tettsted

Tettsted is a Norwegian statistical term for an urban settlement. It denotes a densely built-up area with at least 200 inhabitants, where the distance between houses does not exceed 50 meters. The term is used by Statistics Norway (SSB) to identify urban settlements and to analyze population distribution and urbanization in Norway.

The concept is spatial rather than administrative: a tettsted is defined by the density and continuity of development and can extend across municipal borders. A single municipality may contain several tettsteder, and a large city may itself be a tettsted or part of one. Boundaries are determined from built-up area data, with small gaps allowed if they do not break the overall continuity of the settlement.

The definition does not imply political status; tettsteder are not administrative units like towns or cities, but statistical constructs used for population statistics, planning, and urban analysis. The term is widely used in governmental reports and demographic studies to compare levels of urbanization across time and regions. In English-language contexts, tettsteder are often translated as “urban settlements” or “densely built-up areas,” reflecting their focus on population density and built form rather than governance.