Counties of Norway

{{Short description|First-level administrative divisions of Norway}} {{Infobox subdivision type | name = Counties of Norway | native_name = Norges fylker | native_name_lang = nb | native_name2 = Noregs fylke | native_name_lang2 = nn | alt name = | map = Fylkesinndeling2024 original.webp | caption = Mainland Norway with its 15  first-order subnational divisions (''fylker'' or "counties") since January 1st 2024. | category = Unitary unit | territory = Norway | start_date = | number_date = 2024-01-01 | current_number = 15 counties | area_range = Smallest (including water): Oslo, {{cvt|454.12|km2}} Largest (including water): Innlandet, {{cvt|52072.44|km2}} | government = County municipality | subdivision = Municipalities }} {{Politics of Norway}}

There are '''15 counties in Norway.''' The 15 counties are administrative regions that are the first-level administrative divisions of Norway. The counties are further subdivided into 357 municipalities ({{langx|no|kommune}}). The island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are outside the county divisions and they are ruled directly from the national level. The capital city of Oslo is both a county and a municipality.

In 2017, the Solberg 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, which was implemented on 1 January 2020.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 February 2017 |title=Dette er Norges nye regioner |url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/kommunesammenslaaing/dette-er-norges-nye-regioner/a/23931222/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309233258/https://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/kommunesammenslaaing/dette-er-norges-nye-regioner/a/23931222/ |archive-date=9 March 2018 |access-date=28 April 2018 |website=vg.no}}</ref> This sparked popular opposition, with some calling for the reform to be reversed. The Storting voted to partly undo the reform on 14 June 2022, with Norway to have 15 counties from 1 January 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |date=5 July 2022 |title=Fylkesinndelingen fra 2024 |url=https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/kommuner-og-regioner/kommunestruktur/fylkesinndelingen-fra-2024/id2922222/}}</ref> Three of the newly merged counties, namely Vestfold og Telemark, Viken<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lilleås |first=Heidi Schei |date=October 2019 |title=Monica Mæland om Viken-dramaet: Vil ikke spekulere |url=http://nettavisen.no/artikkel/3423854582 |website=Nettavisen}}</ref><ref name="Roede">Lars Roede, "[https://www.aftenposten.no/meninger/kronikk/i/Jo2a37/viken-og-innlandet-amatoermessige-logoer-og-uhistoriske-navn-lars-roede Viken og Innlandet: Amatørmessige logoer og uhistoriske navn]", ''Aftenposten'', 11 January 2020</ref> and Troms og Finnmark,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grønning |first=Trygve |date=2021-03-17 |title=Fylkesrådslederen om sammenslåingen: – Staten har påført oss dype sår |url=https://www.nrk.no/tromsogfinnmark/fylkesradsleder_-bjorn-inge-mo-_ap__-mener-sammenslaingen-av-troms-og-finnmark-var-uverdig-1.15421000 |access-date=2021-03-29 |website=NRK |language=nb-NO}}</ref> were dissolved and the old counties existing before the reform re-established with a few minor changes as some municipalities merged across former county borders and some switched counties during the 2020 local government reform ({{interlanguage link|Regionreformen i Norge|no}}).

==Name== The counties in Norway are called {{lang|no|fylke}} (singular) and {{lang|no|fylker}} (plural). This name comes from the Old Norse word {{wikt-lang|non|fylki}} which means "district" or "county", but it is similar to the same root as "folk". It is similar in the minority languages in Norway: {{langx|se|fylka}}, {{langx|sma|fylhke}}, {{langx|smj|fylkka}}, {{langx|fkv|fylkki}}. Prior to 1918, the counties were known as ''amt'' (singular) or ''amter'' (plural).

== List of counties == Below is a list of the Norwegian counties, with their current administrative centres. The counties are administered both by appointees of the national government and by their own elected bodies. The county numbers are from the official numbering system ISO 3166-2:NO, which originally was set up to follow the coastline from the Swedish border in the southeast to the Russian border in the northeast, but with the numbering has changed with county mergers.

The island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen lie outside of the county system of Norway. Svalbard is administered by the Governor of Svalbard, and Jan Mayen is administered by the County Governor of Nordland (but not part of Nordland).

