Population and land area in urban settlements

Updated: 1 October 2024

Next update: Not yet determined

Residents in urban settlements
Residents in urban settlements
2024
83.24
%
 
Population and area in urban settlements. 1 January.
Population and area in urban settlements. 1 January.
20242023 -2024
PopulationChangeChange in per cent
Residents in urban settlements4 619 96965 4071.4
Residents in rural settlements924 262-4 304-0.5
Area of urban settlements (km²)2 279.9412.950.57
Nummer of residents per km² in urban settlements2 026170.9
Proportion residents in urban settlements, per cent83.240.260.3
Residents in the five largest urban settlements
Oslo1 098 06115 4861.4
Bergen272 1252 5771.0
Stavanger/Sandnes239 0554 2981.8
Trondheim198 7771 8290.9
Drammen124 5401 5851.3
Explanation of symbols

Selected tables and charts from this statistics

  • Population and area in urban settlements with more than 50 000 residents, by municipality
    Population and area in urban settlements with more than 50 000 residents, by municipality
    Number of residentsArea of urban settlements (km²)
    QuantityShare (%)QuantityShare (%)
    Oslo in total1 098 061276.30
    Oslo municipality714 32265.1129.7747.0
    Bærum municipality129 57211.848.0317.4
    Asker municipality72 3686.637.4513.6
    Lillestrøm municipality63 3535.821.967.9
    Lørenskog municipality47 8344.412.824.6
    Nordre Follo municipality41 7253.814.995.4
    Rælingen municipality15 1491.44.651.7
    Nittedal municipality11 1401.04.911.8
    Lier municipality2 5980.21.720.6
    Bergen
    Bergen municipality272 12591.34
    Stavanger/Sandnes in total239 05580.03
    Stavanger municipality138 32457.941.5952.0
    Sandnes municipality66 96328.023.0428.8
    Sola municipality23 4929.811.8814.8
    Randaberg municipality10 2764.33.524.4
    Trondheim
    Tromdheim municipality198 77759.35
    Drammen in total124 54052.96
    Drammen municipality95 77076.935.3866.8
    Lier municipality14 00911.28.7416.5
    Øvre Eiker municipality9 9758.06.5012.3
    Asker municipality4 2283.42.073.9
    Holmestrand municipality5580.40.280.5
    Fredrikstad/Sarpsborg in total121 67960.57
    Fredrikstad municipality71 29658.635.8059.1
    Sarpsborg municipality50 38341.424.7840.9
    Porsgrunn/Skien in total96 69554.20
    Skien municipality51 27353.026.7349.3
    Porsgrunn municipality34 90336.121.1138.9
    Bamle municipality10 51910.96.3611.7
    Kristiansand
    Kristiansand municipality67 37224.49
    Tønsberg in total55 93926.54
    Tønsberg municipality37 62232.716.0960.6
    Færder municipality18 31767.310.4539.4
    Ålesund in total55 68428.93
    Ålesund municipality46 55483.621.7575.2
    Sula municipality9 13016.47.1924.9
    Moss in total50 21422.42
    Moss municipality43 52886.718.3882.0
    Vestby municipality6 68613.34.0418.0
    Explanation of symbols
  • Proportion of residents in densely and sparsely populated areas

