Norway

Abstract

The county is the political and administrative unit in Norway equivalent to the regional level in the European Union (NUTS 3). But region is also used for functionally and territorially defined areas between the county and the central level of government without any political decision-making bodies, for example, the four functionally defined health regions, the territorially defined areas called landsdel (NUTS 2), and the 89 economic regions (NUTS 4). In connection with the negotiations over Norwegian membership in the European Union in 1994, it was decided that Norway should be divided into NUTS 1, 2 and 3 levels in accordance with the statistical definitions of the EU, and hence counties are equal to NUTS 3 and municipalities are equal to NUTS 5. The Norwegian name for county is fylke, with the fylkesting (county council) as the governing body of the county authority (fylkeskommunen) and the fylkesmann (county governor) as the state’s representative in the county. From 1 January 2020, there are 11 counties divided into 356 municipalities (NUTS 5) called kommuner in Norwegian. The capital Oslo, which is both a county and a municipality, is also divided into a fourth level of governance, bydel (urban district or borough), with 15 directly elected borough councils.

Appendix Table 10.1 Border Changes Between Norwegian Counties 1870–2020

Regional organization of Norway according to decree of February 8^th, 1671:

Akershus stiftamt (Akershus, Oslo, Hedmark, Oppland, Buskerud)

• Fredrikstad with Smålenenes amt (Østfold)

• Kristiansand or Agdesiden stiftsamt

• Bratsberg (Telemark)

• Stavanger (Rogaland)

Bergenhus stiftamt (Sogn og Fjordane, Sunnmøre, parts of Hordaland)

• Halsenøy kloster and Hardanger (parts of Hordaland)

• Nordlandene (Nordland and Troms)

Trondhjems stiftsamt (Trøndelag)

• Romsdal (Romsdal og Nord-Møre)

• Vardøhus (Finnmark)

16 border changes were carried through between Norwegian counties (named amt from Danish from 1662 to 1919, when the old Norse fylke replaced amt). In the reform that took place January 1^st, 2020, region was also widely used as equivalent to county.

Type of change	Time of change	From/to county
Merger of counties
12 Hordaland
13 Bergen	1.1.1972	12 Hordaland
16 Sør-Trøndelag
17 Nord-Trøndelag	1.1.2018	50 Trøndelaga
01 Østfold
02 Akershus
06 Buskerud	1.1.2020	30 Viken
04 Hedmark
05 Oppland (except from 0532
Jevnaker and 0533 Lunner)	1.1.2020	34 Innlandet
07 Vestfold
08 Telemark	1.1.2020	38 Vestfold
		ogTelemark
09 Aust-Agder
10 Vest-Agder	1.1.2020	42 Agder
12 Hordaland
14 Sogn og Fjordane	1.1.2020	46 Vestland
19 Troms
20 Finnmark	1.1.2020	54 Troms og Finnmarkb
Transfers of whole municipalities
0980 Åseral (new municipal number: 1026)	1880	AustAgder/Vest-Agder
0580 Sollia
(new municipal number: 0432)	1890	Oppland/Hedmark
1567 Rindal
(new municipal number 5061)	1.1.2019	Møre og Romsdal/Trøndelag
0532 Jevnaker
0533 Lunner	1.1.2020	Oppland/Viken
Transfers of whole municipalities
with merger
1280 Årstad
1301 Bergen	1.7.1915	Hordaland/Bergen
0218 Aker
0301 Oslo	1.1.1948	Akershus/Oslo
0602 Drammen
0712 Skoger	1.1.1964	Vestfold/Buskerud
Border adjustments in inhabited areas
0929 Åmli part transferred to
0830 Nissedal (Espestølgrenda)	1.1.1964	Aust-Agder/Telemark
0726 Brunlanes part transferred to
0805 Porsgrunn (the farms Enigheten, Høyberg and Skavåsen)	1.1.1964	Vestfold/Telemark
0824 Gransherad part transferred to
0604 Kongsberg	1.1.1964	Telemark/Buskerud
0727 Hedrum part transferred to
0811 Siljan	1.1.1964	Vestfold/Telemark
0727 Hedrun part transferred to
0805 Porsgrunn	1.1.1964	Vestfold/Telemark
1154 Skjold part transferred to
1216 Sveio (Flatnæs-Buvik-area)	1.1.1964	Rogaland/Hordaland
0929 Åmli transferred to
0830 Nissedal (the farms Espestøl, Reinfoss and Espestølstykket)	1.1.1965	Vest-Agder/Telemark
0440 Kvikne part transferred to
1635 Rennebu (Innset sogn (parish), the rest of the municipality transferred
To 0437 Tynset)	1.1.1966	Hedmark/Sør-Trøndelag
0811 Siljan part transferred to
0727 Hedrum (the property Svarttangen)	1.1.1968	Telemark/Vestfold
0511 Dovre part transferred to
0439 Folldal (the three Western farms Bergsengsetergårdene)	1.1.1970	Oppland/Hedmark
0437 Tynset part transferred to
1635 Rennebu (part of the property Garlia)	1.1.1970	Hedmark/Sør-Trøndelag
0220 Asker part transferred to
0627 Røyken (cadastral unit number 6, 9, 10, 13, 17 property unit number 1, 5, 7, 13)	1.1.1996	Akershus/Buskerud
1911 Kvæfjord (part of basic statistical unit 0101 Vestre Godjford and the whole basic statistical unit 0102 Østre Godfjord) transferred to
1870 Sortland with new basic statistical unit number 0310 Godfjord	1.1.1999	Troms/Nordland
Border adjustments in uninhabited areas
0231 Skedsmo part transferred to
0301 Oslo	1.1.1980	Akershus/Oslo
0233 Nittedal part transferred to
0301 Oslo (Danielshøgde, Sandungen)	1.1.1984	Akershus/Oslo
0519 Sør-Fron part transferred through boundary description to
0439 Folldal (cadastral unit number 1, property unit number 4 and parts of property unit number 1)	28.9.1990	Oppland/Hedmark

1. Source: Juvkam (1999:86–89) and Statistics Norway (2020).
2. ^aTrøndelag also has a Sami name: Trööndelage
3. ^bRomsa ja Finnmárku is the Sami name of Troms and Finnmark, and Tromssa ja Finmarkku is the Kven name of Troms and Finnmark