Municipalities are the atomic unit of local government in Norway and are responsible for primary education (through 10th grade), outpatient health services, senior citizen services, unemployment and other social services, zoning, economic development, and municipal roads. Law enforcement and Church Services are provided at a national level in Norway. Municipalities do not collect taxes directly but are instead awarded block grants through the national budget.
Municipalities are undergoing continuous consolidation. In the beginning of the 1960s, there were 744 municipalities in Norway. At this writing there are 431, and there are plans for further mergers and political pressure to do so.
The consolidation effort is complicated by a number of factors. Since block grants are made by the national government to the municipalities based on an assessment of need, there is little incentive for the municipalities to lose local autonomy. The national policy is that municipalities should only merge voluntarily, and studies are underway to identify potential gains.
