[2] The parish of Manger was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 (see formannskapsdistrikt law).
On 1 January 1871, the northwestern island district (population: 2,484) was separated to form the new municipality of Herdla.
Then on 1 January 1910, the rest of the islands in the west of Manger (population: 986) was separated to form the new municipality of Hjelme.
[3] During the 1960s, there were many municipal mergers across Norway due to the work of the Schei Committee.
[5] The municipal council (Heradsstyre) of Manger was made up of 13 representatives that were elected to four-year terms.