Administrative divisions of Finland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is part of the Subdivisions of Finland series Provinces Governors Regions Sub-regions Local districts Municipalities list list by population list by area NUTS:FI ISO 3166-2:FI

Republic of Finland This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Finland State Gov't Constitution Declaration of Independence Human rights Executive President List Tarja Halonen Prime Minister List Matti Vanhanen Executive Departments Council of State Legislative 35th Parliament Speaker Sauli Niinistö Judiciary General Courts Supreme Court Courts of Appeal District Courts Administrative Courts Supreme Administrative Court Regional Administrative Courts Prosecutor General Matti Kuusimäki Chancellor of Justice Elections 1991 parliamentary 1994 presidential EU Membership Referendum 1995 parliamentary 1996 European 1999 parliamentary 1999 European 2000 presidential 2003 parliamentary 2004 European 2006 presidential 2007 parliamentary Divisions Provinces (Läänit) Regions (Maakunnat) Sub-regions (Seutukunnat) Municipalities (Kunta) Political parties KESK (Centre Party) KOK (National Coalition Party) SDP (Social Democratic Party) VIHR (Green League) VAS (Left Alliance) KD (Christian Democrats) PS (True Finns) RKP (Swedish People Party) Politicians Foreign Policy Foreign relations Ambassadors Politics of the European Union Other countries · Atlas  Politics Portal view • talk • edit

As of 1 January 2005, Finland is divided into:

• 6 provinces (Finnish lääni, Swedish län)
• the provinces are divided into 20 regions (Finnish maakunta, Swedish landskap)
• the regions are divided into 74 sub-regions (Finnish seutukunta, Swedish ekonomisk region)
• the sub-regions are divided into 432 municipalities (Finnish kunta, Swedish kommun).

[edit] Description

The state organisation is divided into six administrative provinces (lääni, pl. läänit), though they have little significance.^[1] Police, prosecutors, and other state services operate under the administration of the province, which is again divided to admistratively insignificant districts. After 1997 reforms the provinces have been Southern Finland, Western Finland, Eastern Finland, Oulu, Lapland, Åland. The province of Åland Islands is autonomous.

Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007).
Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions.

Municipalities (which may also call themselves towns or cities) account for half of public spending. Spending is financed by municipal income tax, state subsidies, and other revenue. As of 2008, there were 415 municipalies and most were under 5000 residents. For comparison, Denmark has set a minimum size of 30,000 residents. In Finland, state has started the Municipality and Service Structure Reform Program to reform the complex and expensive municipal system, but initiatives have encountered much opposition from local bureaucrats and interest groups. People often identify with their municipality.

In addition to municipalities, there are complex other arrangements. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Åland region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture.

In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in km², and the density in inhabitants per km² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region – comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) – forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council.

Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland

[edit] References

1. ^ Local Governance in Industrial Countries - ISBN: 082136328X

[edit] See also

• Subdivisions of Norden