Östergötland County ( sv, Östergötlands län) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

or ''

län Län (Swedish, ), lääni (Finnish, ) and len (Norwegian, ) refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland and Norway. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010. In Norway, the term was in use betw ...

'' in southeastern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

. It has land borders with the counties of

Kalmar Kalmar (, , ) is a city in the southeast of Sweden, situated by the Baltic Sea. It had 36,392 inhabitants in 2010 and is the seat of Kalmar Municipality. It is also the capital of Kalmar County, which comprises 12 municipalities with a total of ...

to the southeast,

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...

to the southwest,

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

to the northwest, and

Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Latin form ''Sudermannia'' or ''Sudermania'', is a historical province or ''landskap'' on the south eastern coast of Sweden. It borders Östergötland, Närke, Västmanla ...

to the northeast. It also has a sea border with Västra Götaland to the west (across lake

Vättern Vättern ( , ) is the second largest lake by surface area in Sweden, after Vänern, and the sixth largest lake in Europe. It is a long, finger-shaped body of fresh water in south central Sweden, to the southeast of Vänern, pointing at the tip of ...

), and borders the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

to the east. Östergötland County has a population of 456,550 (September 30, 2017) and the capital and biggest city is

Linköping Linköping () is a city in southern Sweden, with around 105,000 inhabitants as of 2021. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality and the capital of Östergötland County. Linköping is also the episcopal see of the Diocese of Linköping (Church ...

. Linköping and neighbouring twin city

Norrköping Norrköping (; ) is a city in the province of Östergötland in eastern Sweden and the seat of Norrköping Municipality, Östergötland County, about 160 km southwest of the national capital Stockholm, 40 km east of county seat Linköp ...

together form one of Sweden's metropolitan areas; The Linköping-Norrköping Corridor is therefore sometimes marketed as ''The Fourth Metropolitan Region'' of Sweden, the other three being

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

and

Malmö Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal populat ...

Princess Estelle Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

Duchess of Östergötland Duchies in Sweden have been allotted since the 13th century to powerful Swedes, almost always to princes of Sweden (only in some of the dynasties) and wives of the latter. From the beginning these duchies were often centers of regional power, whe ...

Province

''For History, Geography and Culture see:

Östergötland Östergötland (; English exonym: East Gothland) is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap'' in Swedish) in the south of Sweden. It borders Småland, Västergötland, Närke, Södermanland and the Baltic Sea. In older English li ...

.'' Östergötland has virtually the same boundaries as the current administrative entity, the Östergötland County.

Administration

The main aim of the

County Administrative Board A county administrative board ( sv, länsstyrelse) is a Swedish Government Agency in each of the counties of Sweden, led by a vice-regal governor ( sv, landshövding) appointed by the government for a term of six years. The lists of gubernatorial o ...

is to fulfil the goals set in national politics by the

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...

and the

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

, to coordinate the interests of the county, to promote the development of the county, to establish regional goals and safeguard the due process of law in the handling of each case. The County Administrative Board is a

Government Agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

headed by a Governor. See

List of Östergötland Governors A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

Municipalities

The county is divided into 13 municipalities: *

Boxholm Boxholm (, , traditionally also , ) is a locality and the seat of Boxholm Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 3,194 inhabitants in 2010. Economy Steel production company Ovako Ovako AB is a European manufacturer of engineering s ...

Finspång Finspång () is a locality and the seat of Finspång Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,440 inhabitants in 2010. Overview Finspång is a traditional industrial town. The first industries were established in 1580 when a Royal fact ...

Kinda Kinda or Kindah may refer to: Politics and society *Kinda (tribe), an ancient and medieval Arab tribe *Kingdom of Kinda, a tribal kingdom in north and central Arabia in – Places * Kinda, Idlib, Syria * Kinda Hundred, a hundred in Sweden * Kinda ...

Mjölby Mjölby ( or ) is a city and the seat of Mjölby Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 12,245 inhabitants in 2010. Mjölby is located by the rivulet Svartån. The name "Mjölby" is derived from ''Mölloby'', which comes from or ''m� ...

Motala Motala () is a locality and the seat of Motala Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 29,823 inhabitants (41,956 in the entire municipality) in 2010. It is the third largest city of Östergötland, following Linköping and Norrköping. M ...

Söderköping Söderköping is a locality and the seat of Söderköping Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,992 inhabitants in 2010. Söderköping is, despite its small population, for historical reasons normally still referred to as a ''town''. ...

Vadstena Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden, with 5,613 inhabitants in 2010. From 1974 to 1979 Vadstena was administered as part of Motala Municipality. Despite its small population, Vadstena is ...

Valdemarsvik Valdemarsvik is a locality, situated alongside the bay of Valdemarsviken which connects to the Baltic Sea. It is the seat of Valdemarsvik Municipality which is located in Östergötland County, Sweden. The coastal area is a popular summer destina ...

Ydre Ydre Municipality (''Ydre kommun'') is a municipality in Östergötland County, southeast Sweden. The municipal seat is located in the town of Österbymo. The municipality was created through the local government reform of 1952, when six former ...

Åtvidaberg Åtvidaberg is a locality and the seat of Åtvidaberg Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden with 6,859 inhabitants in 2010. History Copper was mined in the area from the 14th century, and the name "Åtvidaberg" was originally the name o ...

* Ödeshög

Politics

The

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

of Östergötland or ''Landstinget i Östergötland''.

Riksdag The Riksdag (, ; also sv, riksdagen or ''Sveriges riksdag'' ) is the legislature and the supreme decision-making body of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral legislature with 349 members (), elected proportionally and se ...
elections

The table details all

election results of Östergötland County since the unicameral era began in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. The blocs denote which party would support the Prime Minister or the lead opposition party towards the end of the elected parliament.

Demographics

Foreign background

SCB have collected statistics on backgrounds of residents since 2002. These tables consist of all who have two foreign-born parents or are born abroad themselves. The chart lists election years and the last year on record alone.

Heraldry

Östergötland County inherited its coat of arms from the province of Östergötland. When it is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board.

References and notes

External links

Östergötland County Administrative Board

Östergötland County CouncilTourism in ÖstergötlandRegional Association of Östergötland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ostergotland County Counties of Sweden

County A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

1634 establishments in Sweden States and territories established in 1634