Vaksdal is a municipality in the county of Hordaland, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Nordhordland. The administrative centre is the village of Dalekvam. Other villages in Vaksdal include Dalegarden, Flatkvål, Helle, Nesheim, Stamneshella, Stanghelle, and Vaksdal.
The 715-square-kilometre (276 sq mi) municipality is the 156th largest by area out of the 422 municipalities in Norway. Vaksdal is the 229th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 4,123. The municipality's population density is 6 inhabitants per square kilometre (16/sq mi) and its population has increased by 0.7% over the last decade.
In 2016 the chief of police formally suggested that the police station be closed down.
Geography
The municipality is mountainous, and stretches along both sides of the Veafjorden with adjacent valleys. It includes part of the island Osterøy. The Kallestadsundet Bridge connects the mainland of Vaksdal to the island of Osterøy. In the north, it includes the valleys of Eksingedalen and Bergsdalen, with its borders extending into the mountains, bordering Sogn og Fjordane county in the north. Major lakes in the municipality include Askjelldalsvatnet and Skjerjavatnet.
The main centers of population are Dale (pop. 1174), Vaksdal (pop. 957), and Stanghelle (pop. 767). Dale and Vaksdal are industrial villages that arose around factories utilising the hydro-electric power resources provided by the mountainous terrain and rainy climate. The Bergensbanen railway line between Norway's two largest cities Oslo and Bergen, and the main road between the same two cities, European route E16, run through Vaksdal municipality. The Bergensbanen railway line has the following stations in Vaksdal: Bogegrend Station, Dale Station, Stanghelle Station, and Vaksdal Station