Fylkene

Fylkene are Norway's regional administrative divisions, positioned between municipalities and the national government. They cover larger areas than a single municipality and coordinate regional planning, transport, culture, and other services that require scale beyond local borders. The term fylke is the Norwegian word for county, and the plural form is fylkene.

Each fylke has an elected legislature, the fylkesting, which sets policy and oversees the county administration. The county also runs an executive body, the fylkesutvalg, and is led by a political chair called the fylkesordfører. The day-to-day administration is handled by the county administration, headed by a chief administrative officer. The central government is represented in each fylke by a statsforvalter (formerly fylkesmann), who ensures national policies and laws are implemented.

Responsibilities commonly carried out at the county level include upper secondary education (schools and related services), regional transport and infrastructure planning, land-use and regional development planning, and cultural affairs, libraries, and archives. Health care and some social services remain primarily state responsibilities coordinated with municipalities and regional authorities.

History and reforms: the modern concept of fylke has roots in earlier regional divisions introduced under the Danish-Norwegian state, historically known as amter. The term fylke was adopted in the early 20th century. In 2020 Norway reformed its counties, reducing from 19 to 11 counties through mergers and consolidations; subsequent adjustments kept the 11-county structure. Notable changes include the merging of previously separate counties into larger regions, with Troms og Finnmark forming from Troms and Finnmark, and other mergers forming the current set of fylker.