Counties of Finland

Finland is divided into 19 counties (Finnish: maakunta; Swedish: landskap)[lower-alpha 1]

Not to be confused with provinces of Finland, historical provinces of Finland, or Regional State Administrative Agency.
County
maakunta  (Finnish)
landskap  (Swedish)
CategoryUnitary state
LocationFinland
Number19
Populations29,884 (Åland) — 1,689,725 (Uusimaa)
Areas1,553 km2 (Åland) — 92,674 km2 (Lapland)
Government
  • County council
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Until 2022 the counties, often called regions in English, were governed by councils that served as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of each county. The main tasks of these councils were regional planning, development of enterprises, and education, but they also usually administered public health services. Between 2004 and 2022, the only county where popular elections for the council were held was Kainuu, as part of an experimental county administration. Everywhere else the councils were composed of delegates from the municipal councils.[2]

In 2022, the first direct elections for county councils were held. Under reforms aimed at creating wellbeing services counties, these councils have taken over responsibility for health care and social services reform.[3] In the process the official English name for the unit has been changed from "region" to county, while the Finnish and Swedish names remain unchanged.[4]

Åland

One county, Åland, has a special status and has a much higher degree of autonomy than the others, with its own Parliament and local laws, due to its unique history and the fact that the overwhelming majority of its people are Finland Swedes. The sole language of Åland is Swedish/Finland Swedish, unlike the rest of the country where Finnish and Swedish share official status. It has its own elected head of government who carries the title of Premier and heads the Lantråd, the regional executive. Most powers that would be exercised by the Government of Finland on the mainland are instead exercised by Åland-specific authorities which execute independent policy in most areas. The Åland islanders elect a single representative to the national legislature, while the Government of Finland appoints a Governor to represent the national government on Åland. Åland is a demilitarized zone and Åland islanders are exempt from conscription.

Representation of the state

In addition to inter-municipal cooperation, which is the responsibility of regional councils, there are 15 Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (Finnish: elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus, abbreviated ely-keskus), which is responsible for the local administration of labour, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and entrepreneurial affairs. They are each responsible for one or more of regions of Finland, and include offices of the Ministries of Employment and the Economy, Transport and Communications and Environment. The Finnish Defence Forces regional offices are responsible for the regional defence preparations and for the administration of conscription within the region.

List of counties
Flag Coat of arms Name Official English name[5] Finnish name Swedish name Capital Area (km2) Population
(31 Dec 2019)[6]
Lapland Lapland Lappi Lappland Rovaniemi 92,674 177,161
– North Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia Pohjois-Pohjanmaa Norra Österbotten Oulu 36,815 412,830
Kainuu Kainuu Kainuu Kajanaland Kajaani 20,197 72,306
North Karelia North Karelia Pohjois-Karjala Norra Karelen Joensuu 17,761 161,211
Northern Savonia North Savo Pohjois-Savo Norra Savolax Kuopio 16,768 244,236
Southern Savonia South Savo Etelä-Savo Södra Savolax Mikkeli 14,257 142,335
– South Karelia South Karelia Etelä-Karjala Södra Karelen Lappeenranta 5,327 127,757
Central Finland Central Finland Keski-Suomi Mellersta Finland Jyväskylä 16,703 275,104
South Ostrobothnia South Ostrobothnia Etelä-Pohjanmaa Södra Österbotten Seinäjoki 13,444 188,685
– Ostrobothnia Ostrobothnia Pohjanmaa Österbotten Vaasa 7,753 180,445
Central Ostrobothnia Central Ostrobothnia Keski-Pohjanmaa Mellersta Österbotten Kokkola 5,020 68,158
– Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa Pirkanmaa Birkaland Tampere 12,585 517,666
Satakunta Satakunta Satakunta Satakunta Pori 7,820 216,752
Päijänne Tavastia Päijät-Häme Päijät-Häme Päijänne-Tavastland Lahti 5,125 199,604
Kanta-Häme (Tavastia Proper) Kanta-Häme (Tavastia Proper) Kanta-Häme Egentliga Tavastland Hämeenlinna 5,199 170,925
– Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso Kymenlaakso Kymmenedalen Kotka, Kouvola 5,149 171,167
Uusimaa Uusimaa Uusimaa Nyland Helsinki 9,097 1,689,725
– Southwest Finland Southwest Finland Varsinais-Suomi Egentliga Finland Turku 10,663 479,341
Åland[7] Åland Ahvenanmaa Åland Mariehamn 1,553 29,884

Former regional borders

Number Coat of Arms Name Official English name[8] Finnish name Swedish name Capital Dissolution (date)
20 Eastern Uusimaa Itä-Uusimaa Itä-Uusimaa[9] Östra Nyland Porvoo January 1, 2011
Part of a series on
Subdivisions of Finland
Regions
Sub-regions
Municipalities

See also

Notes
  1. Northern Sami: eanangoddi, Inari Sami: eennâmkodde, and Skolt Sami: mäddkåʹdd.[1]

References
  1. "Sátnegirjjit, Dictionaries of Finnish, Swedish, the Sami Languages, English and Russian". dicts.uit.no. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  2. "Historiallinen maakuntahallinto opetti valtiota". Yle uutiset. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  3. "Health and social services reform". Finnish Government. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  4. "Government amends its draft proposal on health and social services reform in response to comments received". sote.fi. Finnish Government. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  5. "Suomen hallintorakenteeseen ja maakuntauudistukseen liittyviä termejä sekä maakuntien ja kuntien nimet fi-sv-en-(ru)" (PDF). vnk.fi. p. 8–9. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  6. Tilastokeskus. "Population". www.stat.fi.
  7. The role that the regional councils serve on Mainland Finland are, in Åland, handled by the autonomous Government of Åland.
  8. "Regions of Finland 2010". Statistics Finland. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  9. "Valtioneuvosto päätti Uudenmaan ja Itä-Uudenmaan maakuntien yhdistämisestä" (in Finnish). Ministry of Finance. October 22, 2009. Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
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