Regions of Finland

Last updated

Regions
maakunta (Finnish)
landskap (Swedish)
Regions of Finland labelled EN.svg
Category Unitary state
Location Finland
Number19
Populations30,344 (Åland) — 1,714,741 (Uusimaa)
Areas1,553 km2 (Åland) — 92,674 km2 (Lapland)
Government
  • Regional council
Subdivisions

Finland is divided into 19 regions (Finnish : maakunta; Swedish : landskap) [lower-alpha 1] which are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of each region. The councils are composed of delegates from the municipal councils. The main tasks of regional councils are regional planning, the development of enterprises, and education. Between 2004 and 2012, the regional council of Kainuu was elected via popular elections as part of an experimental regional administration. [2]

Contents

In 2022, new Wellbeing services counties were established as part of a health care and social services reform. The wellbeing services counties follow the regional borders, and are governed by directly elected county councils. [3]

Åland

One region, 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 are 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 regions

Regions of Finland blank map.svg
Lapin maakunnan vaakuna.svg   Lapland
Pohjois-Pohjanmaan vaakuna.svg   North Ostrobothnia
Kainuu.vaakuna.svg  Kainuu
Pohjois-Karjala.vaakuna.svg  North Karelia
Pohjois-Savo.vaakuna.svg   North Savo
Etela-Savo.vaakuna.svg   South Savo
Etela-Pohjanmaan maakunnan vaakuna.svg   South Ostrobothnia
Pohjanmaan maakunnan vaakuna.svg   Ostrobothnia
Keski-Pohjanmaa.vaakuna.svg  Central Ostrobothnia
Keski-Suomi Coat of Arms.svg  Central Finland
Pirkanmaa.vaakuna.svg  Pirkanmaa
Satakunta.vaakuna.svg  Satakunta
Varsinais-Suomen.vaakuna.svg   Southwest Finland
Kanta-Hame.vaakuna.svg   Kanta-Häme
Paijat-Hame.vaakuna.svg   Päijät-Häme
Etela-Karjala.vaakuna.svg  South Karelia
Kymenlaakson maakunnan vaakuna.svg  Kymenlaakso
Uusimaa.vaakuna.svg  Uusimaa
Coat of arms of Aland.svg  Åland
FlagCoat of armsEnglish name [4] Finnish nameSwedish nameISOCapitalArea
(km2)
Population
(2021) [5]
Lapin maakunnan vaakuna.svg Lapland LappiLapplandFI-10 Rovaniemi 92,674176,494
Pohjois-Pohjanmaan vaakuna.svg North Ostrobothnia Pohjois-PohjanmaaNorra ÖsterbottenFI-14 Oulu 36,815415,603
Flag of Kainuu.svg Kainuu.vaakuna.svg Kainuu KainuuKajanalandFI-05 Kajaani 20,19771,255
North karelia flag.svg Pohjois-Karjala.vaakuna.svg North Karelia Pohjois-KarjalaNorra KarelenFI-13 Joensuu 17,761163,281
Flag of Northern Savonia.svg Pohjois-Savo.vaakuna.svg North Savo Pohjois-SavoNorra SavolaxFI-15 Kuopio 16,768248,363
Flag of South Savonia.svg Etela-Savo.vaakuna.svg South Savo Etelä-SavoSödra SavolaxFI-04 Mikkeli 14,257131,688
Etela-Karjala.vaakuna.svg South Karelia Etelä-KarjalaSödra KarelenFI-02 Lappeenranta 5,327126,107
Keski-suomi lippu.svg Keski-Suomi Coat of Arms.svg Central Finland Keski-SuomiMellersta FinlandFI-08 Jyväskylä 16,703272,683
Flag of Southern Ostrobothnia.svg Etela-Pohjanmaan maakunnan vaakuna.svg South Ostrobothnia Etelä-PohjanmaaSödra ÖsterbottenFI-03 Seinäjoki 13,444191,762
Pohjanmaan maakunnan vaakuna.svg Ostrobothnia PohjanmaaÖsterbottenFI-12 Vaasa 7,753176,041
Keski-Pohjanmaa.lippu.svg Keski-Pohjanmaa.vaakuna.svg Central Ostrobothnia Keski-PohjanmaaMellersta ÖsterbottenFI-07 Kokkola 5,02067,915
Flag of Pirkanmaa.svg Pirkanmaa.vaakuna.svg Pirkanmaa PirkanmaaBirkalandFI-11 Tampere 12,585527,478
Satakunta-flag.svg Satakunta.vaakuna.svg Satakunta SatakuntaSatakuntaFI-17 Pori 7,820214,281
Paijat-Hame.lippu.svg Paijat-Hame.vaakuna.svg Päijät-Häme Päijät-HämePäijänne-TavastlandFI-16 Lahti 5,125205,124
Flag of Tavastia Proper.svg Kanta-Hame.vaakuna.svg Kanta-Häme Kanta-HämeEgentliga TavastlandFI-06 Hämeenlinna 5,199170,213
Kymenlaakson maakunnan vaakuna.svg Kymenlaakso KymenlaaksoKymmenedalenFI-09 Kotka and Kouvola [lower-alpha 2] 5,149161,391
Flag of Uusimaa.svg Uusimaa.vaakuna.svg Uusimaa UusimaaNylandFI-18 Helsinki 9,0971,714,741
Varsinais-Suomen.vaakuna.svg Southwest Finland Varsinais-SuomiEgentliga FinlandFI-19 Turku 10,663483,477
Flag of Aland.svg Coat of arms of Aland 3.svg Åland AhvenanmaaÅlandAX and
FI-01
Mariehamn 1,55330,344

