politics
Municipalities in the Norwegian Arctic Struggle Financially
The majority of municipalities in Troms and Finnmark, Northern Norway, ran a deficit last year. The municipalities also have high loan debt and may end up in the Register for governmental approval of financial obligations.
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On Tuesday, the County Governor of Troms and Finnmark in Northern Norway, launched a new report on economic developments in 2025 in the two counties.
It is based on updated figures from KOSTRA (Municipality-State-Reporting) published by Statistics Norway (SSB).
A first key point is that many municipalities are spending more money than they receive in daily operations.
Both counties had negative operating results last year: -0.5 per cent in Troms and 0.1 per cent in Finnmark. In comparison, the national average (excluding Oslo) was +2.1 percent.
Only three municipalities in Troms and seven in Finnmark had net operating results above the recommended level, while the majority of municipalities had negative operating results.
Highest loan debt
The report also points to a high level of debt. Troms is the county with the highest net loan debt in Norway, a full 25 percentage points above the national average. Finnmark, for its part, is 17.5 percentage points above this average.
Nationwide, net loan debt fell from 91.9 per cent in 2024 to 91.2 per cent in 2025. 16 municipalities in Troms and 11 in Finnmark had higher debt levels than the national average in 2025.
In more detail, Båtsfjord, Dyrøy, Berlevåg and Hammerfest have some of the highest debt levels in the country.
Furthermore, few municipalities have managed to build up a larger financial buffer with money in reserve. Only three municipalities in Troms and six in Finnmark increased their contingency funds (freely accumulated savings) last year, and only six municipalities in each county are above the national average of 11.9 per cent.
At risk of ROBEK
The municipalities Kåfjord, Gamvik, Kautokeino, Vadsø and Sør-Varanger are already listed in the Register for governmental approval of financial obligations (ROBEK) due to serious financial imbalance.
Now more municipalities may end up on the ROBEK list. Tromsø and Karasjok have incurred a deficit over time (accumulated overspending) of three per cent and according to the KOSTRA figures, these two qualify for registration in ROBEK.
Alta must cover deficits from 2024 and 2025 to avoid ending up in ROBEK. Bardu, Porsanger and Båtsfjord must also cover their deficits from 2025 by 2027 to avoid the same.
