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2 per cent built-up area
statistikk
2016-09-12T10:00:00.000Z
Nature and the environment
en
arealstat, Land use and land cover, areasArea , Nature and the environment
false

Land use and land cover, 1 January 2016

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2 per cent built-up area

Of Norway's land area, nearly 2 per cent, or approximately 5 420 square kilometres is built-up. Of this, land used for roads comprises the highest share. Hedmark is the county with the most built-up area, while the county of Oslo has by far the largest share of built-up area.

Built-up land use in Norway. Square kilometres.Published 12 September 2016
2016
Built up areas in total5 418
Residential areas1 266
Recreational facilities439
Industrial, commercial and service areas439
Transport, telecommunications and technical infrastructure2 223
Built-up areas for agriculture and fishing532
Other built up areas518

Source: Statistics Norway

A new calculation of land use and land resources in Norway shows that land used for roads; 38 per cent, dominates the built-up area. In total, there is approximately 2 050 km2 of road area, which is about the same area as the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean. Residential area makes up 23 per cent of the built-up area, and leisure buildings account for 8 per cent.

Hedmark with the largest total of built-up land

With 44 per cent, Oslo has a larger share of residential areas, as a percentage of built-up land, than any other county in Norway. Sogn og Fjordane has the lowest share with 16 per cent. Oppland and Buskerud have the largest shares of leisure buildings, which make up 13 and 12 per cent respectively of the counties’ total of built-up land. Oslo has the smallest share of built-up land for agriculture and fishing, with less than 1 per cent of built-up land. In both Nord-Trøndelag and Oppland this share is 14 per cent, which is the largest in the country.

In total, Hedmark has the largest amount of built-up area, while Oslo has the least built-up land use. The large amount of road area and agricultural buildings contribute to Hedmark’s placing at the top of the list. Akershus (137 km2) and Hordaland (117 km2) have clearly the most residential areas, while Sogn og Fjordane (29 km2) and Finnmark (25 km2) have the least residential area. Oppland has the largest area for leisure buildings; about 52 km2, followed by Buskerud with 48 km2.

Overall, the area of built-up land in Norway is equal to twice the total area of Luxembourg.

Forest, mountain and moorland areas dominate

Looking at the total land area, about 2 per cent is built-up land, while agriculture represents some 3 per cent or 11 000 km2. Open firm ground dominates the non-built-up areas (38 per cent - 122 000 km2) together with forest (37 per cent - 121 000 km2).

Area covered by buildings and roads

A total of 533 km2 is covered by buildings (the building footprint), which is an increase of about 8.5 km2 per year since 2011.

The area covered by road surfaces (not counting hard shoulders, embankments or ditches) is 1 130 km2.

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Norway's land should be managed so that natural and cultural environments, landscapes and important qualities of the environment are taken care of throughout the country. In addition, urban development should be based on planning principles that save land use and energy. Statistics showing the extent of land use and available land resources are a very important basis for decisions.

More detailed data sources have become available in recent years, which has provided the basis for comprehensive land use statistics for the country. Statistics Norway has established new, regular statistics on land use and land resources for the whole country based on register data (Cadastre) and digital map data that are classified according to an accepted statistical standard and processed using GIS (geographic information systems).

In addition to the Cadastre and chart data, the land resource map (AR-STAT) from the Norwegian Forest and Landscape Institute forms the most important foundation. AR-STAT forms the basis for the calculation of land resources in non-built-up areas and also partially delimits the built-up areas, but is overridden when other basic map data shows that the areas are built up.