Provinces of Finland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The state of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

consisted of six provinces (Finnish

Finnish language

Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...

: läänit, Swedish

Swedish language

Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...

: län) between the years 1997 and 2009. The provincial authority was part of the central government's executive branch, not directly elected. The system was created in 1634, and its makeup was changed drastically in 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from twelve to six. This effectively made them purely administrative units, as linguistic and cultural boundaries did not follow the borders of the provinces.

The provinces were abolished altogether on January 1, 2010. Six Regional State Administrative Agencies

Regions of Finland

Finland consists of 19 regions called in Finnish and in Swedish. The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition,...

(aluehallintovirasto, regionförvaltningsverk) – in addition to the Government of Åland

Government of Åland

The Landskapsregering is the government of Åland, an autonomous territory of Finland. The government is led by a Lantråd, the premier of Åland, who is elected by the Lagting, the parliament of Åland.-List of Premiers of Åland :...

– now form the government's regional administration: Etelä-Suomi, Itä-Suomi, Lounais-Suomi, Länsi- ja Sisä-Suomi, Pohjois-Suomi, Lappi. Among these, Lounais-Suomi and Länsi- ja Sisä-Suomi cover the old province of Länsi-Suomi, and the old province of Oulu was renamed as Pohjois-Suomi; other old provincial boundaries remain much the same in the new disposition.

Duties

Since the late 19th century the state of Finland has been bilingual. Its governmental offices and agencies use both domestic languages in contacts with the public. Each province was led by a governor (maaherra, landshövding) who was appointed by the president on the recommendation of the cabinet. The governor was the head of the State Provincial Office (lääninhallitus, länsstyrelse), which acted as the joint regional authority for seven ministries in the following domains:

social services and health care
education and culture
police administration
rescue services
traffic administration
competition and consumer affairs
judicial administration

The official administrative subentities under the Provincial Office authorities were the Registry Offices (Finnish maistraatti, Swedish magistrat). Formerly there was also a division to state local districts (Finnish kihlakunta, Swedish härad), which were districts for police, prosecution, and bailiff services, but there was reorganization such that 24 police districts were founded. These usually encompass multiple municipalities.

Provinces governed only state offices, such as the police. Most services, such as healthcare and maintenance of local streets, were and remain the responsibility of municipalities of Finland. Many municipalities are too small for a hospital and some other services, so they cooperate in municipality groups, e.g. health care districts, using borders that vary depending on the type of service. Often Swedish-language municipalities cooperate even if they do not share a border.

Provinces of Finland, 1997–2009

No.	Coats of arms	Provinces	Finnish and Swedish names	Residence city	Largest city	Population (2003)	Area (km²)	Merged Provinces (1997)	Map
1.		Southern Finland Southern Finland Southern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia.- History :...	Etelä-Suomen lääni Södra Finlands län	Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the... Tavastehus	Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...	2,116,914	34,378	Uusimaa, Kymi Province of Kymi The Kymi Province was a province of Finland from 1947 to 1997.The Kymi Province was the remainder of the territory from the Viipuri Province after the main part was left to Russia at the Moscow Armistice in 1944... , Häme
2.		Western Finland Western Finland Western Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland.- History :...	Länsi-Suomen lääni Västra Finlands län	Turku Turku Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland... Åbo	Tampere Tampere Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...	1,848,269	74,185	Vaasa, Turku-Pori, Central Finland Province of Central Finland The Central Finland Province was a province of Finland from 1960 to 1997. The area of the Central Finland Province was almost same than the area of Central Finland.... , Häme
3.		Eastern Finland Eastern Finland Eastern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Western Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered Russia.- History :...	Itä-Suomen lääni Östra Finlands län	Mikkeli Mikkeli Mikkeli is a town and municipality in Finland. It is located in what used to be the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region. The municipality has a population of and covers an area of of which is water... S:t Michel	Kuopio Kuopio Kuopio is a city and a municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia, Finland. A population of makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of , of which is water and half forest...	582,781	48,726	Kuopio, North Karelia Province of Northern Karelia The Province of Northern Karelia was a province of Finland from 1960 to 1997.It was established in 1960 when it was separated from the Province of Kuopio. In 1997 it was reunited with Kuopio and togeather with the Province of Mikkeli it was merged into the new Province of Eastern Finland.... , Mikkeli
4.		Oulu Oulu Province Oulu was a province of Finland from 1775 to 2010. It bordered the provinces of Lapland, Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia and Russia.- Historical Province :For History, Geography and Culture see: Ostrobothnia...	Oulun lääni Uleåborgs län	Oulu Oulu Oulu is a city and municipality of inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world.... Uleåborg	Oulu	458,504	57,000	No changes
5.		Lapland	Lapin lääni Lapplands län	Rovaniemi Rovaniemi Rovaniemi is a city and municipality of Finland. It is the administrative capital and commercial centre of Finland's northernmost province, Lapland. It is situated close to the Arctic Circle and is between the hills of Ounasvaara and Korkalovaara, at the confluence of the Kemijoki River and its... Rovaniemi	Rovaniemi	186,917	98,946	No changes
6.		Åland	Ahvenanmaan lääni Ålands län	Mariehamn Mariehamn Mariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city... Maarianhamina	Mariehamn	26,000	6,784	No changes

a. Some duties, which in Mainland Finland

Mainland Finland

Mainland Finland is a term used for instance in statistics to exclude the autonomous Åland Islands under Finnish sovereignty. Mainland Finland is not to be confused with Finland Proper, which is the province adjacent to Åland...

are handled by the provinces, are on the Åland Islands transferred to the autonomous Government of Åland

Government of Åland

.
b. The Åland Islands are unilingually Swedish.

