The 4,460-square-kilometre (1,720 sq mi) municipality is the 4th largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway (the largest municipality outside Troms and Finnmark counties). Rana is the 47th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 25,994. This makes it the second largest municipality in Nordland county—and the third largest in North Norway. The municipality's population density is 5.8 inhabitants per square kilometre (15/sq mi) and its population has increased by 0.2% over the previous 10-year period.[6][7]
Rana was a part of the Terra Securities scandal in 2007 relating to some investments that were made by the municipality.[8]
The municipality of Rana was originally established on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law). In 1839, it was divided into Nord-Ranen Municipality and Sør-Ranen Municipality. In 1844, Nord-Ranen Municipality was renamed Mo Municipality and Sør-Ranen Municipality was renamed Hemnes Municipality. On 1 January 1923, the village of Mo was separated from Mo Municipality and became a town-municipality of its own. At that time (to avoid confusion) Mo Municipality changed its name (back) to Nord-Rana Municipality and the new town was known as Mo i Rana. During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee. On 1 January 1964, the town of Mo (population: 9,616), Nord-Rana Municipality (population: 11,636), the northern part of Sør-Rana Municipality (population: 697), and the Sjona area of Nesna Municipality (population: 543) were all merged to form Rana Municipality.[9]
Name
The municipality is named after the river Ranelva (Old Norse: Raðund). The name of the river is probably derived from the word raðr which means "quick", "fast", or "rapid". Another possibility is that the name comes from the old Sami godRana Niejta.[10]
On 16 February 2024, the national government approved a resolution to add a co-equal, official Sami language name for the municipality: Raane.[11] The spelling of the Sami language name changes depending on how it is used. It is called Raane when it is spelled alone, but it is Raanen tjïelte when using the Sami language equivalent to "Rana Municipality".[5]
Coat of arms
The coat of arms was granted on 5 March 1965. The official blazon is "Per bend sinister vert and Or" (Norwegian: Venstre skrådelt av grønt og gull). This means the arms have a field (background) that is divided by a diagonal line from the lower left to the upper right. The field that is below the line has a tincture of Or which means it is commonly colored yellow, but if it is made out of metal, then gold is used. The field that is above the line has a tincture of green. The arms symbolize the forests (upper part/green) and the minerals (lower part/gold), as there many minerals can be found in the area, especially iron ore. The arms were originally granted to the municipality of Mo on 29 April 1960 until that municipality was dissolved on 1 January 1964 when it became part of the new municipality of Rana. The arms were designed by Gunnar Alm.[12][13][14]
The Sjona fjord, western part of Rana municipality
The municipality is located just south of the Arctic Circle, on the southern side of the Saltfjellet mountains with the Svartisenglacier, Norway's second largest glacier. The highest point in the municipality is the 1,589.26-metre (5,214.1 ft) tall mountain Snøtinden.[1] Some of the other large mountains in Rana include Bolna and Nasa. Mo is so close to the Arctic Circle that parts of the sun is continuously over the horizon (Midnight sun) from early June to early July, and there is no darkness from mid-May to the beginning of August. But there is no true polar night in December.[15] The Saltfjellet–Svartisen National Park is partly located in Rana. There are many valleys such as the Dunderland Valley and Grønnfjelldal.
The majority of the population in the municipality lives in Mo i Rana, where the Ranelva (river) meets the Ranfjorden. North of Mo i Rana, the European route E6 highway passes through the suburb of Selfors. In western Rana, the population centers around the Sjona fjord.
Rana and Saltfjellet are famous for their numerous caves due to the limestone rock. Some of the caves include Grønnligrotta, Setergrotta, and Pluragrotta. There are several nature reserves in the municipality, such as Alterhaug with several warmer-climate plants grow including the elm.[16] Engasjyen, the estuary of the Rana river, has a rich bird life in the spring.[17] Blakkådalen has old growthspruce forests.[18] Fisktjørna, has a largely undisturbed mixed old growth forest with unusually rich plant life due to the extremely lime-rich soil.[19]
Rana is situated near the innermost part of the long Ranafjord, and the winters can be cold, especially away from the fjord. There is often a lot of snow in winter. Summer days in Rana are among the warmest in North Norway.
Lakes and rivers
There are many lakes and rivers in the municipality, both in the lowlands and in the mountains.
The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Rana is made up of 37 representatives that are elected to four year terms. The tables below show the current and historical composition of the council by political party.
The mayor (Norwegian: ordfører) of Rana is the political leader of the municipality and the chairperson of the municipal council. Here is a list of people who have held this position:[34][35]
As of 2023, FREYR has a so-called[36]test factory for battery technology in Rana. The size of the factory is 13,000 square metres (140,000 sq ft).[37] It had[38] 70 employees before 10 were laid off in late November 2023.[39][40] As of Q4 2023, the first production line had been delayed.[41] The company said that it would halve its cash expenses for 2024.[38][36]
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