct election by all legal residents every fourth year. The county councils typically have 30-50 members and meet about six times a year. They are divided into standing committees and an executive board (fylkesutvalg), that meet considerably more often. Both the council and executive board are led by the Chairman of the County Council or County Mayor (fylkesordfører).
The national government, formally the King
Norwegian monarchy
The Norwegian monarch or Sovereign is the head of state of Norway, which is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of government...
, is represented in each county by a county governor . This office mainly function as a supervising authority over the conty and municipality administrations and their decisions can be appealed to him.
Municipality
Municipalities are the atomic unit of local government and are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, some social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. Law enforcement and church servicesChurch of Norway
The Church of Norway is the state church of Norway, established after the Lutheran reformation in Denmark-Norway in 1536-1537 broke the ties to the Holy See. The church confesses the Lutheran Christian faith...
are provided at a national level in Norway. The main body of each municipality is the municipality council (kommunestyre), elected by direct election by all legal residents every fourth year.
Borough
Three municipalities, Oslo, BergenBergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
and Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
, are divided into boroughs. In Oslo and Stavanger, they elect their own political council. They are part of the municipal organization, but have a certain amount of influence in issues regarding health, education and naming.
Dependencies
There are three external dependenciesDependent territory
A dependent territory, dependent area or dependency is a territory that does not possess full political independence or sovereignty as a State, and remains politically outside of the controlling state's integral area....
of the Kingdom of Norway - Queen Maud Land
Queen Maud Land
Queen Maud Land is a c. 2.7 million-square-kilometre region of Antarctica claimed as a dependent territory by Norway. The territory lies between 20° west and 45° east, between the British Antarctic Territory to the west and the Australian Antarctic Territory to the east. The latitudinal...
, Peter I Island
Peter I Island
Peter I Island is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Bellingshausen Sea, from Antarctica. It is claimed as a dependency of Norway, and along with Queen Maud Land and Bouvet Island comprises one of the three Norwegian dependent territories in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic. Peter I Island is ...
, Bouvet Island
Bouvet Island
Bouvet Island is an uninhabited Antarctic volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,525 km south-southwest of South Africa. It is a dependent territory of Norway and, lying north of 60°S latitude, is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty. The centre of the island is an ice-filled crater of an...
.
Informal subdivisions
- RegionsRegions of NorwayNorway is divided into five major regions , which consist of counties as follows:*Northern Norway **Finnmark**Troms**Nordland*Trøndelag**Nord-Trøndelag**Sør-Trøndelag...
, known in Norway as landsdeler (singular landsdel), of which there are five: Nord-NorgeNord-NorgeNorth Norway or Nord-Noreg , North Sámi: Davvi-Norga) is the geographical region of northern Norway, consisting of the three counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in North Norway are Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø...
, ØstlandetØstlandetEastern Norway or Austlandet ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Telemark, Vestfold, Østfold, Akershus, Oslo , Buskerud, Oppland and Hedmark....
, SørlandetSørlandetSouthern Norway is the name of the geographical region of the Skagerrak coast of southern Norway consisting of the two counties of Vest-Agder and Aust-Agder...
, TrøndelagTrøndelagTrøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
, and VestlandetVestlandetWestern Norway is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal and the region has a population of approximately 1.3 million people. The largest city is Bergen, second largest is Stavanger...
. Alternately, one may subdivide the country into North, Middle and South: Nord-NorgeNord-NorgeNorth Norway or Nord-Noreg , North Sámi: Davvi-Norga) is the geographical region of northern Norway, consisting of the three counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in North Norway are Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø...
, Midt-Norge and Sør-Norge. The second region consists of TrøndelagTrøndelagTrøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
plus one of the VestlandetVestlandetWestern Norway is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn og Fjordane, and Møre og Romsdal and the region has a population of approximately 1.3 million people. The largest city is Bergen, second largest is Stavanger...
counties, while the rest of the country ends up in the last region. - DistrictsDistricts of NorwayThe country Norway is historically divided into a number of districts. Many districts have deep historical roots, and only partially coincide with today's administrative units of counties and municipalities. The districts are defined by geographical features, often valleys, mountain ranges, fjords,...
