Land use and land cover

Name: Land use and land cover
Topic: Nature and the environment

Division for Housing, Property, Spatial and Agricultural Statistics

Municipalities, counties, country

Norwegian sea areas (Norwegian waters), Maritime Areas, Marine management areas

Annual

Not relevant

The maps are stored as spatial data sets and can be used for other analyzes as required.

The first area accounting system of Norway was published in 1981. Aerial photos were used for interpreting land use and land cover. The method was time consuming and was abandoned after the test period.

The establishment of the National register of Ground, Addresses and Buildings (GAB) gave new possibilities for land use statistics. Methods were developed and statistics produced by Engebretsen (1989, 1993).

Automatic digital methods for the delimitation of urban settlements were conducted (Dysterud et al. 1999) and methodical studies of land use statistics were carried out (Engelien 2000, Bloch 2002). In 2005 Land use in urban settlements, based on point datasets and buffer methods, were published. This attempt was not repeated.

By 2011 the available data and the method of delimiting areas had improved immensely, and the method described below was developed. The most important improvement was the use of property boundaries from the Cadastral register and the nation wide land resource map (AR-STAT) from the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute. Statistics on Land use in urban settlements based on theese accurate data was first published in 2011, then yearly since 2013.

The first edition of the statistics on coastal and marine area use was published in 2026 and is based on the best available digital map and administrative register data.

The statistics is mainly used by civil administration (ministries, directorates, county- and municipality administrations) as well as for research purposes.

Coastal and marine area use

The statistics cover Norwegian waters and provide information on coastal and marine area use at various geographical levels, adapted to relevant geographical divisions and the needs of coastal and marine management and spatial planning. The statistics are intended to meet the information needs of both the general public and public administration. They can also serve as a basis for research and analysis of the impacts of decisions made through planning processes.

No external users have access to the statistics and analyses before they are published and accessible simultaneously for all users on ssb.no at 8 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 equaly.

The statistics are based on the same maps used for the Land use statistics for Norway. Several other statistics are based on the same maps.

Register information. Statistics Act

Not relevant

The statistics include all of Norway’s municipalities and Svalbard.

Coastal and marine area use: The tables on coastal and marine area use cover all Norwegian coastal municipalities, as well as Svalbard, Jan Mayen, Norway’s Exclusive Economic Zone, the Fisheries Protection Zone around Svalbard, the Fisheries Zone around Jan Mayen, and marine management areas.

The land use and land cover delimitation includes multiple data sources, the most important are:

• land resource map, AR-STAT, from the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (former: the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute).
• buildings and property boundaries from the Cadastre (at the National Mapping Authority).
• various data from the public map database (FKB).
• roads from the National roads database - Vbase.

Coastal and marine area use

The materials and methods used in the production of coastal and marine area use statistics and geodata are described in Chapters 3 and 4 of the methodological note (in Norwegian). Reference is therefore made to this publication for further information on methodological assumptions and data processing.

The statistics are based on the following source data:

• Aquaculture register, NYTEK data, Coastal fisheries data, Fishing activity by gear types, Vessel Monitoring Systems and Electronic Reporting Systems data (Directorate of Fisheries)
• Various data from public map database (FKB) (Geovekst)
• Sea chart maritime infrastructure, Wrecks, Marine disposal sites and Norway’s maritime boundaries, Sea chart- depth data (Norwegian Mapping Authority)
• AIS port area (harbor) polygons, Fairways, Navigation reference routes and Anchorage area (Norwegian Coastal Administration)
• S100 map data/ Map data Svalbard (Norwegian Polar Institute)
• Marine environmental management zones, Permits- dredging, dumping and other filling and Discharge points (Norwegian Environment Agency)
• Oil and gas pipelines, Petroleum production facilitates, Wellbore and Fields on Norwegian continental shelf (Norwegian Offshore Directorate)
• Offshore wind power and submarine grid infrastructure (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate)
• Firing and training areas and restricted areas at sea (Norwegian Defence Estate Agency)
• Bathymetry grid WCS (Geological Survey of Norway)
• GEBCO_2026 grid
• Orthophoto / Aerial photo (Norge i Bilder)
• Route Density - AIS (EMODnet, European Maritime Safety Agency)

Based on maps, registers and the use of GIS.

Data revised by owners of the registers, e.g. Statistics Norway and Norwegian Mapping Authorities.

Several digital maps are processed in a GIS-system and classified according to the Classification of land use and land cover. Automatic routines for delimiting and classifying areas has been developed.

The nation wide land resource map ( AR-STAT) from the Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research forms the basis of the statistics "map". Built-up elements are placed higher in a hierarchy as shown below:

1. Road
2. Railway
3. Rivers and lakes
4. Airports
5. Greenhouses classified as cultivated land
6. Buffered buildings on parcels found in FKB land use
7. FKB land use
8. Built-up properties or shares of properties
9. Buffered buildings
10. Sports- and recreational areas
11. Data from N50 land cover
12. Parking areas
13. Ports
14. AR-STAT

The finished map for statistics is projected from WGS84 UTM 33 to ETRS89-LAEA, before areas are calculated and statistics assembled.