Former region

Regions of Finland in 2000. Finland.regions.2000.svg
Regions of Finland in 2000.
Coat of armsNameOfficial English name [6] Finnish nameSwedish nameCapitalDissolution (date)
Ita-Uusimaa.vaakuna.svg Eastern Uusimaa Itä-UusimaaItä-Uusimaa [7] Östra Nyland Porvoo 1 January 2011

Regional border changes

Border changes between the regions: [8]

1997

  • Kiikoinen transferred from Pirkanmaa to Satakunta.

2001

  • Kuorevesi transferred from Pirkanmaa to Central Finland by merging with Jämsä.

2002

  • Kangaslampi transferred from South Savo to North Savo.

2005

2007

2010

2013

  • Kiikoinen transferred from Satakunta to Pirkanmaa by merging with Sastamala.
  • Suomenniemi transferred from South Karelia to South Savo by merging with Mikkeli.

2016

  • Vaala transferred from Kainuu to North Ostrobothnia.

2021

  • Heinävesi transferred from South Savo to North Karelia.
  • Iitti transferred from Kymenlaakso to Päijät-Häme.
  • Isokyrö transferred from Ostrobothnia to South Ostrobothnia.
  • Joroinen transferred from South Savo to North Savo.
  • Kuhmoinen transferred from Central Finland to Pirkanmaa.

See also

Notes

  1. Northern Sami: eanangoddi, Inari Sami: eennâmkodde, and Skolt Sami: mäddkåʹdd. [1]
  2. Kymenlaakso is the only region with two capitals, of which Kotka is the official regional centre and Kouvola is the administrative one.

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Häme</span> Region of Finland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirkanmaa</span> Region of Finland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Savo</span> Region of Finland

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kymenlaakso</span> Region of Finland

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References

  1. "Sátnegirjjit, Dictionaries of Finnish, Swedish, the Sami Languages, English and Russian". dicts.uit.no. Archived from the original on 18 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  2. "Historiallinen maakuntahallinto opetti valtiota". Yle uutiset. 17 December 2012. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  3. "Health and social services reform". Finnish Government. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
  4. "Suomen hallintorakenteeseen ja maakuntauudistukseen liittyviä termejä sekä maakuntien ja kuntien nimet fi-sv-en-(ru)" (PDF). vnk.fi. pp. 8–9. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 June 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
  5. "Municipal key figures / With the 2021 regional division / Municipal key figures". Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 13 August 2023. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  6. "Regions of Finland 2010". Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  7. "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.
  8. "Statistics Finland". www2.stat.fi. Archived from the original on 2022-08-07. Retrieved 2022-07-04.