  • Population in densely and sparsely populated areas. County
    Population in densely and sparsely populated areas. County
    Densely populated areaSparsley populated areaUnknownTotalShare in densely populated areas
    Østfold271 46940 273410312 15287.0
    Akershus662 39965 686718728 80390.9
    Oslo714 6301 6311 449717 71099.6
    Innlandet227 801148 292211376 30460.5
    Buskerud223 37446 161284269 81982.8
    Vestfold221 81234 425195256 43286.5
    Telemark139 12437 834135177 09378.6
    Agder256 63562 982233319 85080.2
    Rogaland444 12254 705590499 41788.9
    Vestland529 886120 834579651 29981.4
    Møre og Romsdal201 24269 145237270 62474.4
    Trøndelag - Trööndelage367 367115 140449482 95676.1
    Nordland - Nordlánnda176 77266 075234243 08172.7
    Troms - Romsa - Tromssa124 39445 050166169 61073.3
    Finnmark - Finnmárku - Finmarkku58 94216 0298275 05378.5
    Explanation of symbols
  • New and discontinued urban settlements. 2024
    New and discontinued urban settlements. 2024
    Urban settlementPopulationArea (sq. Km)MunicipalityComment
    0024 Ørmen2050.043107 FredrikstadNew urban settlement
    1531 Lesja2300.413432 LesjaBack on the list. Last listed in 2019
    1634 Starum3580.693442 Østre TotenNew urban settlement
    2016 Hillestad4000.793303 KongsbergBack on the list. Last listed in 2015
    2126 Stevning3500.253314 Øvre EikerNew urban settlement
    3613 Bygland2450.454220 ByglandBack on the list. Last listed in 2019
    5010 Bjorøyna5850.434626 ØygardenNew urban settlement
    5031 Førde3320.334612 SveioBack on the list. Last listed in 2022
    5142 Øystese2 2341.894622 KvamBack on the list. Last listed in 2018. Separated from Norheimsund
    5687 Flatraket3050.314649 StadNew urban settlement
    5734 Bergsida2490.194651 StrynBack on the list. Last listed in 2022
    6371 Liabø2060.335055 HeimBack on the list. Last listed in 2022
    7056 Mule2400.225037 Levanger - LevangkeBack on the list. Last listed in 2018
    7111 Sandvika2200.395042 LierneBack on the list. Last listed in 2022
    7682 Røkland6020.631840 SaltdalBack on the list. Last listed in 2012
    7743 Ramsund3050.605512 Dielddanuorri - TjeldsundBack on the list. Last listed in 2022
    7823 Sandnes3730.421866 HadselBack on the list. Last listed in 2012
    0524 Kjærnes3040.273021 ÅsDiscontinued urban settlement. Merged with Ski
    3006 Jønnevall2010.143807 SkienDiscontinued urban settlement
    5185 Glesnes3290.444626 ØygardenDiscontinued urban settlement
    5282 Uggdalseidet2960.404616 TysnesDiscontinued urban settlement
    5723 Re3890.434650 GloppenDiscontinued urban settlement
    6009 Hesthagen2460.101506 MoldeDiscontinued urban settlement. Merged with Molde
    6114 Geiranger2150.341525 StrandaDiscontinued urban settlement
    7035 Hell1 9211.265035 StjørdalDiscontinued urban settlement. Merged with Stjørdalshalsen
    7141 Bergsmo2130.425045 GrongDiscontinued urban settlement
    7211 Mosvik2980.485053 InderøyDiscontinued urban settlement
    Explanation of symbols

About the statistics

The statistics show population, area and population density in urban settlements. It also provides the number of inhabitants residing in densely and sparsely populated areas by municipality and county.

The information under «About the statistics» was last updated 3 June 2021.

Urban settlement

A cluster of buildings shall be registered as an urban settlement if it is inhabited by at least 200 persons.

The distance between the buildings should normally not exceed 50 metres, but for some space-demanding building categories - such as apartment buildings, industrial buildings, offices / commercial buildings, schools, hospitals etc. - the distance can be increased to 200 metres.

Adjacent built-up and constructed areas, such as parks, sports facilities and industrial areas, should be part of the urban settlement.

Building clusters with at least 5 commercial buildings or 5 residential buildings are included up to a distance of 400 metres from the urban settlement core.

Urban settlements are geographical areas with dynamic boundaries. Thus the number of urban settlements and their boundaries will change over time, depending on construction activity and changes of resident population.

The delimitation of the urban settlements is independent of the administrative boundaries.

