Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

is divided into 19 regions ( fi, maakunta; sv, landskap)., smn, eennâmkodde, and sms, mäddkåʹdd. The regions are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the

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

of each region. The councils are composed of delegates from the municipal councils. The main tasks of regional councils are regional planning, 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 ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km2, and a populat ...

, 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: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and local laws, due to its unique history and the fact that the overwhelming majority of its people are

Finland Swedes Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothn ...

. The sole language of Åland is

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

/ Finland Swedish, unlike the rest of the country where

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

and

share official status. It has its own elected

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

who carries the title of Premier and heads the Lantråd, the regional executive. Most powers that would be exercised by the

Government of Finland sv, Finlands statsråd , border = , image = File:Finnish Government logo.png , image_size = 250 , caption = , date = , state = Republic of Finland , polity = , coun ...

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 an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

, while the Government of Finland appoints a

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

to represent the national government on Åland. Åland is a

demilitarized zone A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel. A DZ often lies along an established frontier or bounda ...

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 The Finnish Defence Forces ( fi, Puolustusvoimat, sv, Försvarsmakten) 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 (whic ...

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

1997

Kiikoinen Kiikoinen ( sv, Kiikoinen, also ) is a former municipality of Finland. It was located in the province of Western Finland and was part of the Satakunta region. The municipality had a population of (31 December 2012) and covered an area of of whic ...

transferred from Pirkanmaa to Satakunta.

2001

Kuorevesi Kuorevesi is a former municipality in Finland. It was part of the Pirkanmaa region in western Finland. In the year 2001 it was consolidated into the town of Jämsä in the Central Finland region. The name of the municipality came from the Lake Ku ...

transferred from Pirkanmaa to Central Finland by merging with

Jämsä Jämsä () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Central Finland region, about southwest of Jyväskylä. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the second largest town of the Central Finland after Jyväsk ...

2002

Kangaslampi Kangaslampi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated to Varkaus on 1 January 2005. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Northern Savonia region. The municipality had a population of 1,611 (31 Dece ...

transferred from South Savo to North Savo.

2005

Punkalaidun Punkalaidun ( sv, 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 popul ...

transferred from Satakunta to Pirkanmaa.

2007

* Längelmäki merged with

Orivesi Orivesi () is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Pirkanmaa region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality official language is monoling ...

in Pirkanmaa and Jämsä in Central Finland.

2010

Himanka Himanka ( sv, Himango) is a former municipality of Finland. Himanka was consolidated with the neighboring town of Kalajoki on January 1, 2010. It is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The municipality had a population of 3,123 (31 Dec ...

transferred from Central Ostrobothnia to North Ostrobothnia by merging with

Kalajoki Kalajoki (; literally translated the "fish river") is a coastal town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the Gulf of Bothnia in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has ...

. * Part of Ruotsinpyhtää in Eastern Uusimaa transferred to

Pyhtää Pyhtää ( sv, Pyttis) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Kymenlaakso region, west of the city of Kotka. Overview The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Th ...

in Kymenlaakso.

2013

transferred from Satakunta to Pirkanmaa by mergin with

Sastamala Sastamala () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the Pirkanmaa region. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water, making it the largest municipality in the Pirkanmaa region in terms of area. The ...

. * Suomenniemi transferred from South Karelia to South Savo by merging with Mikkeli.

2016

Vaala Vaala is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality ''Säräisniemi'', established in 1867), the municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which ...

transferred from Kainuu to North Ostrobothnia.

2021

Heinävesi Heinävesi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Savonlinna, Varka ...

transferred from South Savo to North Karelia. *

Iitti Iitti (; sv, Itis) 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 ...

transferred from Kymenlaakso to Päijät-Häme. *

Isokyrö Isokyrö (; sv, Storkyro) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region, from Vaasa. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . In the name of th ...

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 and is part of the Northern Savonia sub-region. The municipality has a population of approximately 4,626 people and covers an area of ...

transferred from South Savo to North Savo. *

Kuhmoinen Kuhmoinen ( sv, Kuhmois) is a municipality of Finland, in Pirkanmaa region, but until 2021, it was part of the Central Finland region. The municipality is home to inhabitants. Neighbour municipalities are Jämsä, Kangasala, Luhanka, Orivesi, ...

transferred from Central Finland to Pirkanmaa.

Notes

References

External links

Regional Councils of Finland
fficial website
Regional State Administrative Agencies
{{Europe topic, Regions of Subdivisions of Finland

Regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Finland 1 Regions, Finland