The island municipality is very small and is essentially a large fishing village centered around Røstlandet.

[7] The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the main island of Røstlandet (Old Norse: Rǫst) since the first Rost Church was built there.

The name is identical to the Old Norse word rǫst which means "maelstrom", likely referring to the nearby Moskenstraumen.

The official blazon is "Argent, three cormorants issuant from the base sable" (Norwegian: I sølv tre oppvoksende svarte skarver).

The Norwegian Lundehund originated from this part of Norway, where it natively would have climbed along cliff paths to hunt puffins.

The municipal council (Kommunestyre) of Røst is made up of 11 representatives that are elected to four year terms.

Here is a list of people who have held this position: As an isolated island municipality, there are no road connections to Røst.

There are ferry connections to the neighboring island of Værøya and also to the nearby town of Bodø on the mainland.

Yearly, the small island of Røst produces fish and fish-related products worth more than US$40 million.

Røstlandet is the largest island in the municipality and its highest point rises no more than 11 m (36 ft) above sea level.

South of Røstlandet, there are several small islands that are dominated by large mountains including Vedøya, Storfjellet, Trenyken, Hærnyken, and Ellevsnyken.

The islands offer a range of habitats, and as one would expect, a stop-over point for many species that are migrating even further north.

A 16,000 ha area encompassing the Røst archipelago and its adjacent marine waters has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports large breeding colonies of European shags and Atlantic puffins.

Røst and Værøy were earlier known by meteorologists as the most northern locations in the world with average temperatures above freezing all winter, but with the updated 1991-2020 normals there are more northern locations in Norway with average temperatures above freezing all winter.