Jämtland 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 ...

or '' län'' 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 , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. It consists of the provinces of

Jämtland Jämtland () is a historical provinces of Sweden, province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland, Sweden, Lapland to the north and Trøndelag and Norw ...

and Härjedalen, along with minor parts of

Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to by the Latin name Helsingia, is a historical Provinces of Sweden, province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of ...

and

Ångermanland Ångermanland ( or ) is a historical province (''landskap'') in the northern part of Sweden. It is bordered (clockwise from the north) by Swedish Lapland, Västerbotten, the Gulf of Bothnia, Medelpad and Jämtland. The name is derived from the ...

, plus two small strips of Lapland and

Dalarna Dalarna (; ), also referred to by the English exonyms Dalecarlia and the Dales, is a (historical province) in central Sweden. Dalarna adjoins Härjedalen, Hälsingland, Gästrikland, Västmanland and Värmland. It is also bordered by Nor ...

. It borders the counties of

, Gävleborg, Västernorrland, and Västerbotten, as well as the Norwegian county of

Trøndelag Trøndelag (; or is a county and coextensive with the Trøndelag region (also known as ''Midt-Norge'' or ''Midt-Noreg,'' "Mid-Norway") in the central part of Norway. It was created in 1687, then named Trondhjem County (); in 1804 the county was ...

. It measures and constitutes 12% of Sweden's total area, making it the country's third largest county. The capital is

Östersund Östersund (; ) is an Urban areas in Sweden, urban area (Stad (Sweden), city) in Jämtland in northern Sweden. It is the seat of Östersund Municipality and the capital of Jämtland County. Östersund is located at the shores of Sweden's fifth-larg ...

. The county governor and leader of the administrative board, as appointed by the Swedish government, has been Marita Ljung since 2021. The county was established in 1810, at the time it consisted only of the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, which is why the

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

is a shield parted per fess with their provincial arms. His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf is occasionally referred to as Duke of Jämtland after his title of king.

Province

Jämtland County consists of primarily the provinces of Jämtland and Härjedalen, though minor parts of

and

are also included, along with small uninhabited areas in Lapland and

Administration

The main aim of the County Administrative Board is to fulfill 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 Jämtland Governors.

Demography

Jämtland County is sparsely populated and more than one-third of the population lives in the countryside, making Jämtland County the second largest rural region in Sweden, after

Gotland County Gotland County () is a county or of Sweden. Gotland is located in the Baltic Sea to the east of Öland, and is the largest of Sweden's islands. Counties are usually sub-divided into municipalities, but Gotland County consists of only one count ...

. However, most of the population lives in the rather densely populated region surrounding lake Storsjön, commonly called ''Storsjöbygden'', "the Storsjö district/countryside".

Politics

The county is dominated by the

Swedish Social Democratic Party The Swedish Social Democratic Party, formally the Swedish Social Democratic Workers' Party ( , S or SAP), usually referred to as The Social Democrats ( ), is a social democratic political party in Sweden. The party is member of the Progressiv ...

and the Centre Party, which is unique in Sweden, but corresponds to the situation in the bordering Norwegian county of Nord-Trøndelag. The county is rather contrastive in the political field. While a majority of the municipalities are governed by liberal-

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

(, lit. "

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

") majorities or by coalitions overstepping the bloc border, 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. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

is controlled by a red-green majority and the Social Democrats receive two out of four mandates to the

. After the Swedish county council election in 2022, the following

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

are represented in the Jämtland county council ():

Riksdag elections

The table details all

election results of Jämtland 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.

Governors

Municipalities

''In Härjedalen Province:'' * Härjedalen ''In

Province:'' * Berg * Bräcke * Krokom * Ragunda * Strömsund *

Åre Åre () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and one of the leading Scandinavian ski resorts situated in Åre Municipality, Jämtland County, Sweden with 3,200 inhabitants in 2018. It is, however, not the seat of the municipality, which is Järpe ...

Localities by population (2010)

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

The arms for the County of Jämtland is a combination of the arms of Heraldry of Jämtland and Heraldry of Härjedalen. When it is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board. Blazon: "Parted per fess, the arms of Jämtland and the arms of Härjedalen."

References and notes

External links

Jämtland County Administrative BoardJämtland County CouncilJämtlands Official SiteHammarstrands camping
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jamtland County Counties of Sweden

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 ...

Härjedalen 1810 establishments in Sweden States and territories established in 1810