, typically organized by common language, culture, or geographical barriers. There is no fixed number, as the boundaries are interpreted in subjective ways. - The SápmiSapmiSapmi can refer to:* Nation of the Sami people* Sápmi , the area where the Sami people live in northern Europe* A Sami cultural park located in Kárášjohka...
region is the SámiSAMISAMI is a Microsoft accessibility initiative released in 1998. The structured markup language is designed to simplify creating captions for media playback on a PC, i.e. not for broadcast purposes....
"homeland" that spans across North Europe. In Norway, Nord-NorgeNord-NorgeNorth Norway or Nord-Noreg , North Sámi: Davvi-Norga) is the geographical region of northern Norway, consisting of the three counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in North Norway are Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø...
is commonly included, along with the northern and inner parts of TrøndelagTrøndelagTrøndelag is the name of a geographical region in the central part of Norway, consisting of the two counties Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag. The region is, together with Møre og Romsdal, part of a larger...
, and sometimes the northernmost parts of ØstlandetØstlandetEastern Norway or Austlandet ) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Telemark, Vestfold, Østfold, Akershus, Oslo , Buskerud, Oppland and Hedmark....
. While the region has not been defined by any Norwegian law, 12 of the Sámi electoral constituencies are located roughly within the Sápmi region - the southernmost of the twelve being called the South Sámi Area, and the entire region south of this South Norway. Thus, the Sámi Parliament has delimited what is definitely not part of Sápmi. - In cities there are often "city sections", known as bydeler, and even suburban communities such as BærumBærumis a municipality in Akershus county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sandvika. Bærum was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838. A suburb of Oslo, Bærum is located on the west coast of the city....
are organized into such sections. - Rural communities also have "informal subdivisions", including tettsteder – concentrations of commercial activity similar to villages, and clusters of farms known variously as grender, or by their names.
- Norwegian meteorologistsMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
often employ subdivisions that are distinct from any other use, typically that reflect observed weather patterns.
History
Municipal independenceFormannskapsdistrikt
Formannskapsdistrikt was the name for a Norwegian local self-government districts put into force in 1838. This system of municipality was created in a bill approved by the Storting and signed into law by King Carl Johan on 14 January 1837...
was established in 1838. The introduction of self-government in rural districts was a major political change. The Norwegian farm culture
Norwegian farm culture
The Norwegian farm culture was a rural movement unique in values and practices which assumed a form in Viking Age Norway, and continued with little change into the age of firearms - and in many respects even to the early 20th century...
(bondekultur) that emerged came to serve as a symbol of national resistance to the forced union with Sweden
Union between Sweden and Norway
The Union between Sweden and Norway , officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, consisted of present-day Sweden and Norway between 1814 and 1905, when they were united under one monarch in a personal union....
. The legislation of 1837 gave both the towns and the rural areas the same institutions: a minor change for the town, but a major advance for the rural communities.
The composition and amount of municipalities and their function and the existence and function of the counties are being continuously debated. However there are currently no plans for reform.
See also
- ISO 3166-2 codes of NorwayISO 3166-2:NOISO 3166-2:NO is the entry for Norway in ISO 3166-2, part of the ISO 3166 standard published by the International Organization for Standardization , which defines codes for the names of the principal subdivisions of all countries coded in ISO 3166-1.Currently for Norway, ISO 3166-2 codes are...
- FIPS region codes of Norway (standard withdrawn in 2008)
- NUTS of NorwayNUTS of NorwayAs a member of the EFTA, Norway is included in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics . The three NUTS levels are:* NUTS-1: Norway* NUTS-2: 7 Regions* NUTS-3: 19 CountiesThe NUTS codes are as follows:...
- Subdivisions of the Nordic countriesSubdivisions of the Nordic countriesThe countries and autonomous islands in the Nordic region have some similarly named country subdivisions, although their translations into English may differ.-Subdivisions of Denmark:*Mainland Denmark...
- List of possessions of Norway