{| class="wikitable sortable" ! scope="col" | County ! scope="col" | ISO-code ! scope="col"| Capital ! scope="col"| Most populous municipality ! scope="col" | Governor ! scope="col" | Mayor ! scope="col" | Area (km2) ! scope="col" | Pop. ! scope="col" | Electoral district(s) !County governor agency ! scope="col" | Official language form |- | 20px Oslo | scope="row" | NO-03 | City of Oslo | Oslo | Ingvild Aleksandersen | Anne Lindboe (H) | style="text-align:right" | 454.12 | style="text-align:right" | 700,000 | Oslo |Østfold, Buskerud, Oslo og Akershus | Neutral |- | {{Coat of arms|Rogaland}} | scope="row" | NO-11 | Stavanger | Stavanger | Bent Høie | Marianne Chesak (Ap) | style="text-align:right" | 9,377.10 | style="text-align:right" | 475,000 | Rogaland |Rogaland | Neutral |- | {{Coat of arms|Møre og Romsdal}} | scope="row" | NO-15 | Molde | Ålesund | Else-May Norderhus | Jon Aasen (Ap) | style="text-align:right" | 14,355.62 | style="text-align:right" | 270,000 | Møre og Romsdal |Møre og Romsdal | Nynorsk |- | {{Coat of arms|Nordland}} | scope="row" | NO-18 | Bodø | Bodø | Tom Cato Karlsen | Kari Anne Bøkestad Andreassen (Sp) | style="text-align:right" | 38,154.62 | style="text-align:right" | 239,000 | Nordland |Nordland | Neutral |- |{{Coat of arms|Østfold|link=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98stfold}} |NO-31 | Sarpsborg | Fredrikstad | Ingvild Aleksandersen | Sindre Martinsen-Evje (Ap) | style="text-align:right" | 4,180.7 | style="text-align:right" | 299,647 | Østfold |Østfold, Buskerud, Oslo og Akershus | Neutral |- |{{Coat of arms|Akershus}} |NO-32 |Oslo |Bærum |Ingvild Aleksandersen |Thomas Sjøvold (H) | style="text-align:right" | 4,918.0 | style="text-align:right" | 630,752 | Akershus |Østfold, Buskerud, Oslo og Akershus |Neutral |- |{{Coat of arms|Buskerud}} |NO-33 | Drammen | Drammen |Ingvild Aleksandersen |Tore Opdal Hansen (H) | style="text-align:right" | 14,908.0 | style="text-align:right" | 284,955 | Buskerud |Østfold, Buskerud, Oslo og Akershus |Neutral |- | {{Coat of arms|Innlandet}} | scope="row" | NO-34 | Hamar | Ringsaker | Knut Storberget | Even Aleksander Hagen (Ap) | style="text-align:right" | 52,072.44 | style="text-align:right" | 375,000 | Hedmark Oppland |Innlandet | Neutral |- |20px Vestfold |NO-39 |Tønsberg |Sandefjord |Trond Rønningen |Anne Strømøy (H) | style="text-align:right" | 2,167.7 | style="text-align:right" | 253,555 |Vestfold |Vestfold og Telemark |Bokmål |- |20px Telemark |NO-40 | Skien | Skien |Trond Rønningen |Sven Tore Løkslid (Ap) | style="text-align:right" | 15,298.16 | style="text-align:right" | 175,546 | Telemark |Vestfold og Telemark |Neutral |- | {{Coat of arms|Agder}} | scope="row" | NO-42 | Kristiansand | Kristiansand | Gina Lund | Arne Thomassen (H) | style="text-align:right" | 16,434.12 | style="text-align:right" | 299,000 | Aust-Agder Vest-Agder |Agder | Neutral |- | {{Coat of arms|Vestland}} | scope="row" | NO-46 | Bergen | Bergen | Liv Signe Navarsete | Jon Askeland (Sp) | style="text-align:right" | 33,870.99 | style="text-align:right" | 632,000 | Hordaland Sogn og Fjordane |Vestland | Nynorsk |- | {{Coat of arms|Trøndelag}} ''Trööndelage'' | scope="row" | NO-50 | Steinkjer | Trondheim | Frank Jenssen | Tomas Iver Hallem (Sp) | style="text-align:right" | 42,201.59 | style="text-align:right" | 465,000 | Nord-Trøndelag Sør-Trøndelag |Trøndelag | Neutral |- |{{Coat of arms|Troms}} |NO-55 | Tromsø | Tromsø |Elisabeth Aspaker |Kristina Torbergsen (Ap) | style="text-align:right" | 26,189.43 | style="text-align:right" | 168,340 | Troms |Troms og Finnmark |Neutral |- |{{Coat of arms|Finnmark}} |NO-56 | Vadsø | Alta |Elisabeth Aspaker |Hans-Jacob Bønå (H) | style="text-align:right" | 48,637.43 | style="text-align:right" | 75,540 | Finnmark |Troms og Finnmark |Neutral |}

