APIs and data

The Norwegian Mapping Authority has released its central national datasets as open data.

Whether you are a professional developer or a “regular” user, this article provides you with information on how to find and use the Norwegian Mapping Authority’s open and free maps and geospatial data. You can find more information at our Norwegian API and data-pages (texts in Norwegian only).

If you have any questions or comments, please contact us - see contact info in the website's footer.

Data sets from the Norwegian Mapping Authority are available as downloads from Geonorge.no which also offers an English menu. Use the Geonorge map catalogue to search for, look at or download.

Among our open datasets are topographical land data (N50, N100, N250, N500, N1000, N2000 and N5000), property data, administrative/ property boundaries, road networks including addresses, national elevation models, place name data, historical maps, marine geospatial data, hiking trails and official addresses.

The data sets must be used according to the Norwegian Mapping Authority’s terms of use.

If you are you interested in purchasing other geospatial data than the open data, please contact the Norwegian Hydrographic Service for marine geospatial data or one of our distributors for topographical land or property data. Contact info for purchase here.

For professionals

The map data sets are released in a form that is as close to the original as possible. This provides professional developers with as much free rein as possible to develop their own products and services based on the Norwegian Mapping Authority’s data.

Boundaries, road data and place names are provided in SOSI and PostGIS formats. The elevation models are provided as USGS and DEM’s. N50-N5000 topographical land data can be found in ESRI File Geodatabase format, GML, SOSI and PostGIS database.

Most datasets are also available through APIs. The Norwegian Mapping Authority offers free WMS, WFS and cache services, search services, and processing services for system developers, programmers, and others who wish to use it on their own websites and in their own mapping solutions. These services collect data from our topographical maps and thematic maps.

Maps for “regular” users

Not all of our data sets require a professional background for usage, but can be beneficial for “regular” users as well.

Our historical maps are simple to download and print. Go to our historical maps downloading site (in Norwegian only).

Our illustration maps are also easily downloaded. They are available in a format, which can be opened with a variety of software. The AI (Adobe Illustrator) files are tabular and put together with points, lines, and levels and users can easily make changes and adjustments to the map.

In addition to making data sets available for download, the Norwegian Mapping Authority has opened up for free display of maps and geospatial data. Users who wish to view digital maps directly on the web without downloading them, can go to the Norwegian Mapping Authority’s digital map page norgeskart.no (offers also English menu). On this page users will find continuously updated data from our databases as well as detailed maps of the entire country.

You can display the national map series Norway 1:50 000 from the app Hvor? (search in App Store or Google Play).