Sør-Varanger
Sør-Varanger (Northern Sami: Máttá-Várjjat, Kven: Etelä-Varenki, Finnish: Etelä-Varanki, Russian: Сёр-Вара́нгер/Syor-Varánger) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kirkenes. Other settlements in the municipality include the villages of Bjørnevatn, Bugøynes, Elvenes, Grense Jakobselv, Hesseng, Jakobsnes, Neiden, and Sandnes. Located west of the Norway–Russia border, Sør-Varanger is the only Norwegian municipality that shares a land border with Russia, with the only legal border crossing at Storskog.
Sør-Varanger Municipality
Sør-Varanger kommune | |
|---|---|
| Sørvaranger herred (historic name) | |
|
Flag | |
Finnmark within Norway | |
Sør-Varanger within Finnmark | |
| Coordinates: 69°43′43″N 30°02′30″E | |
| Country | Norway |
| County | Finnmark |
| District | Øst-Finnmark |
| Established | 1 Jul 1858 |
| • Preceded by | Vadsø Municipality |
| Administrative centre | Kirkenes |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2023) | Magnus Mæland (H) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 3,971.42 km2 (1,533.37 sq mi) |
| • Land | 3,458.85 km2 (1,335.47 sq mi) |
| • Water | 512.57 km2 (197.90 sq mi) 12.9% |
| • Rank | #6 in Norway |
| Population (2023) | |
| • Total | 9,850 |
| • Rank | #115 in Norway |
| • Density | 2.8/km2 (7/sq mi) |
| • Change (10 years) | −1.2% |
| Demonym | Varangværing |
| Official language | |
| • Norwegian form | Bokmål |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | NO-5605 |
| Website | Official website |
The 3,971-square-kilometre (1,533 sq mi) municipality is the 6th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities in Norway. Sør-Varanger is the 115th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 9,850. The municipality's population density is 2.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (7.3/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 1.2% over the previous 10-year period.