== Responsibilities and significance== Every county has two main organisations, both with underlying organisations. # The county municipality ({{langx|no|Fylkeskommune}}) has a county council ({{langx|no|Fylkesting}}), whose members are elected by the inhabitants. The county municipality is responsible mainly for some medium level schools, public transport organisation, regional road planning, culture, among other things. # The county governor ({{langx|no|Statsforvalteren}}) is an authority directly overseen by the Norwegian government. It surveills the municipalities and receives complaints from people over their actions. It also controls areas where the government needs local direct ruling outside the municipalities.

==History== ===''Fylke'' (1st period)=== From the consolidation to a single kingdom, Norway was divided into a number of geographic regions that each had its own legislative assembly or Thing, such as Gulating (Western Norway) and Frostating (Trøndelag). The second-order subdivision of these regions was into ''fylker'', such as ''Egdafylke'' and ''Hordafylke''. In 1914, the historical term ''fylke'' was brought into use again to replace the term amt introduced during the union with Denmark. Current day counties (fylker) often, but not necessarily, correspond to the historical areas.

====''Fylke'' in the 10th–13th centuries==== Counties (''folkland'') under the Borgarting, located in Viken with the seat at Sarpsborg:<ref name="bor">{{Cite web |title=Lagting og lagsogn frem til 1797 |url=http://www.domstol.no/DAtemplates/Article.aspx?id=10162&epslanguage=NO |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111121130206/http://www.domstol.no/DAtemplates/Article.aspx?id=10162 |archive-date=2011-11-21 |website=Borgarting lagmannsrett}}</ref> {{div col}} *''Rånrike'' *''Vingulmark'' *''Vestfold'' *''Grenland'' {{div col end}} Counties (first three ''fylke'', last two ''bilandskap'') under the Eidsivating, located in Oplandene with the seat at Eidsvoll:<ref name=bor/> *''Raumafylke'' (Glåmdalen, Romerike, Solør) *''Heinafylke'' (Gjøvik, Hedmarken) *''Hadafylke'' (Hadeland, Land, Toten) *''Gudbrandsdal'' *''Østerdal'' Counties under the Gulating, located in Vestlandet with the seat at Gulen Municipality:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frå lagting til allting |url=http://www.gulatinget.no/alltingtillagting/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150409032819/http://www.gulatinget.no/alltingtillagting/ |archive-date=2015-04-09 |website=Gulatinget}}</ref> {{div col}} *''Sunnmærafylke'' *''Firdafylke'' (Nordfjord, Sunnfjord) *''Sygnafylke'' *''Valdres and Hallingdal'' *''Hordafylke'' *''Rygjafylke'' *''Setesdal'' *''Egdafylke'' {{div col end}} Counties under the Frostating, located in Trøndelag with the seat at Frosta: {{div col}} *''Eynafylke'' *''Sparbyggjafylke'' *''Verdælafylke'' *''Skeynafylke'' *''Orkdælafylke'' *''Gauldælafylke'' *''Stjordælafylke'' *''Strindafylke'' *''Naumdælafylke'' *''Nordmærafylke'' *''Romsdælafylke'' {{div col end}} Counties not attached to a ''thing'': {{div col}} *''Jamtaland'' *''Herjedalen'' *''Håløygjafylke'' **''Helgeland'' **''Salten'' **''Lofoten'' and ''Vesterålen'' **''Trondenes'' {{div col end}} Finnmark (including northern Troms), the Faroe Islands, the Orkney Islands, Shetland (the Shetland Islands), the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, Iceland and Greenland were Norwegian ''skattland'' ("taxed countries"), and did not belong to any known counties or assembly areas.

