( Swedish, ), ( Danish, ), ( Finnish, ) and ( Norwegian, ) refer to the administrative divisions used 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 ...

and previously in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. The provinces of Finland were abolished on 1 January 2010. In Norway, the term was in use from 1308 and in Denmark from the beginning of the 13th century. As of 19 February 1662 the len of Denmark-Norway were converted into amt. They are also sometimes used in other countries, especially as a translation of the Russian word ''

volost Volost (; ; ) was a traditional administrative subdivision in Kievan Rus', the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and the Russian Empire. History The '' Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary'' (1890–1907) states that the origins of the concept is unc ...

''. During the period when

was a part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(1809–1917), when Russian was made an official language alongside Swedish, it was synonymous with the word '' guberniya''.

The term

The word literally means "

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

" and is cognate with English . The usual

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

terms used are separate for the two countries, where Sweden has chosen to translate the term as "

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 ...

" while Finland prefers "

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

". With a shared administrative tradition spanning centuries, ending only in 1809, this is a separation by convention, rather than by distinction. The term matches reasonably well the British term "

", but not so well the American term "

" which is usually much smaller in population, akin to a Swedish "

kommun The municipalities of Sweden () are its generally smaller but co-equal local government entities. There are 290 municipalities which are responsible for a large proportion of local services, including schools, emergency services and physical p ...

" (and nor does the concept of an American

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

compare well to län). Before län were adopted, the historical provinces were defined as either "hertigdöme" (

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

) or "grevskap" (

), which adds further confusion. Later all historical provinces have been given "hertigdöme" (duchy) as honorary title.

The ''län''

In Sweden a is but an arm of the executive power of the national government, and has no autonomy nor legislative power. The subdivision does not always match the traditional provinces, which are called '' landskap'' (singular and plural) in Swedish (including Swedish-speaking Finland) and ''maakunnat'' (singular ''maakunta'') in Finnish. The same situation existed in Finland until / were abolished in 2010. *

Counties of Sweden The counties of Sweden () are the first-level administrative subdivisions of Sweden. There are twenty-one counties; however, the number of counties has varied over time, due to territorial changes and to divisions or mergers of existing counti ...

(''Sveriges län'') *

Provinces of Finland Between 1634 and 2009, Finland was administered as several provinces, or counties (, ). Finland had always been a unitary state: the provincial authorities were part of the central government's executive branch and apart from Åland, the provi ...

(''Suomen läänit / Finlands län'', abolished 2010) Historically the term guberniya () was used for the län/lääni in the

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

as a part of Russia from 1809 to 1917. See Governorates of the Grand Duchy of Finland.

The ''landsting''

In every Swedish län (except Gotland) there was a landsting. This was a locally elected assembly, which collected tax and had responsibility for a number of services to the population. The main responsibilities were health care, public transport and culture. As of 2020, the landsting have been replaced by regions.

The ''landshövding''

The governor has the title ''landshövding'' (Swedish) (previously ''maaherra'' in Finnish). He or she is appointed by the government, and presides over the ''länsstyrelse'' (Swedish; previously ''lääninhallitus'' in Finnish) – translated as "County Administrative Board". The governor's office is administrative by nature, which is also hinted at by the now obsolete title ''Konungens befallningshavande'' – "the King's Deputy" – and traditionally used as an honourable post for politicians to conclude their careers. In Finland, the office of governor was abolished in 2010. However, the office still exists in the autonomous province of

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

. The governor of a Swedish county is appointed to represent the central government, rather than elected by the people.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lan Subdivisions of Finland Administrative divisions of Sweden Types of administrative division

The term

The ''län''

The ''landsting''

The ''landshövding''

See also

Notes