List of towns and cities in Norway

Below is a list of towns and cities in Norway. The Norwegian word for town or city is by. Cities were formerly categorized as kjøpstad (market town) or ladested (small seaport),[1] each with special rights. The special trading rights for cities were abolished in 1857, and the classification was entirely rescinded in 1952 and replaced by the simple classification by.

Map of Norway with important cities

Overview

From 1 January 1965 the focus was moved from the individual cities to their corresponding municipalities. Norwegian municipalities were classified as bykommune (urban municipality) or herredskommune (rural municipality). The distinction was rescinded by The Local Government Act of 1992. The municipalities were ordered by so-called municipality numbers, four-digit codes based on ISO 3166-2:NO which in 1946 were assigned to each municipality. Urban municipalities got a municipality number in which the third digit was a zero.[1]

Between 1960 and 1965 many Norwegian municipalities were merged. For instance when the urban municipality Brevik merged with the urban municipality Porsgrunn and the rural municipality Eidanger, the new municipality was called Porsgrunn and retained its municipality number. As a result, Brevik was no longer considered an urban municipality/town. On another note, when the urban municipality Hønefoss was merged with the rural municipalities Hole, Norderhov, Tyristrand and Ådal to form the new municipality Ringerike, Ringerike retained the old municipality number of Hønefoss.[2] The same thing happened to Egersund and Florø.

Before 1996, the city status was awarded by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development. Now the issue is decided by each municipality council and is formally accepted by the state. Since 1997 a municipality must have a minimum of 5,000 inhabitants in order to declare city status for one of its settlements. In 1999 the municipality council of Bardu declared city status for Setermoen, only to be rejected because the municipality fell short of the population limit. One exception is Honningsvåg in Nordkapp, where the municipality actually has less than 5,000 inhabitants but declared city status before the limit was implemented by law in 1997.[3]

Because of the new laws, Norway witnessed a rapid rise in the number of cities after 1996. A number of relatively small settlements are now called by, such as Brekstad with 1,828 inhabitants and Kolvereid with 1,448 inhabitants.[lower-alpha 1] Among the cities of today which got this status before 1996, Tvedestrand with 1,983[lower-alpha 1] inhabitants is the smallest. On another note, the laws of 1996 allowed some settlements which lost their city status in the 1960s to regain it.

Oslo, founded in 1000, is the largest city and the capital of Norway.

Cities and towns in Norway

In most cases the population listed here is that of the municipality, including other villages, not just the urban centre.

In 2017 the government decided to abolish some of the counties and to merge them with other counties to form larger ones, reducing the number of counties from 19 to 11, to be implemented from 2020.[4]

City or town status since before 1996
Oslo, the capital of Norway and among the fastest growing cities in Europe
Bergen, the capital of Hordaland, Norway
Trondheim, the largest city in Trøndelag, Norway
Stavanger, the oil capital and capital of Rogaland
Kristiansand, the biggest city in and capital of Agder
Fredrikstad, the biggest city in Østfold and one of the 20 biggest cities in Norway
Tromsø, the capital of Troms
Sandnes, the second largest city in Rogaland after Stavanger
Drammen, the largest city in and capital of Buskerud
Skien
Bodø
Ålesund
City/town Municipality County City/town status Population
ArendalArendalAgder172339,826
BergenBergenVestland[lower-alpha 2]1070278,121
BodøBodøNordland181646,049
DrammenDrammenViken181164,597
EgersundEigersundRogaland179813,418
FarsundFarsundAgder17959,392
FlekkefjordFlekkefjordAgder18428,918
FlorøFloraVestland18608,296
FredrikstadFredrikstadViken156780,977
GjøvikGjøvikInnlandet186127,500
GrimstadGrimstadAgder181619,809
Halden[lower-alpha 3]HaldenViken166531,037
HamarHamarInnlandet124831,593
HammerfestHammerfestTroms og Finnmark17899,261
HarstadHarstadTroms og Finnmark190423,242
HaugesundHaugesundRogaland185431,738
HolmestrandHolmestrandVestfold og Telemark17529,515
HortenHortenVestfold og Telemark185824,671
HønefossRingerikeViken185213,930
KongsbergKongsbergViken162423,997
KongsvingerKongsvingerInnlandet185417,380
KristiansandKristiansandAgder164190,562
Kristiansund (town)KristiansundMøre og Romsdal174222,661
LarvikLarvikVestfold og Telemark167141,221
LillehammerLillehammerInnlandet184225,070
MandalMandalAgder192113,840
MoldeMoldeMøre og Romsdal174224,421
MossMossViken172028,800
NamsosNamsosTrøndelag184512,426
NarvikNarvikNordland190218,512
NotoddenNotoddenVestfold og Telemark191312,359
OsloOsloOslo1000634,463
PorsgrunnPorsgrunnVestfold og Telemark184233,550
RisørRisørAgder16306,938
SandefjordSandefjordVestfold og Telemark184542,333
SandnesSandnesRogaland186078,624
SarpsborgSarpsborgViken101650,115
SkienSkienVestfold og Telemark100072,537
StavangerStavangerRogaland1125130,754
SteinkjerSteinkjerTrøndelag185720,672
SvolværVåganNordland1918[lower-alpha 4]4,720
TromsøTromsøTroms og Finnmark179472,681
TrondheimTrondheimTrøndelag997190,464
TønsbergTønsbergVestfold og Telemark90038,914
VadsøVadsøTroms og Finnmark18336,187
VardøVardøTroms og Finnmark17892,396
ÅlesundÅlesundMøre og Romsdal184841,385