===''Syssel''=== ====''Syssel'' in 1300==== From the end of the 12th century, Norway was divided into several ''syssel''. The head of the ''syssel'' was the ''syslemann'', who represented the king locally. The following shows a reconstruction of the different ''syssel'' in Norway c. 1300, including sub-''syssel'' where these seem established.<ref>Danielsen (et al.), 1991, p. 77</ref> {{div col}} *''Elvesysle'' *''Rånrike'' *''Borgarsysle'' (two parts) *''Romerike'' (two parts, "northern" and "southern") *''Hedmark'' (two parts, "northern" and "southern") *''Østerdalen'' **''"north of Åmot"'' **''"south of Åmot"'' *''Gudbrandsdalen'' **''"north of Ruste"'' **''"south of Ruste"'' *''Hadeland'' (later ''Ringerike'', two parts, "northern" and "outer") *''Valdres'' and ''Hallingdal'' (two parts) *''Numedal'' and ''Telemark''? *''Tverrdalane'' and ''Modum''? *''Oslosysle'' (northern ''lut'' and western ''lut'') *''Tønsbergsysle'' *''Skiensysle'' *''Eastern part'' (later ''Nedenes'') *''Robyggjelag'' *''Agder Midtsysla'' *''Lista'' *''Rygjafylke'' **''"north of the fjord"'' **''"south of the fjord"'' *''Hordaland'' (''Nordhordland''? and ''Sunnhordland''?) *''Hardanger'' *''Voss'' *''Sogn'' (two parts?) *''Sunnfjord'' *''Nordfjord'' *''Sunnmøre'' *''Romsdal'' *''Nordmøre''? **''Nordmørafylke'' *''Orkdalen'' *''Gauldalen'' *''Strinda'' *''Herjedalen'' *''Jemtland'' *''Stjørdal'' *''Skogn'' *''Verdalen'' *''Sparbu'' *''Eynafylke'' *''Northern part''? (later ''Fosen'') *''Namdalen'' **''"upper half"'' (''Overhalla'') **''"lower half'' (later ''Njardøy'') *''Hålogaland'' (two parts) *''Troms''? *''Finnmark''? {{div col end}}

===''Len''=== From 1308, the term ''len'' (plural ''len'') in Norway signified an administrative region roughly equivalent to today's counties. The historic ''len'' was an important administrative entity during the period of Dano-Norwegian unification after their amalgamation as one state, which lasted for the period 1536<ref>Christian III, king of Denmark-Norway, carried out the Protestant Reformation in Norway in 1536.</ref>–1814.

At the beginning of the 16th century the political divisions were variable, but consistently included four main ''len'' and approximately 30 smaller sub-regions with varying connections to a main ''len''. Up to 1660 the four principal ''len'' were headquartered at the major fortresses Bohus Fortress, Akershus Fortress, Bergenhus Fortress and the fortified city of Trondheim.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kavli, Guthorm |author-link=Guthorm Kavli |title=Norges festninger |publisher=Universitetsforlaget |year=1987 |isbn=82-00-18430-7}}</ref> The sub-regions corresponded to the church districts for the Lutheran church in Norway.

====''Len'' in 1536==== *Båhus len (later termed Bohuslän after Denmark-Norway ceded it to Sweden by the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658) *Akershus len *Trondheim len *Bergenhus len (which included Northern Norway)

These four principal ''len'' were in the 1530s divided into approximately 30 smaller regions. From that point forward through the beginning of the 17th century the number of subsidiary ''len'' was reduced, while the composition of the principal ''len'' became more stable.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

====''Len'' in 1660==== From 1660 Norway had nine principal ''len'' comprising 17 subsidiary ''len'': {{div col}} *{{illm|Akershus len|no}} *{{illm|Tunsberg len|no|Tønsberg len}} *{{illm|Bratsberg len|no|}} *{{illm|Agdesiden len|no|}} *{{illm|Stavanger len|no|}} *Bergenhus len *{{illm|Trondheim len|no|Trondhjems len}} *{{illm|Nordlandene len|no|Nordlandenes len}} *{{illm|Vardøhus len|no|}} {{div col end}}

''Len'' written as ''län'' continues to be used as the administrative equivalent of county in Sweden to this day. Each ''len'' was governed by a ''lenman''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Revolution from Above? The Power State of 16th and 17th Century Scandinavia |publisher=Odense University Press |year=2000 |isbn=87-7838-407-9 |editor-last=Jesperson, Leon}}</ref>

===''Amt''=== With the royal decree of 19 February 1662, each ''len'' was designated an ''amt'' (plural ''amt'') and the ''lenmann'' was titled ''amtmann'', from German ''Amt'' (office), reflecting the bias of the Danish court of that period.{{citation needed|date=October 2019}}

====''Amt'' in 1671==== After 1671 Norway was divided into four principal ''amt'' or ''stiftsamt'' and there were nine subordinate ''amt'': {{div col}} *Akershus amt **Smålenene amt **Brunla amt *Agdesiden amt **Bratsberg amt **Stavanger amt *Bergenhus amt **Halsnøy klostergods **Hardanger amt **Nordlandene amt *Trondheim amt **Romsdalen amt **Vardøhus amt {{div col end}}

