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. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... The Swedish Counties were run by Governors, appointed by the Swedish monarch, since their establishment in 1634. ... A County Administrative Board is a Government appointed board of a County in Sweden. ... A County Council, or Landsting, is an elected assembly of a County in Sweden. ... The Municipalities or Kommuner represent the local level of self government in Sweden. ... This is an alphabetical listing of the municipalities of Sweden as of 2005. ... This is a listing of the municipalities of Sweden by the land area as of 2005. ... This is a listing of the municipalities of Sweden by the population density using the land area, as of 2005. ... This is a list of Swedish Municipalities ordered by taxation per capita. ... This is a list of urban areas in Sweden that have had town privileges and the year they are held to have been established or by when they got their Royal Charter. ... The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics of Sweden are used for statistical purposes in a European Union context. ... The ISO 3166-2 codes for Sweden describe the 21 Counties, or län. ... Län and lääni are the Swedish and Finnish terms for the administrative divisions used in Sweden and Finland, and sometimes in other countries, especially as a translation of the Russian word oblast. The word literally means fief. ... A County Administrative Board is a Government appointed board of a County in Sweden. ... A County Council, or Landsting, is an elected assembly of a County in Sweden. ...

List of counties

Each county is further divided into municipalities (or kommuner). The existance of those are partly at the discretion of the county, but since 2004 their number has been 290, thus an avarage of 13.8 / county. See further Municipalities of Sweden. The Municipalities or Kommuner represent the local level of self government in Sweden. ...

History

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 a reform in 1997 and still survives in Sweden, 370 years hence. Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement... Count Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna   listen? or Oxenstjerna (June 16, 1583 - August 28, 1654), Lord High Chancellor of Sweden, was born at FÃ¥nö in Uplandia, and received his education with his brothers at the universities of Rostock, Jena and Wittenberg. ... The provinces or landskap were the subdivision of Sweden until 1634, when they were replaced by counties in a reform, led by Axel Oxenstierna, that still remains in force in Sweden proper. ... The Finnish War was fought between Sweden and Russia from February 1808 to September 1809. ... Österland, or Österlanden, is a historical land of Sweden. ... The Treaty of Fredrikshamn (Freden i Fredrikshamn in Swedish and Haminan rauha in Finnish ) was a peace treaty concluded between Sweden and Russia on September 17, 1809. ... 1809 was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... The Counties of Finland was the administrative division of Finland from 1634 to 1997. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The counties established in what is now Finland in 1634 were Åbo and Björneborg County, Nyland and Tavastehus County, Viborg and Nyslott County, Österbotten County and Kexholm County. Over time the number of subdivisions in Finland increased to twelve, until a reorganization in 1997reduced their number to six provinces, while keeping the administrative model intact. The Counties of Finland was the administrative division of Finland from 1634 to 1997. ... Events Moses Amyrauts Traite de la predestination is published Curaçao captured by the Dutch Treaty of Polianovska First meeting of the Académie française The witchcraft affair at Loudun Jean Nicolet lands at Green Bay, Wisconsin Opening of Covent Garden Market in London English establish a settlement... Ã…bo and Björneborg County, Ã…bo och Björneborgs län or Turun ja Porin lääni, was a county of Sweden from 1634 to 1808, named after the cities of Ã…bo and Björneborg. ... Nyland and Tavastehus County, Nylands och Tavastehus län or Uudenmaan ja Hämeen lääni, was a County of Sweden from 1634 to 1808, named after Nyland and Tavastehus. ... Viborg and Nyslott County, Viborgs och Nyslotts län or Viipurin ja Savonlinnan lääni, was a county of Sweden from 1634 to 1721, when by the Treaty of Nystad Vyborg was ceded to Russia. ... Österbotten County, Österbottens län, or Pohjanmaan lääni, was a County of Sweden from 1634. ... Kexholm County, Kexholms län or Käkisalmen lääni, was a county of Sweden from 1634 to 1721 when it was ceded to Russia by the Treaty of Nystad. ... 1997 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Finland consists of 6 provinces (Finnish: läänit, Swedish: län), following a 1997 redesign that reduced their number from 12. ...

