Stavanger

Stavanger
Stavanger kommune
Municipality
(top down, clockwise)
  • Breiavatnet
  • Rica Forum Hotel
  • Stavanger aerial photo
  • Lille Stokkavann
  • Monument to the Battle of Hafrsfjord
  • View of Vagen
Coat of arms of Stavanger
Coat of arms
Nickname(s): 
Oljebyen, The oil capital
Location of Stavanger
Stavanger is located in Rogaland
Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is located in Norway
Stavanger
Stavanger
Stavanger is located in Europe
Stavanger
Stavanger
Coordinates: 58°58′12″N 05°43′53″E / 58.97000°N 5.73139°E / 58.97000; 5.73139
Country Norway
MunicipalityStavanger
CountyRogaland
DistrictJæren
Established1125
Area
71.35 km2 (27.55 sq mi)
 • Urban
77.98 km2 (30.11 sq mi)
 • Metro
2,598 km2 (1,003 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)
148,682
 • Density2,100/km2 (5,400/sq mi)
 • Urban
237,369
 • Urban density3,000/km2 (7,900/sq mi)
 • Metro
360,000
 • Metro density140/km2 (360/sq mi)
 • Municipality/ Urban rank
4th/3rd
 • Metro rank
3rd
DemonymSiddis
Nationalities
 • Norwegians75%
 • Other25%
GDP
[1]
 • Metro€31.582 billion (2021)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Websitewww.stavanger.kommune.no
Historical population
YearPop.±%
17693,337—    
195150,617+1416.8%
196052,835+4.4%
197081,741+54.7%
198089,913+10.0%
199097,570+8.5%
2000108,818+11.5%
2010123,850+13.8%
Source: Statistics Norway[2][3]

Stavanger (/stəˈvæŋər/, UK also /stæˈ-/, US usually /stɑːˈvɑːŋər, stəˈ-/,[4][5][6] Norwegian: [stɑˈvɑ̀ŋːər] ⓘ, locally [staˈvǎŋːɔʁ]) is a city and municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city[7] and third largest metropolitan area[8] in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the administrative center of Rogaland county. The municipality is the fourth most populous in Norway. Located on the Stavanger Peninsula in southwest Norway, Stavanger counts its official founding year as 1125, the year the Stavanger Cathedral was completed. Stavanger's core is to a large degree 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses[9] that are protected and considered part of the city's cultural heritage. This has caused the town center and inner city to retain a small-town character with an unusually high ratio of detached houses,[10] and has contributed significantly to spreading the city's population growth to outlying parts of Greater Stavanger.

The city's population rapidly grew in the late 20th century due to its oil industry. Stavanger is known today as the Oil Capital of Norway.[11] Norwegian energy company Equinor, the largest company in the Nordic region, has its headquarters in Stavanger.[12] Multiple educational institutions for higher education are located in Stavanger. The largest of these is the University of Stavanger.

Domestic and international military installations are located in Stavanger, including the NATO Joint Warfare Centre. Other international establishments, and especially local branches of foreign oil and gas companies, contribute further to a significant foreign population in the city. The city has a strong international profile and 22.1% of the population has an immigrant background.[13][14] In 2020, it was rated as the most liveable city for European expatriates in Norway as well as 5th in Europe by ECA International.[15] Stavanger has, since the early 2000s, consistently had an unemployment rate significantly lower than the European average.[16] In August 2022, the unemployment rate was 1.6%.[17] The city also appears on various lists of most expensive cities in the world, and it has even been ranked as the world's most expensive city by certain indices.[18][19][20]

The climate of the city is very mild by Nordic standards due to a strong maritime influence. As a result, winter usually remains above freezing whereas heat waves are rare and seldom long. Rainfall is common, although less so than in areas further north on the coastline.

Stavanger is served by international airport Stavanger Airport, Sola, which offers flights to cities in most major European countries, as well as a limited number of intercontinental charter flights. The airport was rated as one of the world's most punctual airports of its category by OAG in 2020.[21]

Every two years, Stavanger organizes the Offshore Northern Seas (ONS), which is the second largest exhibition and conference for the energy sector. The Gladmat food festival is also held each year and is considered to be one of Scandinavia's leading food festivals. The city is also known for being one of the nation's premier culinary clusters. Stavanger was awarded the 2008 European Capital of Culture alongside Liverpool.

  1. ^ "Gross domestic product (GDP) at current market prices by metropolitan regions". ec.europa.eu.
  2. ^ http://www.ssb.no/fob/kommunehefte/1103/fob_1103_tabeller.pdf Archived 12 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine [bare URL PDF]
  3. ^ "Tabell 6 Folkemengde per 1. Januar, etter fylke og kommune. Registrert 2009. Framskrevet 2010-2030, alternativ MMMM". Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2009.
  4. ^ Wells, John C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3rd ed.). Longman. ISBN 978-1-4058-8118-0.
  5. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011). Roach, Peter; Setter, Jane; Esling, John (eds.). Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary (18th ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-15255-6.
  6. ^ "Stavanger". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 5 May 2019.
  7. ^ "Tabell 1 Tettsteder. Folkemengde og areal, etter kommune. 1. Januar 2009". Archived from the original on 18 September 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
  8. ^ "Greater Stavanger". Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  9. ^ "Gamle Stavanger" (in Norwegian). 5 January 2013. Archived from the original on 27 June 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  10. ^ "Boforhold, flytting og befolkningsutvikling i storbyene" (PDF) (in Norwegian). sintef.no. 1 January 2000. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2012.
  11. ^ "About Stavanger". www.npd.no. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  12. ^ "The Global 2000". Forbes. 21 April 2010. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Stavanger, Norway - Intercultural City - Intercultural cities programme - publi.coe.int". Intercultural cities programme. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  14. ^ "KommuneProfilen. Statistikk som sammenlikner økonomiske regioner etter antall og andel innvandrere og innvandring etter landbakgrunn - basert på statistikk fra SSB". Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  15. ^ Nilsen, Ruth Einervoll (14 February 2020). "Stavanger er Noregs beste by å bu i". NRK (in Norwegian Nynorsk). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Stavangerstatistikken – arbeidsløshet" (in Norwegian). stavanger.kommune.no. 6 June 2012. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  17. ^ "3.5 Arbeidsledighet og sysselsetting » Rapportering". tertialrapport.stavanger.kommune.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  18. ^ Results from ECA International survey "And the world's most expensive city for expats is ... Tokyo". numbeo.com. 7 December 2011. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  19. ^ "The World's Most Expensive Cities 2010". businessweek.com. 2011. Archived from the original on 13 July 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  20. ^ "Numbeo Costs of Living". numbeo.com. 6 June 2012. Archived from the original on 5 March 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  21. ^ Worldwide, OAG Aviation. "Punctuality League 2020 Report". www.oag.com. Retrieved 20 December 2022.