Transport in Norway is highly influenced by Norway's low population density, narrow shape and long coastline. Norway has old water transport traditions, but road, rail and air transport have increased in importance during the 20th century. Due to the low population density, public transport is somewhat less built out in rural areas of Norway, however public transport in, and around cities is well developed.
The main governing body is the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications, which performs operations through numerous subsidiaries. Tasks related to public transport and some roads have been delegated to the counties and municipalities. Most infrastructure is publicly owned, while most operations are performed by private companies; public transport is subsidized.
On average each Norwegian transported themselves for 70 minutes each day. In 2008 8% of passenger transport was made by public transport; road transport is the dominant mode of transport. It had risen to 10% in 2017. In 2014 22% of travel was on foot and 4% by bicycle. The transport sector was responsible for 4.1% of the gross national product and 6.6% of employment in 2006. According to the World Economic Forum's Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2013, Norway placed 83 out of 140 countries regarding quality of roads, 47 out of 122 regarding quality of railroad infrastructure, 25 out of 140 regarding quality of port infrastructure and 54 out of 140 regarding ground transport networks.
Civil aviation
Aviation has become an important passenger transport mode since the 1960s. Aircraft is the commonly used mode of transport on longer distances, and the routes between Oslo and Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger are all among the largest in Europe. On long distances, such as Oslo-Bodø and longer, air travel is by far the leading travel method. In Western and Northern Norway, with difficult terrain, obstacling fjords and lack of rail transport, regional airline travel provides quick travel within the region or to the capital.
Major airlines based in Norway are Scandinavian Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe.
Airports
Of the 98 airports in Norway, 51 are public, and 46 are operated by the state-owned Avinor. Seven airports have more than one million passengers annually. 41,089,675 passengers passed through Norwegian airports in 2007, of which 13,397,458 were international.
The main gateway by air to Norway is Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, located about north of Oslo with departures to most European countries and some intercontinental destinations. It is hub for the three major Norwegian airlines Scandinavian Airlines System, Norwegian Air Shuttle, and Widerøe and for regional aircraft from Western Norway.
Heliports are common at hospitals and oil platforms. The Norwegian Air Ambulance service operates twelve helicopters and nine airplanes.
Regional aviation
The regional airport service was introduced in the 1960s, with 30 airports being served by short take-off and landing aircraft. These are located mainly in Sogn og Fjordane and Northern Norway, in areas with long distances to large cities and with too little traffic to support commercial flights. The airports, which typically have an runway, are run by Avinor, while the airplanes are operated based on subsidized public service obligation contracts with the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications. by the far largest contractor is Widerøe with their fleet of de Havilland Canada Dash 8 aircraft, but also Danish Air Transport, Lufttransport and Kato Airline have won bids. The flights operate from one or more regional airports to larger hubs; in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Kirkenes. One service, to Værøy Heliport, is served by helicopter. 1,214,508 passengers passed through the regional airports in 2012.
Rail transport
The main railway network consists of of standard gauge lines, of which is double track and high-speed rail (210 km/h) while 62% is electrified at . The railways transported 56,827,000 passengers 2,956 million passenger kilometers and 24,783,000 tonnes of cargo 3,414 million tonne kilometers.