Sunnhordland is a
traditional district in the western region of
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old
Hordaland county (now part of
Vestland
Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...
county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the
Hardangerfjorden and the surrounding islands. The municipalities of
Sveio,
Etne,
Stord,
Bømlo
Bømlo () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the southwestern part of Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland. The administrative centre of the muni ...
,
Fitjar,
Kvinnherad, and
Tysnes (and sometimes
Austevoll
Austevoll is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality and an archipelago in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Midthordland in Western Norway. The administrative centre ...
) make up the district of Sunnhordaland. The regional centre of this district is the town of
Leirvik in
Stord.
In all, the district includes about of land. There were about 58,680 inhabitants in 2014, giving it a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
of about . About 50% of the land area is mountainous land above in elevation with most of the population living below that level in the valleys and coastal areas.
Name
The name ''Sunnhordland'' is derived from ''"søndre Hordaland"'' which means "the southern part of
Hordaland". It is similar in nature to the nearby districts of
Nordhordland and
Midhordland
Midhordland or Midthordland is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the Vestlandet region of Norway. It consists of the central-west portion of the old Hordaland county (now part of Vestland county), mostly including the islands and coa ...
.
People from Sunnhordland are called ''Sunnhordlendinger'' and the people in this area speak a
Norwegian dialect called ''Sunnhordlandsmål''.
References
Districts of Vestland
Sveio
Etne
Stord
Bømlo
Fitjar
Kvinnherad
Tysnes
{{Vestland-geo-stub