====''Amt'' in 1730==== From 1730 Norway had the following ''amt'': {{div col}} *Vardøhus amt *Tromsø amt *Nordlands amt *Nordre Trondhjems amt *Søndre Trondhjems amt *Romsdalen amt *Nordre Bergenhus amt *Søndre Bergenhus amt *Stavanger amt *Lister og Mandals amt *Nedenes amt *Bratsberg amt *Buskerud amt *Oplandenes amt *Hedemarkens amt *Akershus amt *Smaalenenes amt {{div col end}}

At this time there were also two counties ({{langx|no|grevskap}}) controlled by actual counts, together forming what is now Vestfold county: *Laurvigen county *Jarlsberg county

====''Amt'' in 1760==== In 1760 Norway had the following ''stiftamt'' and ''amt'':<ref>Danielsen (et al.), 1991, p. 153</ref> {{div col}} *Akershus stiftamt **Opplands amt **Akershus amt **Smålenenes amt **Laurvigen county **Jarlsberg county **Bratsberg amt (eastern half) *Agdesiden stiftamt **Bratsberg amt (western half) **Nedenes amt **Lister and Mandal amt **Stavanger amt *Bergenhus stiftamt **Romsdal amt (southern half) *Trondheim stiftamt **Romsdal amt (northern half) **Nordlands amt **Vardøhus amt {{div col end}}

===''Fylke'' (2nd period)=== thumb|upright|280x280px|Counties of Norway between 1972 and 2018 From 1919 each ''amt'' was renamed a ''fylke'' (plural ''fylke(r)'') (county) and the ''amtmann'' was now titled ''fylkesmann'' (county governor).

The county numbers are from the official numbering system ISO 3166-2:NO, which originally was set up to follow the coastline from the Swedish border in the southeast to the Russian border in the northeast, but the numbering has changed with county mergers. The number 13, 16 and 17 were dropped, and the number 50 was added to account for changes over the years. The lack of a county number 13 is due to the city of Bergen no longer being its own county, and is unrelated to fear of the number 13.

In 2018, Sør-Trøndelag was merged with Nord-Trøndelag into the new county of Trøndelag, and several followed.

{| class="wikitable sortable" ! scope="col"| ISO-code ! scope="col"| County ! scope="col"| Administrative centre ! scope="col"| Area (km2) ! scope="col"| Pop. (2016) ! scope="col"| County after 1 January 2020 !County after 1 January 2024 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 01 | {{Coat of arms|Østfold}} || Sarpsborg | {{0}}4,180.69 || 290,412 | rowspan=3 | {{Coat of arms|Viken|link=Viken (county)|text=none}} Viken |{{Coat of arms|Østfold}} |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 02 | {{Coat of arms|Akershus}} || Oslo | {{0}}4,917.94 || 596,704 |{{Coat of arms|Akershus}} |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 06 | {{Coat of arms|Buskerud}} || Drammen | 14,910.94 || 278,028 |{{Coat of arms|Buskerud}} |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 03 | {{Coat of arms|Oslo}} || City of Oslo | {{0|00.}}454.07 || 660,987 | colspan="2" | {{Coat of arms|Oslo|link=Oslo|text=none}} Oslo |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 04 | {{Coat of arms|Hedmark}} || Hamar | 27,397.76 || 195,443 | colspan="2" rowspan="2" |{{Coat of arms|Innlandet|text=none}} Innlandet |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 05 | {{Coat of arms|Oppland}} || Lillehammer | 25,192.10 || 188,945 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 07 | {{Coat of arms|Vestfold}} || Tønsberg | {{0}}2,225.08 || 245,160 | rowspan=2|{{Coat of arms|Vestfold og Telemark|text=none}} Vestfold og Telemark |20px Vestfold |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 08 | {{Coat of arms|Telemark}} || Skien | 15,296.34 || 172,527 |20px Telemark |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 09 | {{Coat of arms|Aust-Agder}} || Arendal | {{0}}9,157.77 || 115,873 | colspan="2" rowspan="2" |{{Coat of arms|Agder|text=none}} Agder |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 10 | {{Coat of arms|Vest-Agder}} || Kristiansand | {{0}}7,276.91 || 182,922 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 11 | {{Coat of arms|Rogaland}} || Stavanger | {{0}}9,375.97 || 470,907 | colspan="2" | {{Coat of arms|Rogaland|text=none}} Rogaland |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 12 | {{Coat of arms|Hordaland}} || Bergen | 15,438.06 || 517,601 | colspan="2" rowspan="3" | {{Coat of arms|Vestland|text=none}} Vestland |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| ''13'' | colspan=4 |''Not in use from 1972 onwards''{{Efn|Formerly used for Bergen county, merged into Hordaland on 1 January 1972}} |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 14 | {{Coat of arms|Sogn og Fjordane}} || Hermansverk | 18,623.41 || 109,623 |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 15 | {{Coat of arms|Møre og Romsdal}} || Molde | 15,101.39 || 265,181 | colspan="2" | {{Coat of arms|Møre og Romsdal|text=none}} Møre og Romsdal |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| ''16'' | colspan="6" |''Not in use from 2018 onwards''{{Efn|name=Trøndelag|Formerly used for Nord-Trøndelag (#17) and Sør-Trøndelag (#16) counties, merged as Trøndelag on 1 January 2018}} |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| ''17'' | colspan="6" |''Not in use from 2018 onwards''{{Efn|name=Trøndelag|Formerly used for Nord-Trøndelag (#17) and Sør-Trøndelag (#16) counties, merged as Trøndelag on 1 January 2018}} |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 18 | {{Coat of arms|Nordland}} || Bodø | 38,482.39 || 241,948 | colspan="2" | {{Coat of arms|Nordland|text=none}} Nordland |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 19 | {{Coat of arms|Troms}} || Tromsø | 25,862.91 || 164,613 | rowspan=2| {{Coat of arms|Troms og Finnmark|size=25px|text=none}} Troms og Finnmark |{{Coat of arms|Troms}} |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 20 | {{Coat of arms|Finnmark}} || Vadsø | 48,631.04 || {{0}}75,886 |{{Coat of arms|Finnmark}} |- ! scope="row" style="text-align:left"| 50 | {{Coat of arms|Trøndelag|Trøndelag}}{{Efn|name=Trøndelag}} | Steinkjer{{efn|Steinkjer is the administrative centre, but the county mayor is seated in Trondheim. Steinkjer and Trondheim are sometimes named as co-capitals}} | 41,254.29 || 450,496 | colspan="2" | {{Coat of arms|Trøndelag|text=none}} Trøndelag |} {{notelist}}

