How many sunny days does Norway have?
Between about 1 100 and 1 780 hours of sunshine a year, depending on where you stand. Norway does not publish a count of "sunny days"; the measured figure is sunshine hours. The south coast around Kristiansand is the sunniest part of the country, Bergen the least sunny of the large cities, and north of the Arctic Circle the sun is either up all night or below the horizon for weeks.
Updated 27 September 2026 · Figures from Yr and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute; midnight sun and polar night dates from Visit Tromsø · By Ksenia
Sunshine hours a year, measured
| Place | Sunshine hours a year |
|---|---|
| Kristiansand (Kjevik) | 1 778 |
| Oslo (Blindern) | 1 669 |
| Ås, Akershus | 1 635 |
| Kise, Ringsaker | 1 556 |
| Sola, Stavanger | 1 513 |
| Trondheim (Tyholt) | 1 347 |
| Bodø | 1 271 |
| Tromsø | 1 264 |
| Bergen (Florida) | 1 184 |
| Karasjok | 1 106 |
| Fiskåbygd, Vanylven | 1 081 |
| Bjørnøya | 591 |
Source: Yr / the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, measured sunshine hours per station, published 2014. Checked 27 September 2026.
What a sunshine hour means
A sunshine hour is an hour in which direct sunlight actually reached the ground at a measuring station. Cloud, fog and rain all reduce it, and so does a mountain standing between the station and the low winter sun. It is a better measure than "sunny days", which nobody defines the same way twice.
South coast, east and west: three different countries
The south coast — Kristiansand, Arendal, Mandal — gets the most sun; Norwegians call the strip Sørlandet and go there for the summer for exactly that reason. The inland east, Oslo included, is close behind, with warm dry high-summer weeks. The west coast is the wet side: Atlantic air rises over the mountains and drops its water on Bergen and the fjord towns.
Practical consequence: a week in Bergen needs a rain jacket in every month of the year, and a week in Kristiansand in July usually does not.
North of the Arctic Circle the question changes
In Tromsø the midnight sun lasts from about 20 May to about 22 July — the sun does not set at all, and hiking at midnight is normal. From about 27 November to 15 January the opposite happens: the sun stays below the horizon and the middle of the day is a long blue twilight, which is when the northern lights season is at its best.
The annual sunshine total in Tromsø, about 1 264 hours, is close to Bodø and not far below Trondheim: the sun simply arrives in one long block rather than spread over the year.
When to come for sun
May to July gives the most sunshine everywhere. June and July are also the driest months on the south coast. August is warmer in the sea but brings more rain in the west. From late September the light drops quickly, and by November the useful daylight in the south is around six hours.
If it rains anyway
Coastal weather turns in hours. Check yr.no in the morning rather than planning the week from a forecast made five days earlier, and keep an indoor option — a museum, a swimming hall, a long lunch — for the wettest half day.
Sun in Norway: frequent questions
Norway does not count "sunny days" officially. The measured figure is sunshine hours: from about 1 100 a year in the far north and the wettest fjord valleys to about 1 780 on the south coast (Yr / Meteorologisk institutt).
Kristiansand on the south coast, with about 1 778 sunshine hours a year at the Kjevik station.
Bergen has the fewest sunshine hours of the big cities, about 1 184 a year — roughly two thirds of Kristiansand. The rain comes from the mountains behind the city catching the wet Atlantic air.
About 20 May, and it lasts until about 22 July: the sun stays above the horizon day and night (Visit Tromsø).
In Tromsø roughly from 27 November to 15 January. The sun stays below the horizon, but the middle of the day is blue twilight, not darkness (Visit Tromsø).
May, June and July in most of the country. In the north the sun is up around the clock in that period, so daylight is not the limit — cloud is.
In spring and summer, yes, especially on snow, water or high ground, where the light reflects from below as well as above.
Rarely. Weather on the coast changes in hours rather than days, and the forecast at yr.no is reliable about two days ahead.
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Hvilken norsk by vil dere si har den “beste” balansen mellom sol og regn? 😊