The counties of Sweden (

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 ...

: ''Sveriges

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 ...

'') are the top-level geographic

subdivisions of Sweden There are several series of subdivisions of Sweden. * Judiciary *# Supreme Court (''Högsta Domstolen''), Supreme Administrative Court (''Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen'') *# Courts of appeal (''hovrätter''), administrative courts of appeal (' ...

. Sweden is today divided into 21 counties; however, the number of counties has varied over time, due to territorial gains/losses and to divisions and/or mergers of existing counties. This level of administrative unit was first established in the

1634 Instrument of Government The Instrument of Government ( sv, regeringsform) of 1634 was a document describing the form and operation of the Swedish government, retrospectively regarded as the country's first constitution, although it was not intended to function as such.< ...

on Lord Chancellor Count

Axel Oxenstierna Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre (; 1583–1654), Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a c ...

's initiative, and superseded the historical provinces of Sweden ( sv, landskap) in order to introduce a more efficient administration of the realm. At that time, they were what the translation of ''län'' into English literally means: fiefdoms. The county borders often follow the provincial borders, but the Crown often chose to make slight relocations to suit its purposes. In every county there is a county administrative board (''länsstyrelse'') headed by a governor ('' landshövding''), appointed by 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 ...

, as well as a separate

regional council Regional Council may refer to: * Regional Council (Hong Kong), disbanded in 1999 ** Regional Council (constituency) Regional council may refer to: * Regional council (Cameroon) * Regional council (France), the elected assembly of a region of Fra ...

(''region''). In the county of

Gotland Gotland (, ; ''Gutland'' in Gutnish), also historically spelled Gottland or Gothland (), is Sweden's largest island. It is also a province, county, municipality, and diocese. The province includes the islands of Fårö and Gotska Sandön to the ...

however, the county's only municipality has adopted regional responsibilities. The aims of the county administrative board are to supervise local state administration (that is not otherwise assigned to other government agencies), and to coordinate political goals with the central government. The regional council is the elected regional political assembly that oversees the municipal affairs of the county, primarily in regard to

public healthcare Publicly funded healthcare is a form of health care financing designed to meet the cost of all or most healthcare needs from a publicly managed fund. Usually this is under some form of democratic accountability, the right of access to which are se ...

, public transport, and culture. Several other government agencies are organised on a county basis, including the main bodies of the police,

employment Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any o ...

, social insurance, and forestry services.

List of counties

Map

With county codes, which were official until 1974. *AB:

Stockholm County Stockholm County ( sv, Stockholms län, link=no ) is a county or '' län'' (in Swedish) on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders Uppsala County and Södermanland County. It also borders Mälaren and the Baltic Sea. The city of Stockholm ...

*AC: Västerbotten County *BD:

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County ( sv, Norrbottens län; se, Norrbottena leatna, fi, Norrbottenin lääni) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares border ...

*C: Uppsala County *D: Södermanland County *E: Östergötland County *F:

Jönköping County Jönköping County ( sv, Jönköpings län) is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in Septe ...

*G: Kronoberg County *H: Kalmar County *I: Gotland County *K: Blekinge County *M:

Skåne County Skåne County ( sv, Skåne län, link=no ), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the most southern county, or , of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronobe ...

*N: Halland County *O: Västra Götaland County *S: Värmland County *T: Örebro County *U: Västmanland County *W: Dalarna County *X:

Gävleborg County Gävleborg County ( sv, Gävleborgs län) is a county or '' län'' on the Baltic Sea coast of Sweden. It borders the counties of Uppsala, Västmanland, Dalarna, Jämtland and Västernorrland. The capital is Gävle. Provinces Gävleborg Cou ...

*Y: Västernorrland County *Z: Jämtland County SverigesLän2007mKod

Each county region contains a number of municipalities (), the existence of which is partly at the discretion of the central government. Since 2004 their number has been 290, thus an average of 13.8 municipalities per county. Until 1968, the City of

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 ...

had its own "county code" A, which is still used interchangeably with AB in some contexts, and County of Stockholm had county code B. L was for Kristianstad County and M was for Malmöhus County but since they were merged to form

, M is usually used. O used to stand for

Gothenburg and Bohus County Gothenburg and Bohus County ( sv, Göteborgs och Bohus län) was a county of Sweden until 1997, when it was merged with Skaraborg County and Älvsborg County to form Västra Götaland County. The county was named after the city of Gothenburg ...

but has been used for Västra Götaland County since it was merged with Skaraborg County (R) and Älvsborg County (P).

