Regions reformed

Published July 24, 2017 · Updated December 25, 2020

Norway’s 19 fylker to be reorganized into 11 regions in 2020

M. Michael Brady
Asker, Norway

On June 8, the Norwegian Storting (Parliament) enacted the most comprehensive administrative reorganization of the country since the late 17th century. The 19 current fylker (counties) are to be reorganized into 11 regions, effective in 2020.

Some of the new regions will be unchanged and some will be merged fylker, in some cases corresponding to the historical divisions of Amt (county) used until 1918 and Len (Swedish for county). The new names of the regions may be unchanged or new. The 11 new regions are:

Illustration: Fig. 5.1, p. 34 of Bill 84S
The 11 new regions; the three northernmost fylker shown hatched on this map, which was drawn two months before the final regional designations were enacted.

• Oslo: unchanged; comprises the city and county of Oslo.

• Viken: a merger of Akershus, Buskerud, and Østfold counties.

• Innlandet: a merger of Hedmark and Oppland counties. Corresponds to historical Oplandenes Amt.

• Telemark-Vestfold: a merger of Telemark and Vestfold counties. May have a new name; Vestmark has been proposed.

• Agder: a merger of Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder counties. Corresponds to historical Agdesiden Len.

• Rogaland: unchanged; comprises the county of Rogaland.

• Vestlandet: a merger of Hordaland and Sogn & Fjordane counties. Corresponds to historical Bergenhus Amt.

• Møre og Romsdal: unchanged; comprises the county of Møre og Romsdal.

• Trøndelag: a merger of Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndelag counties. Corresponds to historical Trondhjems Amt.

• Nordland: unchanged; comprises the county of Nordland.

• Nord-Hålogaland: a merger of Troms and Finnmark counties. Corresponds to historical Finnmarkens Amt. Probably will have a new name.

The Storting also enacted a reorganization of the 426 kommuner (municipalities) of the country, mostly through mergers that reduce the total number of them to 354.

Further reading: Ny inndeling av regionalt fokevalt nivå (New divisions of regional electoral levels), Proposition 84S (Bill 84S), April 5, 2017, link: www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/prop.-84-s-20162017/id2546597 (Norwegian).

This article originally appeared in the July 28, 2017, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.