ABSTRACT
Norway has a population of approximately 4.5 million people. There are 435 municipalities, most of which are relatively small. Twohundred-and-forty-seven have less than 5,000 inhabitants, and only nine have more than 50,000 inhabitants. On the other hand, more than 1.2 million people live in the nine largest municipalities, while a little less than 650,000 live in the smallest ones (Kommunenøkkelen 1996). In common with other Scandinavian countries, Norway has a large public sector.