The provinces that existed in 1917 or thereafter

Former provinces of the Republic of Finland
name			dates of existence	notes
English	Finnish	Swedish	dates of existence	notes
Province of Åland Åland Islands The Åland Islands form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland...	Ahvenanmaan maakunta ja lääni	Ålands landskap och län	1918–2009	• had a special status: even though the province was discontinued at the end of 2009 along with the others, there was (and still is) a coextensive "maakunta" (a translation of "province" with a slightly different meaning from the usual) that is semi-autonomous and demilitarized by international treaties
Province of Central Finland Province of Central Finland The Central Finland Province was a province of Finland from 1960 to 1997. The area of the Central Finland Province was almost same than the area of Central Finland....	Keski-Suomen lääni	Mellersta Finlands län	1960–1997	• split off from the Provinces of Vaasa, Häme, Mikkeli and Kuopio • merged into the Province of Western Finland
Province of Eastern Finland	Itä-Suomen lääni	Östra Finlands län	1997–2009	• see previous section
Province of Häme	Hämeen lääni	Tavastehus län	1831–1997	• produced by splitting the Province of Uusimaa and Häme • merged into the Provinces of Southern Finland and Western Finland
Province of Kuopio	Kuopion lääni	Kuopio län	1776–1997	• underwent many changes since its founding as the Province of Savo and Karjala, mostly due to the fluctuation of Finland's border with Russia • merged into the Province of Eastern Finland
Province of Kymi Province of Kymi The Kymi Province was a province of Finland from 1947 to 1997.The Kymi Province was the remainder of the territory from the Viipuri Province after the main part was left to Russia at the Moscow Armistice in 1944...	Kymen lääni	Kymmene län	1947–1997	• formed from the part of the Province of Viipuri that remained on the Finnish side of the border with Russia • merged into the Province of Southern Finland
Province of Lapland	Lapin lääni	Lapplands län	1938–2009	• split off from the Province of Oulu
Province of Mikkeli	Mikkelin lääni	St. Michels län	1831–1997	• split off from the Province of Kymenkartano (which had been abolished by 1917) • merged into the Provinces of Eastern Finland and Southern Finland
Province of Northern Karelia Province of Northern Karelia The Province of Northern Karelia was a province of Finland from 1960 to 1997.It was established in 1960 when it was separated from the Province of Kuopio. In 1997 it was reunited with Kuopio and togeather with the Province of Mikkeli it was merged into the new Province of Eastern Finland....	Pohjois-Karjalan lääni	Norra Karelens län	1960–1997	• split off from the Province of Kuopio • merged into the Province of Eastern Finland
Province of Oulu	Oulun lääni	Uleåborgs län	1634–2009	• one of the original provinces formed in 1634, though parts were split off since then
Province of Pechenga Province of Pechenga The Province of Pechenga was a province of Finland from 1921 to 1922.It was established in 1921 when Bolshevist Russia ceded the area of Pechenga to Finland. In 1922, however, it was merged with the province of Oulu. Later on the whole of Lapland was separared from the province of Oulu and...	Petsamon lääni	Petsamo län	1921–1922	• gained from Soviet Russia • merged into the Province of Oulu • the entire area of the former Province of Pechenga was lost to the Soviet Union in World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Province of Southern Finland	Etelä-Suomen lääni	Södra Finlands län	1997–2009	• see previous section
Province of Turku and Pori	Turun ja Porin lääni	Åbo och Björneborgs län	1634–1997	• one of the original provinces formed in 1634, though parts were split off since then • merged into the Province of Western Finland
Province of Uusimaa	Uudenmaan lääni	Nylands län	1831–1997	• produced by splitting the Province of Uusimaa and Häme • merged into the Province of Southern Finland
Province of Vaasa	Vaasan lääni	Vasa län	1776–1997	• split off from the province of Pohjanmaa • merged into the Province of Western Finland
Province of Viipuri	Viipurin lääni	Viborgs län	1634–1947	• one of the original provinces formed in 1634 • underwent many changes since founding, mostly due to the fluctuation of Finland's border with Russia • most of its area was lost to the Soviet Union in World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... , and the remainder became the Province of Kymi
Province of Western Finland	Länsi-Suomen lääni	Västra Finlands län	1997–2009	• see previous section

In 1634, administratives provinces were formed in Sweden, and therefore in Finland, which was a part of Sweden until 1809. Six of the provinces covered what is now Finland; some of these also covered parts of what are now Sweden and Russia. The exact division of the country into provinces has fluctuated over time.

The boundaries of the old provinces partly survives in telephone area codes and electoral districts. The exception is Helsinki: there is a telephone numbering area that comprises Greater Helsinki (code 09), while only the city of Helsinki proper comprises the electoral district of Helsinki. The rest of Greater Helsinki belonging to the Uusimaa electoral district.

Historic maps

External links

State Provincial Offices Official site

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Duties

Provinces of Finland, 1997–2009

The provinces that existed in 1917 or thereafter

Historic maps

See also

External links