Counties of Norway Counties of Norway Norway is divided into 18 administrative regions, called counties (singular , plural (Bokmål) / "fylke" (Nynorsk) from Old Norse: "fylki" from the word "folk"); until 1918, they were known as "amter". The counties form the first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 422 municipalities ("kommune", pl. "kommuner" / "kommunar"). The island territories of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are outside the county division and ruled directly at the national level. The capital Oslo is considered both a county and a municipality. In 2017 the government decided to abolish the current counties and to replace them with
Industrial Development Corporation of Norway of 15 science- and 10 research parks, 20 incubators, 45 business gardens, 12 venture capital institutions and 4 research and development companies. SIVA cooperates closely with the Research Council of Norway and Innovation Norway. Industrial Development Corporation of Norway The Industrial Development Corporation of Norway or SIVA () is a Norwegian state enterprise responsible for government investment in incubators, science parks, industrial parks and real estate through partial ownership of other companies. The ultimate goal is to stimulate economic growth, through strengthening Norway's capacity related to innovation and creativity. SIVA is based in Trondheim, where it employs almost 40 people.