Classification of urban settlement

A standard classification of the urban settlements is:

200 - 1 999 residents
2 000 - 19 999 residents
20 000 - 99 999 residents
100 000 or more residents

In the publication Population and land area in urban settlements and from 1rst of January on the situation files, the following classification is used:

200-499 residents
500-999 residents
1 000-1 999 residents
2 000-19 999 residents
20 000-99 999 residents
100 000 or more residents

Rules for change of number and names of urban settlements
Where 2 or mor urban setttlements are merged, the new merged urban settlement is always given the number of the largest urban settlement. Where urban settlements of less than 10 000 residents are merged, only the name of the largest settlement is kept.

If a merged urban settlement overpass 10 000 residents, the name of the largest urban settlement is kept if the number of residents is more than twice the number of residents in the smallest urban settlement. Otherwise the names will be shared for the new urban settlement.

These rules apply from 1rst of January 2013 and onwards.

Name: Population and land area in urban settlements
Topic: Population

Not yet determined

Division for Population Statistics

Besides statistics of urban settlements the statistics give figures of residents in densely and sparsely populated areas by basic statistical unit and municipality.

Yearly

None.

The code for urban settlement and sparse population is stored on the files over Norwegian residents January 1st each year.

Urban settlements are regional delimitations that can describe the urban development in Norway. The dicotomy of sparsely and densely populated areas is useful in analysis describing social, environmental and demographic variations.

The term urban settlements is used in Statistics Norway since the Population Census in 1960. The original definition is, with a few modifications, used in all the censuses since 1960.

Since 1960 to 2001 population statistics for urban settlements has been elaborated in connection with the censuses each 10 years.

Since 1990 the statistics are elaborated per 1 January each year. A new method for automatic delimitation of the urban settlements has been used since 1999. Allthough the definition of urban settlements remains the same, the statistics will differ slightly due to the new method. Figures referring to new and old method should not be compared.

In 2013, Statistics Norway introduced a new method for defining urban settlement boundaries. The urban settlements statistics are still based on information from the Central Population Register and the Ground property register, and it is still the distance between buildings that determines what areas are defined as an urban settlement. But the new method gave a more accurate delimitation, where the outer boundary in most cases will follow the boundary of roads and built-up elements. The more precise delimitation was made possible by using Statistics Norway’s delimitation of land use map.

The statistics is mainly used by civil administration (ministries, directorates, county- and municipality administrations) as well as for research purposes. Population in urban settlements is used in many analysis as an important variable in social, environmental and demographic studies.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 08 am. Prior to this, a minimum of three months' advance notice is given inthe Statistics Release Calendar. This is one of Statistics Norway’s key principles for ensuring that all users are treated equally.

The international recommendations and definitions are closely related to the Norwegian definition. The most important difference is that the distance between the buildings should not exceed 200 metres in the international definition, whereas the criterion is 50 metres in the Norwegian. In the nordic definition deviation from the 200 metre limit is allowed.

Statistics Norway also produce land use statistics for urban settlements.

Statistics Act § 10

None

The population is persons registered as residents in Norway. The observation unit is person.

The main data sources are the Central Population Register, the national register of Ground, Addresses and Buildings (Matrikkelen) and Statistics Norway’s delimitation of land use.

The statistic is estimated by counting the number of persons who belong to urban or rural settlement.

None

If a table consists of three or fewer units and disclosing these units can lead to identification of individuals, the figure is rounded up or left empty.

As mentioned there have been some small changes in the definition of urban settlements since 1960. During the period 1990 to 1998 the statistics have been elaborated on the basis of information from the municipalities own registration in the GAB-register. Since 1999 (expect of 2001 and 2010) the delimitation will be done by Statistics Norway using an automatic method (GIS). Data should not be compared unless the method is the same.

In 2013 the method was revised to give a more precise delimitation. The change involves a break in the time series. The area of urban settlements declined, and the number of inhabitants increased, leading to 16 percent higher population density.

The sources of error are mainly connected to the quality and completeness in the registers used. By merging the Central Population Register and the GAB register(Matrikkelen), each individual gets coordinates for their reisident. Thus, the key for the merge which is the numeric address, must be identical in the two registers.

None

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