Midtjylland municipalities.svg

The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The reform abolished the traditional counties (''amter'') and replaced them with five new administrative regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the total number of municipalities from 271 to 98. The reform diminished the power of the regional level dramatically in favour of the local level and the national government in Copenhagen. The Central Denmark Region comprises 19 municipalities.

Toponymy

The Danish name of the region means "Region of Mid Jutland" and describes the location in the central part of the Jutland peninsula, in contrast to Northern Jutland and Southern Jutland (which, together with Funen and some smaller islands, forms the Region of Southern Denmark). For communication in English, the regional administration decided to use another term which is not a direct translation of the Danish name, supposing that the name ''Jutland'' might be too unknown to the English speaking public.

A similar policy is followed by the North Denmark Region (whose Danish name, ''Region Nordjylland'', can be translated to "Region of North Jutland").

However, the name of the region is usually untranslated when used in English-language publications that aren't by the regional council itself, but by governmental authorities such as Statistics Denmark. From 2007 to 2013, five so-called State Administrations or governorates existed in Denmark, covering the five regions as separate entities from the regional councils. One of these was named the "State Administration of Central Jutland" in English and covered the same area as the regional council, but had its administration in Ringkøbing as opposed to the regional council in Viborg.

In English-language media and literature by various authors, the names Central Jutland (or Mid Jutland) are also commonly used.

Geography

The Central Denmark Region comprises most of the traditional geographical regions of ''Østjylland'' ( East Jutland), ''Midtjylland'' (Central Jutland), and ''Vestjylland'' (West Jutland, identical with Hardsyssel). Smaller areas within these larger designations include the peninsula of Djursland, the hilly lake district of Søhøjlandet, Kronjylland (or Ommersyssel), Fjends, Bjerreherred, and the peninsulas of Salling and Thyholm. The region borders the North Sea in the west, the Limfjord in the northwest, and Kattegat in the east. It includes the islands of Samsø, Anholt, and the smaller Endelave, Tunø, Hjarnø and Alrø in Kattegat, as well as Venø, Jegindø and Fur in the Limfjord.

The western parts of the region are characterised by coastal dunes and inland heaths, while the slightly elevated central parts and the relatively hilly eastern parts are characterised by forests, lakes and streams, with plenty of fertile soils. The eastern parts (''Østjylland'') are the most densely populated area within the region and form a large part of the proposed East Jutland metropolitan area with a population of about 1.4 million.

Aarhus, with a population of 280,000, is the largest city of Jutland and the second-largest city of Denmark, as well as the hub of Eastern Jutland. Other cities with a population above 30,000 include Randers, Silkeborg, Horsens, Herning, Viborg and Holstebro. Most of these are situated in the eastern part. The administration and regional council is situated in the sixth-largest city, Viborg, which has a population of 40,000 and was the medieval capital of Jutland.

Administratively, Central Denmark Region consists of the former counties of Ringkjøbing and Aarhus (except the western half of Mariager municipality which joined Region Nordjylland), most of the former county of Viborg, and the northern half of Vejle County. The areas in question from the two latter counties were the former municipalities of Bjerringbro, Fjends, Hvorslev