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 ...

is divided into 19 regions ( fi, maakunta; sv, landskap)., smn, eennâmkodde, and sms, mäddkåʹdd. The regions are governed by regional councils that serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of each region. The councils are composed of delegates from the municipal councils. The main tasks of regional councils are regional planning, development of enterprises, and education. Between 2004 and 2012 the regional council of Kainuu was elected via popular elections as part of an experimental regional administration. In 2022 new wellbeing services counties were established as part of a health care and social services reform. The wellbeing services counties follow the regional borders, and are governed by directly elected county councils.

Åland

One region, Åland, has a special status and has a much higher degree of autonomy than the others, with its own Parliament and local laws, due to its unique history and the fact that the overwhelming majority of its people are Finland Swedes. The sole language of Åland is

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 ...

Finland Swedish Finland Swedish or Fenno-Swedish ( sv, finlandssvenska; fi, suomenruotsi) is a general term for the variety of the Swedish language and a closely related group of Swedish dialects spoken in Finland by the Swedish-speaking population, commonly a ...

, unlike the rest of the country where Finnish and

share official status. It has its own elected

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

who carries the title of Premier and heads the Lantråd, the regional executive. Most powers that would be exercised by the Government of Finland on the mainland are instead exercised by Åland-specific authorities which execute independent policy in most areas. The Åland islanders elect a single representative to the national

legislature A legislature is an deliberative assembly, assembly with the authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country or city. They are often contrasted with the Executive (government), executive and Judiciary, ...

, while the Government of Finland appoints a Governor to represent the national government on Åland. Åland is a demilitarized zone and Åland islanders are exempt from conscription.

Representation of the state

In addition to inter-municipal cooperation, which is the responsibility of regional councils, there are 15 Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (Finnish: ''elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus'', abbreviated ''ely-keskus''), which is responsible for the local administration of labour, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and entrepreneurial affairs. They are each responsible for one or more of regions of Finland, and include offices of the Ministries of Employment and the Economy, Transport and Communications and Environment. The Finnish Defence Forces regional offices are responsible for the regional defence preparations and for the administration of conscription within the region.

List of regions

Former region

Regional border changes

1997

* Kiikoinen transferred from Pirkanmaa to Satakunta.

2001

* Kuorevesi transferred from Pirkanmaa to Central Finland by merging with Jämsä.

2002

* Kangaslampi transferred from South Savo to North Savo.

2005

* Punkalaidun transferred from Satakunta to Pirkanmaa.

2007

* Längelmäki merged with Orivesi in Pirkanmaa and Jämsä in Central Finland.

2010

* Himanka transferred from Central Ostrobothnia to North Ostrobothnia by merging with Kalajoki. * Part of

Ruotsinpyhtää Ruotsinpyhtää (; sv, Strömfors) is a former municipality of Finland. Ruotsinpyhtää, Pernå and Liljendal were consolidated to Loviisa on January 1, 2010. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the Eastern Uusima ...

in Eastern Uusimaa transferred to Pyhtää in Kymenlaakso.

2013

* Kiikoinen transferred from Satakunta to Pirkanmaa by mergin with Sastamala. *

Suomenniemi Suomenniemi is a former municipality of Finland. It was consolidated with Mikkeli on 1 January 2013. It was located in the province of Southern Finland and was part of the South Karelia region. The municipality had a population of (31 December ...

transferred from South Karelia to South Savo by merging with Mikkeli.

2016

Vaala Vaala is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality ''Säräisniemi'', established in 1867), the municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which ...

transferred from Kainuu to North Ostrobothnia.

2021

* Heinävesi transferred from South Savo to North Karelia. * Iitti transferred from Kymenlaakso to Päijät-Häme. * Isokyrö transferred from Ostrobothnia to South Ostrobothnia. * Joroinen transferred from South Savo to North Savo. * Kuhmoinen transferred from Central Finland to Pirkanmaa.

Notes

References

External links

Regional Councils of Finland
fficial website
Regional State Administrative Agencies
{{Europe topic, Regions of Subdivisions of Finland Regions Finland 1 Regions, Finland