History

Older subdivisions

Sweden's provinces, or ''landskap'', and the "lands", or ''landsdelar'', lack political importance today but are common denominations culturally and historically. The provinces had their own laws and justice systems and could have large cultural and religious differences. Note that the province of

Småland Småland () is a historical province () in southern Sweden. Småland borders Blekinge, Scania, Halland, Västergötland, Östergötland and the island Öland in the Baltic Sea. The name Småland literally means ''Small Lands''. The Latinized fo ...

(literally ''small land'') historically was several provinces with its own laws. Here burial tradition in the era before the Viking Age could differ significantly from province to province. The province of Norrbotten is a relatively recent creation; it was part of Västerbotten which extended all the way to Österbotten into today's

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 Bo ...

before 1809. Finnish and Swedish Lappland was also one province until 1809. Historically, the provinces were grouped in three lands: Götaland, being southern and western Sweden; Svealand being eastern and south-eastern, and Norrland being the entire northern half. The names of the first two refer to ancient tribes, and the third is a geographical reference. They are still commonly used as geographical references. The boundaries have changed over time, with the most significant in 1658 (the cession of provinces from Denmark-Norway to Sweden) and 1812 (due to the loss of Finland to Russia in 1809). In 1812 some provinces were moved from Götaland to Svealand.

Finland

After the Finnish War, Sweden was forced to cede the counties in

to Russia following the Treaty of Fredrikshamn in (1809). However, the counties were upheld in

until a reform in 1997. They are still in use in Sweden, 370 years later. The counties in Finland established in 1634 were: Turku and Pori County, Nyland and Tavastehus County, Viborg and Nyslott County, Ostrobothnia County and Kexholm County. Over time the number of subdivisions in Finland increased to twelve, until a reorganization in 1997 reduced their number to six provinces, while keeping the administrative model intact. The counties in Finland were abolished in 2010.

Abolished counties

Abolished counties in current-day

Sweden proper Sweden proper ( sv, Egentliga Sverige) is a term used to distinguish those territories that were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Sweden, as opposed to the dominions and possessions of, or states in union with, Sweden. Only the estates of t ...

were: * Skaraborg County +

+ Älvsborg County (merged as Västra Götaland County in 1998) *

Kopparberg County Dalarna County ( sv, Dalarnas län) is a county or ''län'' in central Sweden ( Svealand). It borders on the counties of Uppsala, Jämtland, Gävleborg, Västmanland, Örebro and Värmland. It also borders on the Norwegian counties of He ...

(became Dalarna County in 1997) * Malmöhus County + Kristianstad County (merged as

in 1997) *

Norrland County Norrland County, or ''Norrlands län'', was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1634 to 1645. In 1638 the northern part of the county, Västerbotten and Lappland, were separated and established as the Västerbotten County. On 5 September 1645 ...

(in 1645 divided into Västerbotten County,

Hudiksvall County Hudiksvall County, or ''Hudiksvalls län'', was a county of the Swedish Empire, between 1645 and 1654. It was created by splitting the Norrland County into the Hudiksvall County and the Härnösand County, but just nine years later they were m ...

and

Härnösand County Härnösand County, or ''Härnösands län'', was a county of the Swedish Empire, between 1645 and 1654. The seat of residence for the Governor was in Härnösand. It included the Provinces of Ångermanland, Medelpad and Jämtland. Creation ...

) *

Nyköping County Nyköping County, or ''Nyköpings län'', was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1634 to 1683. It was one of three counties in the province of Södermanland, and in 1683 they were merged into Södermanland County. See also * List of governo ...

Gripsholm County The County of Gripsholm, or ''Gripsholms län'', was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1634 to 1683. It was one of three counties in the province of Södermanland Södermanland ( or ), locally Sörmland, sometimes referred to under its Lat ...

and

Eskilstunahus County Eskilstunahus County, or ''Eskilstunahus län'', was a county of the Swedish Empire from 1634 to 1683, named after the county seat of Eskilstuna House. It was one of three counties in the province of Södermanland, and in 1683 they were merged in ...

(united in 1683 to become Södermanland County) *

Närke County Närke () is a Swedish traditional province, or ''landskap'', situated in Svealand in south central Sweden. It is bordered by Västmanland to the north, Södermanland to the east, Östergötland to the southeast, Västergötland to the southwe ...

(became Örebro County) *

(1645–1654, formed Västernorrland County) *

(1645–1654, formed

) * Office of the Governor of Stockholm (1634–1967, united with

) *

Svartsjö County The County of Svartsjö, or ''Svartsjö län'' was a county in the Kingdom of Sweden from 1787 to 1809. It was separated the County of Stockholm and corresponds to the current Ekerö Municipality Ekerö Municipality ( sv, Ekerö kommun) is a m ...