===''Fylke'' (3rd period)=== In 2017, the Norwegian government announced the merge of the existing 19 fylker into 11 new fylker by 2020. As a result, several government responsibilities were transferred to the new regions.<ref>{{Cite web |last=moderniseringsdepartementet |first=Kommunal- og |date=7 July 2017 |title=Regionreform |url=https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/kommuner-og-regioner/kommunereform/regionreform/id2477186/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180323150537/https://www.regjeringen.no/no/tema/kommuner-og-regioner/kommunereform/regionreform/id2477186/ |archive-date=23 March 2018 |access-date=28 April 2018 |website=Regjeringen.no}}</ref>

; New counties *Troms og Finnmark, by merging Finnmark and Troms counties in 2020. Disestablished in 2023, split into Finnmark and Troms counties. *Nordland, no change, same as Nordland county. *Trøndelag, by merging Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag counties in 2018. *Møre og Romsdal, no change, same as Møre og Romsdal county. *Vestland, by merging Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane counties in 2020. *Rogaland, no change, same as Rogaland county. *Agder, by merging Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder counties in 2020. *Vestfold og Telemark, by merging Telemark and Vestfold counties in 2020. Disestablished in 2023, split into Telemark and Vestfold counties. *Innlandet, by merging Hedmark and Oppland counties in 2020. *Viken, by merging Akershus, Buskerud, and Østfold counties in 2020. Disestablished in 2023, split into Akershus, Buskerud, and Østfold counties. *Oslo, no change, same as Oslo county.

==References==

===Footnotes=== {{reflist}}

===Bibliography=== * {{Cite book |last=Danielsen, Rolf |title=Grunntrekk i norsk historie |last2=Dyrvik, Ståle |last3=Grønlie, Tore |last4=Helle, Knut |last5=Hovland, Edgar |publisher=Universitetsforlaget |year=2007 |isbn=978-82-00-21273-7 |edition=1 |location=Oslo |orig-year=1991}}

{{Counties of Norway}} {{Subdivisions of Norway}} {{Articles on first-level administrative divisions of European countries}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Counties Of Norway}} Category:Counties of Norway Category:Subdivisions of Norway Counties Norway 1 Counties, Norway Category:21st-century disestablishments in Norway