Halland County (, ) is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

(''

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

'') on the western coast of

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of

Halland Halland () is one of the traditional provinces of Sweden (''landskap''), on the western coast of Götaland, southern Sweden. It borders Västergötland, Småland, Skåne, Scania and the sea of Kattegat. Until 1645 and the Second Treaty of Br ...

. The capital is

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational urban areas of Sweden, city at the mouth of the Nissan (river), Nissan river, in the provinces of Sweden, province of Halland on the Sweden, Swedish west coast. Halmstad is the seat ...

. Prince Julian, the son of

Prince Carl Philip A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fema ...

, is Duke of Halland. It borders the counties of Västra Götaland,

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a Urban areas in Sweden, 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 o ...

Kronoberg Kronoberg County (; ) is a county or ''län'' in southern Sweden. Kronoberg is one of three counties in the province of Småland. It borders the counties of Skåne, Halland, Jönköping, Kalmar, and Blekinge. Its capital is the city of Växjö. ...

Scania Scania ( ), also known by its native name of Skåne (), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces () of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conterminous w ...

and the sea of the

Kattegat The Kattegat (; ; ) is a sea area bounded by the peninsula of Jutland in the west, the Danish straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the Swedish provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Scania in Swede ...

Heraldry

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

Province

Counties mainly serve administrative purposes in Sweden. The culture and history of the area is to be found in its provincial counterpart

. The county was designed with virtually the same boundaries as the province. The major exception is a part of

Hylte Municipality Hylte Municipality () is the only inland municipality of Halland County in southwest Sweden. The industrial town Hyltebruk is the seat of the municipality. The first Hylte Municipality was created in 1952 through the amalgamation of three mino ...

, which belongs to the province of

Småland Småland () is a historical Provinces of Sweden, 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 la ...

Geography

Genevadsån Genevadsån is a river in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , ...

river

Administration

The main aim of the

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

is to fulfil the goals set in national politics by the

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

and the

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

, to coordinate the interests and 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 agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

headed by a governor. See

List of Halland Governors This is a list of governors for Halland County of Sweden, from 1658 to present. # Bengt Christoffersson Lilliehöök (1658–1665) # Johan Hård af Segerstad (1665–1676) # Göran Sperling (1676–1678) # Sven Ranck (1678–1684) # Gustaf Tunge ...

Politics

Region Halland is the local government for Halland County, and is controlled by the regional council and regional board of Halland. The regional council is elected directly by the residents in regional elections held every four years at the same time as municipal and

elections. Among the main responsibilities of the Halland Regional Council (''Region Halland'') are health care and public transit. The right-leaning political parties have held a majority in every election from 1912 until 2014, regaining it in 2018 and losing it again in 2022. However, even when only able to form a minority, the right-wing have controlled the regional board.

Governors

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
elections

The table details all

election results of Halland 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 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

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

Municipalities

Sweden's counties are entities for Sweden's municipalities, responsible for such things as child care, education, street planning, etc. Municipalities in Halland County are, from north to south, with the numbers of inhabitants:: ''In

Province: (2021)'' *

Falkenberg Falkenberg is a locality and the seat of Falkenberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 27,813 inhabitants in 2019 (out of a municipal total of about 45,000). It is located at the mouth of river Ätran. The name consists of the Swedish ...

: 46,773 *

: 104,573 * Hylte: 10,619 *

Kungsbacka Kungsbacka () is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Kungsbacka Municipality in Halland County, Sweden, with 19,057 inhabitants in 2010. It is a part of Greater Gothenburg Metropolitan Area. It is one of the most affluent parts of Sw ...

: 85,301 *

Laholm Laholm () is a town and the seat of Laholm Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 6,527 inhabitants in 2015. Laholm is, despite its small population, for historical reasons often still referred to as a ''city''. In the 13th century, Laholm w ...

: 26,319 *

Varberg Varberg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Varberg Municipality, Halland County, Sweden, with 35,782 inhabitants in 2019. Varberg and all of Halland are well known for their "typical west coast" sandy beaches. In Varberg th ...

: 66,658

Culture

Music groups

Gyllene Tider Gyllene Tider (; "Golden Times") is a Swedish pop group fronted by Roxette singer, guitarist, and songwriter Per Gessle. They are one of the best-selling Swedish bands ever and have had numerous hits in Scandinavia, starting with their break ...

Roxette Roxette is a Swedish pop rock duo originally consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle, both of whom were already established musicians in Sweden prior to the band's formation. Fredriksson had released a number of successful solo albums, ...

* Isildurs Bane *

Sonic Syndicate Sonic Syndicate was a Swedish metalcore band from Falkenberg. They were originally influenced by Swedish melodic death metal bands such as In Flames and Soilwork, as well as American metalcore bands like Killswitch Engage and All That Remains. ...

* Sabel

Localities in order of size

The five most populous

localities Locality may refer to: * Locality, a historical named location or place in Canada * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localitie ...

of Halland County in 2020:

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.

References

External links

Halland County Administrative Board

Halland County Council

Regional Association of Local Authorities in Halland

Hotels in Halland
{{Authority control Counties of Sweden Halland States and territories established in 1719 1719 establishments in Sweden