(1786–1809, united with

) * Öland County (1819–1826, united with Kalmar County) Counties in Swedish-ruled

were: * Turku and Pori County (1634–1809) * Nyland and Tavastehus County (1634–1809) * Ostrobothnia County (1634–1775) * Viborg and Nyslott County (1634–1721) * Kexholm County (1634–1721) * Kymmenegård and Nyslott County (1721–1747) *

Savolax and Kymmenegård County Savolax and Kymmenegård County ( sv, Savolax och Kymmenegårds län, fi, Kymenkartanon ja Savon lääni) was a county of the Kingdom of Sweden (located in what is now Southeastern Finland) from 1747 to 1775. In 1743, following the Russo-Swedis ...

(1747–1775) * Vasa County (1775–1809) *

Oulu County The Province of Oulu ( fi, Oulun lääni, sv, Uleåborgs län) was a province of Finland from 1775 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland and also the Gulf of Bothnia and Russia. History ''For Histo ...

(1775–1809) * Kymmenegård County (1775–1809) *

Savolax and Karelia County Savolax and Karelia County ( sv, Savolax och Karelens län, fi, Savonlinnan ja Karjalan lääni) was a county of Sweden 1775-1809 and province of Grand Duchy of Finland 1809-1831. It was formed in 1775 when Savolax and Kymmenegård County was di ...

(1775–1809)

Proposed regions

Under the aegis of the

Swedish government The Government of the Kingdom of Sweden ( sv, Konungariket Sveriges regering) is the national cabinet of Sweden, and the country's executive authority. The Government consists of the Prime Ministerappointed and dismissed by the Speaker of the R ...

, ''Ansvarskommittén'' has been investigating the possibilities of merging the current 21 counties into 6 to 9 larger regions. These proposals are from their final report, delivered in 2007: # ''Norra Sverige'':

+ Västerbotten County + Jämtland County + Västernorrland County + Nordanstig and Hudiksvall # ''Bergslagen'': the rest of

+ Dalarna County + Örebro County + Värmland County # ''Mälardalen'':

+ Uppsala County + Södermanland County + Västmanland County + Gotland County # ''Västra Götaland'': Västra Götaland County + Halland County # ''Östra Götaland'': Östergötland County +

+ Kronoberg County + Kalmar County # ''Södra Götaland'':

+ Blekinge County # ''Norra Sverige'':

+ Västerbotten County + Örnsköldsvik # ''Mellannorrland'': Jämtland County + Västernorrland County (except Örnsköldsvik) + Nordanstig and Hudiksvall # ''Dalarna-Gävleborg'': Dalarna County +

(except Nordanstig and Hudiksvall) # ''Västra Svealand'': Värmland County + Örebro County # ''Mälardalen'':

+ Uppsala County + Södermanland County + Västmanland County + Gotland County # ''Västra Götaland'': Västra Götaland County + Halland County # ''Östergötland'': Östergötland County + Västervik # ''Småland'':

+ Kronoberg County + Kalmar County (except Västervik) # ''Södra Götaland'':

+ Blekinge County A model for this comes from the merger of some counties into

and Västra Götaland County in 1997 and 1998, respectively, which is now considered a success. The counties are discussing the proposal. An obstacle is that

does not want to merge with any other county, while its neighbours want to merge with Stockholm. After this discussion the following proposal has in 2016 emerged: # Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Västernorrland and Jämtland county # Dalarna, Gävleborgs, Södermanlands, Uppsala, Västmanland and Örebro county # Östergötland, Jönköping, Kalmar and Kronoberg county # Gotland and Stockholm county # Halland, Värmland and Västra Götaland county # Blekinge and Skåne county The main difference is that the proposed Bergslagen is divided to other counties, and Stockholm is on its own (plus the small Gotland which has air connections to Stockholm)

Riksområden

The counties in Sweden correspond to the third level of division in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been ...

's system of

Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics or NUTS (french: Nomenclature des unités territoriales statistiques) is a geocode standard for referencing the subdivisions of countries for statistical purposes. The standard, adopted in 2003, ...

. For the purpose of creating regions corresponding to the second level, counties have been grouped into eight Riksområden, or ''National Areas'':

, East Middle Sweden, North Middle Sweden, Middle Norrland, Upper Norrland, Småland and the islands, West Sweden and South Sweden.

References

External links

The Swedish County administrative boardsOfficial site of the Swedish government
(searchable) {{DEFAULTSORT:Counties Of Sweden Subdivisions of Sweden Counties Sweden 1 Counties, Sweden Sweden geography-related lists