Sunnhordland is a traditional district in the western region of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

. The district consists of the southern coastal regions of the old

Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipa ...

county (now part of

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway established on 1 January 2020. The county is located in Western Norway and it is centred around the city of Bergen, Norway's second largest city. The administrative centre of the county is the cit ...

county). It includes the areas that surround the mouth of the Hardangerfjorden and the surrounding islands. The municipalities of Sveio, Etne,

Stord Stord is a municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Sunnhordland. Stord is sometimes called "Norway in miniature" since it has such a variety of landscapes: coastline, fjords, forests, agricultural ...

, Bømlo, Fitjar, Kvinnherad, and Tysnes (and sometimes

Austevoll Austevoll is a municipality and an archipelago in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Midthordland in Western Norway. The administrative centre is the village of Storebø on the island of Huftarøy. Other vill ...

) make up the district of Sunnhordaland. The regional centre of this district is the town of

Leirvik Leirvik is a town and the administrative centre of Stord municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The town lies along the southern coast of the large island of Stord, along the Hardangerfjorden. The town gained "town status" in 1997. The town ...

. 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 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

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

". It is similar in nature to the nearby districts of

Nordhordland Nordhordland is a traditional district in the western part of Norway. The district consists of the northern portion of the old Hordaland county (now in Vestland county), north of the city of Bergen. It includes the municipalities Alver, Austr ...

and

Midhordland Midhordland or Midthordland is a 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 coastal fjord areas sur ...

. 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