Abolished counties in current day Sweden proper includes Gothenburg and Bohus County, Skaraborg County, Älvsborg County, Malmöhus County, Kristianstad County, Norrland County, Härnösand County, Hudiksvall County and Öland County. Sweden proper, or Egentliga Sverige, is a term used to distinguish those territories that were fully integrated into the Kingdom of Sweden, as opposed to the dominions and possessions of, or states in union with, the Realm of Sweden. ... Gothenburg and Bohus County, or Göteborgs och Bohus län, was a County of Sweden until December 31, 1998 when it was merged with the counties of Skaraborg and Älvsborg to form the county of Västra Götaland. ... Skaraborg County, or Skaraborgs län, was a county of Sweden until December 31, 1998 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus and Älvsborg to form the county of Västra Götaland. ... Älvsborg County, or Älvsborgs län, was a county of Sweden until December 31, 1998 when it was merged with the counties of Gothenburg and Bohus and Skaraborg to form the county of Västra Götaland. ... Malmöhus County, or Malmöhus län, was a County of Sweden until 1997 when it was merged with Kristianstad County to create the county of SkÃ¥ne. ... Kristianstad County, or Kristianstads län, was a County of Sweden until 1997 when it was merged with Malmöhus County to create the county of Skåne. ... Norrland County, or Norrlands län was a County of Sweden, from 1634 to 1645. ... Härnösand County, or Härnösands län, was a County of Sweden, between 1645 and 1654. ... Hudiksvall County, or Hudiksvalls län, was a County of Sweden, between 1645 and 1654. ... Öland County, or Ölands län, was a County of Sweden, between 1819 and 1826. ...

Older 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. The provinces or landskap were the subdivision of Sweden until 1634, when they were replaced by counties in a reform, led by Axel Oxenstierna, that still remains in force in Sweden proper. ... Sweden was historically divided into four Lands or Landsdelar: Götaland Svealand Österland Norrland Götaland and Svealand were once, in prehistoric times known only in folklore, in fragmentary pieces of foreign sources, in legends which only later chronicles have written about, rival kingdoms before being united under one Crown... Götaland, Gothia, Gothland [1], Gotland (AHD), Gautland or Geatland, is a historical land of Sweden, and was once divided into petty kingdoms. ... Svealand is a historical region of Sweden. ... Norrland is a historical land of Sweden. ...

Riksområden

The European Union is divided into a Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics where the counties in Sweden correspond the third level of division. For the purpose of creating regions corresponding to the second level, counties has been grouped into eight Riksområden, or National Areas: Stockholm, East Middle Sweden, North Middle Sweden, Middle Norrland, Upper Norrland, Småland and the islands, West Sweden and South Sweden. The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) is a geocode standard for referencing the administrative division of countries for statistical purposes. ... The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics of Sweden are used for statistical purposes in a European Union context. ...

See also

• Government of Sweden

• Realm of Sweden
• Lands of Sweden
• Provinces of Sweden
• Dominions of Sweden
• Ranked list of Swedish counties

• ISO 3166-2 codes for Sweden

Sweden is a constitutional monarchy with a representative democracy based on a parliamentary system. ... The Realm of Sweden or Svenska väldet is a term that historically was used to comprise all the territories under the control of the Swedish monarchs. ... Sweden was historically divided into four Lands or Landsdelar: Götaland Svealand Österland Norrland Götaland and Svealand were once, in prehistoric times known only in folklore, in fragmentary pieces of foreign sources, in legends which only later chronicles have written about, rival kingdoms before being united under one Crown... The provinces or landskap were the subdivision of Sweden until 1634, when they were replaced by counties in a reform, led by Axel Oxenstierna, that still remains in force in Sweden proper. ... The Dominions of Sweden or Svenska besittningar were territories that historically came under control of the Swedish Crown, but never became fully integrated with Sweden. ... By population By area By density ... ISO has many meanings: Iso is the stem of the Latin transliteration of the Greek word ίσος (ísos, meaning equal). The iso- prefix in English derives from this and means equality or similarity. ... ISO 3166-2 is the second part of the ISO 3166 standard. ... The ISO 3166-2 codes for Sweden describe the 21 Counties, or län. ...

External links

• The Swedish County Administrative Boards
• Official site of the Swedish government