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Norway is divided into 15 administrative regions, called counties (fylker in Norwegian, singular: fylke), and 357 municipalities (kommuner/-ar, singular: kommune – cf. communes). The capital city Oslo is considered both a county and a municipality.
Municipalities are the atomic unit of local government in Norway and are responsible for primary education (until 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. Law enforcement and church services are provided at a national level in Norway.
Municipalities are undergoing continuous consolidation. In 1930, there were 747 municipalities in Norway. As of 2020 there are 356 municipalities, a reduction from 422. See the list of former municipalities of Norway for further detail about municipal mergers.
The consolidation effort is complicated by a number of factors. Since block grants are made by the national government to the municipalities based on an assessment of need, there is little incentive for the municipalities to lose local autonomy. The national policy is that municipalities should only merge voluntarily, and studies are underway to identify potential gains.
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