City status since after 1996
City Municipality County Town status Population
AltaAltaTroms og Finnmark199915,094
AskimAskimViken199614,703
BrekstadØrlandTrøndelag20051,865
BrevikPorsgrunnVestfold og Telemark1845–1963
later regained		2,700
BrumunddalRingsakerInnlandet20108,890
BryneTimeRogaland20019,627
BrønnøysundBrønnøyNordland1923–1963
regained 2000		5,045
DrøbakFrognViken1842–1961
regained 2006		13,358
ElverumElverumInnlandet199618,992
FauskeFauskeNordland19986,304
FagernesNord-AurdalInnlandet20071,762
FinnsnesLenvikTroms og Finnmark20004,658
FosnavågHerøyMøre og Romsdal20003,598
FørdeFørdeVestland19979,248
HokksundØvre EikerViken20029,207
HonningsvågNordkappTroms og Finnmark19962,575
JessheimUllensakerViken201217,319
JørpelandStrandRogaland19986,168
KirkenesSør-VarangerTroms og Finnmark19983,529
KolvereidNærøyTrøndelag20021,448
KopervikKarmøyRogaland1866–1964
regained 1996		11,250
KragerøKragerøVestfold og Telemark1666–1959
later regained		10,505
LangesundBambleVestfold og Telemark1765–1963
regained 1997		5,500
LeirvikStordVestland199714,171
LeknesVestvågøyNordland20023,556
LevangerLevangerTrøndelag1836–1961
later regained		9,239
LillesandLillesandAgder1830–1961
later regained		8,952
LillestrømSkedsmoViken199712,500
LyngdalLyngdalAgder20017,216
Mo i RanaRanaNordland1923–1963
later regained		18,866
MosjøenVefsnNordland1875–1961
later regained		9,843
MysenEidsbergViken19966,084
MåløyVågsøyVestland20043,003
OddaOddaVestland20047,468
OrkangerOrkdalTrøndelag20147,812
OttaSelInnlandet20002,750
RjukanTinnVestfold og Telemark19963,386
RørvikNærøysundTrøndelag20203,326
SandnessjøenAlstahaugNordland19995,716
SandvikaBærumViken2003108,144
SaudaSaudaRogaland19994,878
SkiSkiViken200426,588
SkudeneshavnKarmøyRogaland1857–1964
later regained		3,364
SortlandSortlandNordland19979,509
StathelleBambleVestfold og Telemark1774–1963
regained 1997		5,131
Stavern[lower-alpha 5]LarvikVestfold og Telemark1946–1988
regained 1999		2,538
StjørdalshalsenStjørdalTrøndelag199710,779
TvedestrandTvedestrandAgder19971,983
UlsteinvikUlsteinMøre og Romsdal20005,156
VerdalsøraVerdalTrøndelag19987,396
VinstraNord-FronInnlandet20132,553
ÅkrehamnKarmøyRogaland20027,736
ÅndalsnesRaumaMøre og Romsdal19962,403

Former towns
City Municipality County Town status
HolmsbuHurumViken1847–1964
HvitstenVestbyViken1837–1964
HølenVestbyViken1837–1943
Røros[lower-alpha 6]RørosTrøndelag1683–
SetermoenBarduTroms og Finnmark1999
(later rejected)
SogndalSokndalRogaland1798–1944
SonVestbyViken1604–1963
ÅsgårdstrandHortenVestfold og Telemark1650–1964

See also

Notes
  1. Population count applies to the tettsted (urban settlement), which is a continuous built-up area with less than 50 metres between the houses. Statistics Norway (2007). "Urban settlements. Population and area, by municipality. 1 January 2007". Archived from the original on 7 November 2007.
  2. Bergen was a separate county until 1 January 1972.
  3. Previously known as Fredrikshald
  4. Lost its status in 1964, regained in 1996.
  5. Previously known as Fredriksvern
  6. Røros chose to be referred to as bergstad (mining town).

References
  1. Statistics Norway (2003). "About the statistics: Population changes in municipalities 1951–1999".
  2. Dag Jukvam / Statistics Norway (1999). "Historisk oversikt over endringer i kommune- og fylkesinndelingen" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2003-03-10.
  3. Kommunal Rapport (23 June 2005). "Byer i Norge". Archived from the original on 15 February 2006.
  4. "Dette er Norges nye regioner". vg.no. 21 February 2017. Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
  • Soot-Ryen, Tron (28 June 2006). "Norges nye byer". NRK P1 (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2007-07-04.
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