Regions of Norway in the context of "South Norway"

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⭐ Core Definition: Regions of Norway

Norway is commonly divided into five major geographical regions (landsdeler). These regions are purely geographical and cultural, and have no administrative purpose. However, in 2017 the government decided to abolish the current counties of Norway (fylker) and to replace them with fewer, larger administrative regions (regioner). The first of these new areas came into existence on 1 January 2018, when Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag merged to form Trøndelag.

According to most definitions, the counties of Norway are divided into the following regions (these groupings are approximate):

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👉 Regions of Norway in the context of South Norway

South Norway (Bokmål: Sør-Norge, Nynorsk: Sør-Noreg, Northern Sami: Lulli-Norga) is the southern and by far most populous half of Norway, consisting of the regions of Western Norway, Eastern Norway, Southern Norway (Agder) and Trøndelag (Central Norway). In English, South Norway was historically also known as Norway Proper, a term that often has a broader meaning in contemporary usage.

South Norway has no administrative functions, and does not constitute a cultural or linguistic region, as opposed to Northern Norway, the northern half of the country. To people from the latter region, citizens hailing from the southern half are known by the exonym søringer ('southerners'). The inhabitants themselves, however, have no common "southern" identity, as they rather identify with the regions they are from and call themselves vestlendinger (from Western Norway), østlendinger (from Eastern Norway), sørlendinger (from Southern Norway) and trøndere (from Trøndelag). Practical use of the region mostly applies to purposes such as weather forecasting.

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Regions of Norway in the context of Trøndelag

Trøndelag (Urban East Norwegian: [ˈtrœ̂ndəˌlɑːɡ]; or Trööndelage (Southern Sami) is a county in central Norway, coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as Midt-Norge or Midt-Noreg, lit. "Mid-Norway"). It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (Norwegian: Trondhjems Amt); in 1804 the county was split into Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag by the King of Denmark-Norway. After over two centuries of separation, in 2018 they were reunited following a referendum held two years earlier.

The largest city in Trøndelag is the city of Trondheim. The administrative centre is Steinkjer, while Trondheim functions as the office of the county mayor. Both cities serve the office of the county governor; however, Steinkjer houses the main functions.

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Regions of Norway in the context of Western Norway

Western Norway (Bokmål: Vestlandet, Vest-Norge; Nynorsk: Vestlandet, Vest-Noreg) is the region along the Atlantic coast of southern Norway. It consists of the counties Rogaland, Vestland, and Møre og Romsdal. The region has no official or political-administrative function. The region has a population of approximately 1.4 million people. The largest city is Bergen and the second-largest is Stavanger. Historically the regions of Agder, Vest-Telemark, Hallingdal, Valdres, and northern parts of Gudbrandsdal have been included in Western Norway.

Western Norway, as well as other parts of historical regions of Norway, shares a common history with Denmark, the Faroe Islands and Iceland and to a lesser extent the Netherlands and Britain. For example, the Icelandic horse is a close relative of the Fjord horse and both the Faroese and Icelandic languages are based on the Old West Norse.

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Regions of Norway in the context of Northern Norway

Northern Norway (Bokmål: Nord-Norge, Urban East Norwegian: [ˈnûːrˌnɔrɡə], Nynorsk: Nord-Noreg; Northern Sami: Davvi-Norga) is a geographical region of Norway, consisting of the three northernmost counties Nordland, Troms and Finnmark, in total about 35% of the Norwegian mainland. Some of the largest towns in Northern Norway (from south to north) are Mo i Rana, Bodø, Narvik, Harstad, Tromsø and Alta. Northern Norway is often described as the land of the midnight sun and the land of the northern lights. Farther north, halfway to the North Pole, is the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, traditionally not regarded as part of Northern Norway.

The region is multi-cultural, housing not just Norwegians but also the indigenous Sami people, Norwegian Finns (known as Kvens, distinct from the "Forest Finns" of Southern Norway) and Russian populations (mostly in Kirkenes). The Norwegian language dominates in most of the area; Sami speakers are mainly found inland and in some of the fjord areas of Nordland, Troms and particularly Finnmark – though ethnic Sámi who do not speak the language are found more or less everywhere in the region. Finnish is spoken in only a few communities in the east of Finnmark.

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Regions of Norway in the context of Eastern Norway

Eastern Norway (Bokmål: Østlandet, Nynorsk: Austlandet) is the geographical region of the south-eastern part of Norway. It consists of the counties Oslo, Akershus, Vestfold, Østfold, Buskerud, Telemark, and Innlandet.

Eastern Norway is by far the most populous region of Norway. It contains the country's capital, Oslo, which is Norway's most populous city.

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