As of 2017,
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
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 ...
( fi, maakunta, sv, landskap)
* the regions are divided into 70
sub-regions ( fi, seutukunta, sv, ekonomisk region)
* the sub-regions are divided into 311
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 ...
( fi, kunta, sv, kommun).
Description
Municipalities (which may also call themselves towns or cities) account for half of public spending. Spending is financed by municipal income tax, state subsidies, and other revenue. As of 2017, there are 311 municipalities, and most were under 5,000 residents. In Finland, state has started the Municipality and Service Structure Reform Program to reform the complex and expensive municipal system, but initiatives have encountered much opposition from local bureaucrats and interest groups. People often identify with their municipality. Government's local administrative duties are performed by the
Regional State Administrative Agencies.
In addition to municipalities, there are complex other arrangements. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four
sub-regions and twenty
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 ...
. These are governed by the member municipalities. The
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 ...
region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the
Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections.
Sami people have a semi-autonomous
Sami Domicile Area
Acronyms
* SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft
* Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company
* South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...
in
Lapland for issues on language and culture.
See also
*
List of Finnish municipalities
*
List of former municipalities of Finland
This is a list of the former municipalities of Finland.
Contents: A B C D E
F G H I J K L M
N O P Q R S T U
V W X Y Z Ä Ö
__NOTOC__
A
* Ahlainen (Vittisbofjärd) – became part of Pori in 1972
* Aitolahti (Aito ...
*
Subdivisions of the Nordic countries
References
{{Finland topics
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 ...