Counties of Sweden
A County, or Län, is an administrative and political subdivision of Sweden. Sweden is divided into 21 counties, and in each county there is a County Administrative Board as well as a County Council. The County Administrative Board, or Länsstyrelse, is appointed by the Government to coordinate administration with national political goals for the County. The County Council on the other hand is a regional government, i.e. a political assembly appointed by the electorate to deliberate on the "municipal" affairs of the County, primarily regarding the public health care system.
List of counties
- Blekinge County
- Dalarna County
- Gotland County
- Gävleborg County
- Halland County
- Jämtland County
- Jönköping County
- Kalmar County
- Kronoberg County
- Norrbotten County
- Skåne County
- Stockholm County
- Södermanland County
- Uppsala County
- Värmland County
- Västerbotten County
- Västernorrland County
- Västmanland County
- Västra Götaland County
- Örebro County
- Östergötland County
Each county is further divided into a total of 290 Municipalities or Kommuner (2004).
Establishment
The Counties were established in 1634 on count Axel Oxenstierna's initiative, superseding the Provinces of Sweden to introduce a modern administration. The most significant change to the county system took place when Sweden, after the Finnish War, was forced to cede the Eastern counties to Russia in the Treaty of Fredrikshamn (1809). Despite this the county reform survived in Finland until 1997 and is still in force in Sweden today.
Abolished counties include Gothenburg and Bohus County, Skaraborg County, Älvsborg County, Malmöhus County, Kristianstad County, Norrland County, Härnösand County, Hudiksvall County and Öland County.
Historical subdivisions
The Provinces of Sweden, or Landskap, and the Lands of Sweden, or Landsdelar, lack political importance today but are culturally of great significance. The division into the lands of Götaland, Svealand and Norrland is commonly used as a geographical reference.
See also
External links
Referenced By
Administrative divisions | Ale, Sweden | Angermannia | Arboga | Askersund | Bahusia | Bjurholm | Blechingia | Blekinge | Blekinge (county) | Blekinge (province) | Blekinge County | Blekinge län | Bohuslän | Boxholm | Capital of Sweden | Cityhall | Counties of Finland | County | County Administrative Board of Gävleborg | County Administrative Board of Halland | County Administrative Board of Jönköping | County Administrative Board of Kalmar | County Administrative Board of Kronoberg | County Administrative Board of Norrbotten | County Administrative Board of Stockholm | County Administrative Board of Södermanland | County Administrative Board of Uppsala | County Administrative Board of Västernorrland | County Administrative Board of Örebro | County Administrative Boards of Sweden | County Councils of Sweden | County Governors of Sweden | County of Halland | Dalarna | Dalarna (county) | Dalarna County | Dalarnas län | Dalecarlia | Dalia | Dalsland | Degerfors | Dorotea | Fagersta | Finspong | Finspång | Geats | Gestricia | Goteborg | Gothenberg | Gothenburg | Gothenburg and Bohus | Gothenburg and Bohus County | Gotland | Gotland, Sweden | Gotland (county) | Gotland (island) | Gotland (municipality) | Gotland County | Gotlandia | Gotlands län | Governor-General in the Swedish Realm | Governor General of Sweden | Gästrikland | Gävleborg | Gävleborg (county) | Gävleborg County | Gävleborgs län | Göteborg | Göteborgs och Bohus län | Halland | Halland/Province | Halland/Temp | Halland (county) | Halland (province) | Halland County | Halland County Administrative Board | Hallandia | Hallands län | Hallsberg | Hallstahammar | Heby | Helsingia | Herdalia | Hudiksvall County | Hällefors | Hälsingland | Härjedalen | Härnösand | Härnösand County | ISO 3166-1:SE | ISO 3166-2:SE | ISO 3166-2 codes for Sweden | Jemtia | Jämtland | Jämtland (county) | Jämtland County | Jämtlands län | Jönköping (county) | Jönköping County ...
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