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 Bot ...

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 ...

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, 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. 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 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, a ...

who carries the title of Premier and heads the

Lantråd Lantråd is the title of the Head of Government of the Åland Islands in Finland. The person holding the office leads its regional government. The current Lantråd is Veronica Thörnroos. __NOTOC__ List List of Premiers of the Åland Islands (1 ...

, 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 laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

, 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 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 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.

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 transferred from Satakunta to Pirkanmaa.

2007

* Längelmäki merged with Orivesi 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 Dece ...

transferred from Central Ostrobothnia to North Ostrobothnia by merging with Kalajoki. * Part of Ruotsinpyhtää in Eastern Uusimaa transferred to Pyhtää in Kymenlaakso.

2013

* Kiikoinen 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 ...

. * 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.

Notes

References

External links

Regional Councils of Finland
fficial website
Regional State Administrative Agencies
{{Europe topic, Regions of Subdivisions of Finland Regions Finland 1 Regions, Finland