NorwayCounty number 33
Buskerud is a county in Norway with 18 municipalities. Buskerud stretches from the Drammensfjord and Lier to Hallingdal, Numedal and the high mountains. Drammen, Kongsberg and Hønefoss connect commerce, technology and transport with farming, forestry and tourism communities.
Content updated:
SSB · 2026
See how many people live in the county, how many homes it has, and which municipalities have the most residents. Figures are from Statistics Norway (SSB).
Ranked by municipal population, rather than the size of cities or urban settlements. A municipality may contain several settlements and extensive rural areas.
2026 · SSB
Choose a municipality to open its profile. Small island municipalities are marked with a dot.
Known for
Ski mountains and valley stave churches
Buskerud transitions from the Drammensfjord and Lier’s farmland to forests, valleys and high mountains. Hallingdal and Numedal have different distances and settlement patterns from the Drammen region. Hønefoss in Ringerike and Kongsberg are important centres with distinct labour markets. The county belongs to the wider capital travel region and opens onto southern Norway’s mountains. Municipality boundaries provide a more precise local picture.
Kongsberg’s silverworks, established in 1623, show how natural resources created an organised mining society with international expertise. River transport and trade shaped other parts of Buskerud. The county joined Viken in 2020 and became separate again in 2024. Røyken and Hurum joined Asker and now belong to Akershus, while Svelvik joined Drammen. Present Buskerud therefore differs from the county before municipal and regional reform.
Kongsberg Sølvverk was founded in 1623 and ceased operating in 1958. German miners were central to the mining community; surviving mines and buildings preserve this history.
Buskerud combines Kongsberg’s technology industries with commerce and services around Drammen, farming and forestry, and Hallingdal tourism. County skills work connects education with different regional needs. Industrial communities, farming municipalities and visitor destinations require different expertise. Seasonal activity and holiday homes can also increase service demand without an equivalent increase in registered residents.
Brakar provides information about local buses, school transport and demand-responsive journeys in Buskerud. Drammen is an important hub towards Oslo and western destinations, while valley communities have longer distances between homes, schools and services. The Bergen Line connects Hallingdal east and west. For everyday travel, available departures and connections matter more than county boundaries; check the specific journey using current timetables.
The University of South-Eastern Norway has campuses in Drammen, Kongsberg and Hønefoss, providing several educational routes into county employment. The Norwegian Mining Museum explains the silverworks’ technology, organisation and international background; valley heritage offers other perspectives on work and everyday life. Together they show development through local resources and outside knowledge. Municipality profiles connect this history with present settlement and services.
The Buskerud plan connects inclusion and economic development with natural and cultural values. These issues mean different things in cities, mountain municipalities and farming communities. Housing, travel time and school or health-service access therefore require local research. Compare municipality profiles within the same reference year, remembering that a municipality may include several settlements and extensive uninhabited land. Municipal figures do not automatically describe the town centre.
Buskerudplanen was adopted on 18 June 2026. It prioritises social inclusion, economic development and adaptation, alongside natural and cultural heritage; Buskerudbarometeret is intended to track progress over time.
Landscapes, heritage sites and buildings offer a concrete view of the county’s history. Continue to the guides to these places and their municipalities.
Fossesholm herregård in Øvre Eiker combines timber-trade history with an eighteenth-century manor environment. The preserved buildings explain how wealth from forests, sawmills and export could be expressed through architecture and refined domestic surroundings.
Heg gjestgiveri at Lier Bygdetun preserves an inn where travel, books and local government once met. The timber building connects the everyday service of a roadside guesthouse with the beginnings of municipal self-government in Lier.
Kjerraten i Åsa in Ringerike recalls an ambitious system for hauling timber uphill with waterpower. The museum and reconstructed wheelhouse make an early industrial transport solution understandable within the steep landscape it was designed to overcome.
Buskerud · 18 municipalities
Find local figures, history, education, housing and public services. Each municipality’s population figure refers to the stated period.
Residents · Q2 2026 · SSB
Norway has three elected levels of government: the state, county authorities and municipalities. A county is both a geographical area and the territory of an elected regional authority.
Responsibilities include upper secondary education, county roads, public transport, public dental services and regional development. These tasks connect municipalities.
Local responsibilities include primary and lower secondary schools, kindergartens, health and care services and land-use planning. Kommuneportal explains these at municipal level.
The County Governor represents the state regionally. This is a separate institution from the elected county authority. Oslo has both municipal and county responsibilities.
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Registry date: · Content updated:
A county total is shown only when every municipality has comparable figures from the same source and period. Land area excludes freshwater and sea. Density uses population and land area from the same year.
The same municipality membership is used; changes across a documented geographical break are withheld.
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Creation and publication dates are not documented.
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