Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

is divided into 19 regions (; ) which are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

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. 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.

Åland

One region,

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

, has a special status and has a much higher degree of autonomy than the others, with its own

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

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 Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish (; ) is a Variety (linguistics), variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population of Finland, Swedish-speaking population, common ...

, unlike the rest of the country where Finnish and Swedish share official status. It has its own elected

head of government In the Executive (government), executive branch, the head of government is the highest or the second-highest official of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presid ...

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 A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the legal authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial power ...

, while the Government of Finland appoints a

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

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 The Finnish Defence Forces (FDF) (; ) are the military of Finland. The Finnish Defence Forces consist of the Finnish Army, the Finnish Navy, and the Finnish Air Force. In wartime, the Finnish Border Guard becomes part of the Finnish Defence For ...

regional offices are responsible for the regional defence preparations and for the administration of conscription within the region.

List of regions

Former region

Regional border changes

Border changes between the regions:

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

Punkalaidun Punkalaidun (, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

transferred from Satakunta to Pirkanmaa.

2007

* Längelmäki merged with

Orivesi Orivesi () is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. It lies to the northeast of the regional capital, Tampere. The population of Orivesi is approximately , while the Tampere metropolitan area, metropolitan area has a population of ...

in Pirkanmaa and Jämsä in Central Finland.

2010

* Himanka transferred from Central Ostrobothnia to North Ostrobothnia by merging with Kalajoki. * Part of

Ruotsinpyhtää Ruotsinpyhtää (; ) is a List of former municipalities of Finland, former municipality of Finland. Ruotsinpyhtää, Pernå and Liljendal were consolidated to Loviisa on January 1, 2010. It is located in the provinces of Finland, province of Sou ...

in Eastern Uusimaa transferred to

Pyhtää Pyhtää () is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the Kymenlaakso regions of Finland, region, west of the city of Kotka. Overview The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is wa ...

in Kymenlaakso.

2013

* Kiikoinen transferred from Satakunta to Pirkanmaa by merging with

Sastamala Sastamala () is a town in Finland, located in the Pirkanmaa region. Sastamala lies on both sides of River Kokemäenjoki in the southwest corner of Pirkanmaa. The population of Sastamala is approximately , while the South Western Pirkanmaa, sub-reg ...

. * 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 Iitti (; ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Päijänne Tavastia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density ...

transferred from Kymenlaakso to Päijät-Häme. * Isokyrö transferred from Ostrobothnia to South Ostrobothnia. *

Joroinen Joroinen is a municipality in the North Savo region of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland Province, Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 peop ...

transferred from South Savo to North Savo. * Kuhmoinen transferred from Central Finland to Pirkanmaa.

Notes

References

External links

Regional State Administrative Agency
{{Europe topic, Regions of Subdivisions of Finland

Regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Finland 1 Regions, Finland