Regions of Finland
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Finland comprises 19 regions called maakunta in Finnish and landskap 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, the public health services are usually organized on the basis of regions. Currently, the only region where a popular election is held for the council is Kainuu. Other regional councils are elected by municipal councils, each municipality sending representatives in proportion to its population.
In addition to inter-municipal cooperation, which is the responsibility of regional councils, each region has a state Employment and Economic Development Centre, which is responsible for the local administration of labour, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and entrepreneurial affairs. The Finnish Defence Forces regional offices are responsible for the regional defence preparations and for the administration of conscription within the region.
Regions represent dialectal, cultural and economic variations better than the former provinces, which were purely administrative divisions of the central government. Historically, regions are divisions of historical provinces of Finland, areas which represent dialects and culture more accurately.
Regions
Coat of Arms | English name | Finnish name | Swedish name | Capital | Map |
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Lapland | Lappi | Lappland | Rovaniemi | Regions of Finland (the borders of historical provinces are shown in grey) | |
Northern Ostrobothnia | Pohjois-Pohjanmaa | Norra Österbotten | Oulu | ||
Kainuu | Kainuu | Kajanaland | Kajaani | ||
North Karelia | Pohjois-Karjala | Norra Karelen | Joensuu | ||
Northern Savonia | Pohjois-Savo | Norra Savolax | Kuopio | ||
Southern Savonia | Etelä-Savo | Södra Savolax | Mikkeli | ||
Southern Ostrobothnia | Etelä-Pohjanmaa | Södra Österbotten | Seinäjoki | ||
Central Ostrobothnia | Keski-Pohjanmaa | Mellersta Österbotten | Kokkola | ||
Ostrobothnia | Pohjanmaa | Österbotten | Vaasa | ||
Pirkanmaa | Pirkanmaa | Birkaland | Tampere | ||
Central Finland | Keski-Suomi | Mellersta Finland | Jyväskylä | ||
Satakunta | Satakunta | Satakunda | Pori | ||
Finland Proper | Varsinais-Suomi | Egentliga Finland | Turku | ||
South Karelia | Etelä-Karjala | Södra Karelen | Lappeenranta | ||
Päijät-Häme | Päijät-Häme | Päijänne Tavastland | Lahti | ||
Tavastia Proper | Kanta-Häme | Egentliga Tavastland | Hämeenlinna | ||
Uusimaa | Uusimaa | Nyland | Helsinki | ||
Kymenlaakso | Kymenlaakso | Kymmenedalen | Kotka, Kouvola | ||
Åland[1] | Ahvenanmaa | Åland | Mariehamn |
The region of Eastern Uusimaa was consolidated with Uusimaa on January 1, 2011.[2]
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Subdivisions of Finland |
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See also
- Municipalities of Lapland
- Regions of Northern Finland
- Regions of Eastern Finland
- Regions of Western and Central Finland
- Regions of South-Western Finland
- Regions of Southern Finland
- Municipalities of Åland
- County Councils of Sweden
- Household pennants of Finland
- ISO 3166-2:FI
References
- ↑ The role that the regional councils serve on Mainland Finland are, in Åland, handled by the autonomous Government of Åland.
- ↑ "Valtioneuvosto päätti Uudenmaan ja Itä-Uudenmaan maakuntien yhdistämisestä" (in Finnish). Ministry of Finance. October 22, 2009. Retrieved December 30, 2010.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Regions of Finland. |
- Regional Councils of Finland – Official site
- Regional State Administrative Agencies
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