For Svalbard

The data sources used for Norway’s mainland are not available for Svalbard. A vegetation map from NINA is used as a base, built-up elements from a technical map and buildings from the cadastre are placed higher in the hierarchy. There are no property boundaries on Svalbard.

Coastal and marine area use

Throughout the processing workflow and the production of the final ocean-use (coastal and marine area use) map, the ETRS89-LAEA (Lambert Azimuthal Equal Area, EPSG:3035) coordinate reference system is used.

The source datasets are processed using automated GIS workflows to delineate, harmonize, and classify ocean-use features. All features are classified in accordance with the “Classification of land use and land cover” standard.

For each ocean-use class, the processed datasets are merged according to a predefined hierarchy. Where features from multiple data sources overlap, a source-specific priority order is applied. The priority is listed from lowest to highest:

• Aquaculture: i) Site midpoint, ii) Areas defined in the Aquaculture Register, and iii) NYTEK data.
• Port infrastructure: i) Delineations derived from S-100 data, ii) Maritime infrastructure objects iii) Objects from the FKB-Tiltak and FKB-Bygning datasets, and iv) objects from the FKB-BygnAnlegg dataset.
• Port areas (water areas) i) Areas derived from buffer analyses around port infrastructure, and ii) AIS (Automatic Identification System) based port polygons.
• Dredging, dumping, and filling: i) Discharge points from wastewater facilities, ii) wrecks, and iii) dredging, dumping, and filling areas.
• Submarine cables and pipelines: i) Sewer networks, ii) Water pipelines, iii) Oil and gas pipelines, and iv) Subsea cables.
• Infrastructure related to oil and gas activities: i) Petroleum fields, ii) wellbores, and iii) Facilities/installations.
• Offshore wind: i) Wind farm areas with the status Not yet commenced and ii) Developed windfarm installation
• Military areas: i) Restricted maritime areas, and ii) Military training areas at sea.
• Fishing areas: i) coastal fishing grounds and ii) fishing activity by gear type (Based on VMS and ERS data)
• Fairways and anchorage areas: i) Navigation-route buffer zones, ii) Anchorage areas, and iii) Fairway areas.

The datasets representing aquaculture, port infrastructure, port areas, dredging, dumping, and filling, petroleum-related infrastructure, and offshore wind installations are considered fixed spatial uses.

After the individual ocean-use classes have been compiled, overlaps between classes are resolved using a class-level hierarchy. The hierarchy ensures that each location is assigned to a single dominant ocean use. The priority order is as follows, from highest to lowest priority:

• Port infrastructure
• Aquaculture
• Port areas
• Infrastructure related to petroleum activities
• Offshore wind
• Dredging, dumping, and filling

Under this hierarchy, features associated with a higher-priority class supersede features from lower-priority classes where spatial overlaps occur.

Not relevant at present.

The statistics are based on automatic processing of registers and map data bases. The data sources are built up according to national standards, however the interpretations of the standards might differ among municipalities. The completeness in the scope of mapped objects might also differ. This could affect the results, but all in all the results are considered to be comparable from place to place.

For all data sources there will be a time lag from changes in land use appear in reality until they are registered in maps and registries. As long as the time lag is constant it should not affect the result to much.

The numbers for Svalbard are based on different maps and the methods diverge from those used for Norway’s mainland. The lack of property boundaries at Svalbard leads to all buildings being buffered, they are therefore assigned less space than similar buildings on the mainland. For natural resources, the statistics are based on vegetation maps with classes that are not directly comparable with the classes in the Standard classification of land for statistical purposes.

The quality of the statistics is highly dependent on the quality of the contents of the Cadastre and various digital maps.

The land cover class ´´Open firm ground´´ in AR-STAT can refer to both built-up and natural areas. The combination with other data sets, like the building register, should assure that the areas are confirmed as built-up. However, in cases where areas are used for storage or industry, but there are no buildings, the areas might appear as undeveloped.

Coastal and marine area use

The statistics are based on existing digital maps and register data obtained from multiple sources. SSB processes and integrates these datasets using automated GIS-based analytical workflows to delineate and classify coastal and marine area use and to produce statistical outputs. Consequently, the quality and level of detail of the resulting maps depend on the quality of the source data, including their spatial resolution, update frequency, and coverage.

For several coastal and marine area use categories, the source data were available only as point or line features rather than polygon features. To represent these activities in a spatially continuous dataset, buffer analyses were applied to estimate their spatial extent. Where relevant attribute information was available, buffer distances were adjusted according to the attribute information of the individual features. However, this approach entails a degree of uncertainty, as the generated buffer polygons are simplified estimates and do not necessarily reflect the actual spatial extent of the activities. The results should therefore be interpreted as an approximation of ocean (coastal and marine area) use.