Administrative divisions of Finland

The administrative structure of Finland consists of three tiers: the autonomous municipalities, the intermediate regional level and the central government.

The local administrative units are the 309 municipalities (Finnish: kunta, Swedish: kommun), which may also designate themselves as cities (Finnish: kaupunki, Swedish: stad). Each municipality is governed by a democratically elected municipal council.[1]

The municipalities are grouped into 19 regions (Finnish: maakunta, Swedish: landskap), which are administered by regional councils whose members are drawn from the municipal councils.[2] The autonomous province of Åland forms its own region, with a democratically elected regional parliament (lagting).[3] The municipalities are also organized into 70 sub-regions (Finnish: seutukunta, Swedish: ekonomisk region).[4]

In 2023, a new democratically governed tier was introduced: the 21 wellbeing services counties (Finnish: hyvinvointialue, Swedish: välfärdsområde), which are responsible for organizing health, social, and emergency services at the regional level.[5]

The central government operates regionally through various agencies. Since 1 January 2026, the main agencies are the Economic Development Centres (Finnish: elinvoimakeskukset) and the Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto, LVV).[6][7]

Municipalities

Main article: Municipalities of Finland

The municipalities (Finnish: kunta; Swedish: kommun) represent the local democracy and act as the basic self-governing administrative units of the country. The entire country is incorporated into municipalities and legally, all municipalities are equal, although certain municipalities are called cities or towns (Finnish: kaupunki; Swedish: stad). As of 2021, there are 309 municipalities.[8] Most are small with median number of 6,000 residents.[9]

Municipalities have the right to levy a flat percentual income tax, which is between 16 and 22 percent, and they provide two thirds of public services. Municipalities control many community services, such as schools, child care, health care and the water supply, and local streets. They are also responsible for urban planning and land use.[9] They do not maintain highways, set laws or keep police forces, which are responsibilities of the central government.

The highest decision-making authority is the municipal council, whose members are elected for a four-year term. The municipal elections, which are based on a partisan list, provide a democratic counterbalance to the Parliament.[9]

Regions and sub-regions

Main articles: Regions of Finland and Sub-regions of Finland

The municipalities in mainland Finland are grouped into 18 regions (maakunta, landskap). The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities. Regional council members are selected from among the members of the municipal councils. The statutory functions of the regions are regional development and regional land-use planning. They also responsible for the coordination of EU structural funds.[10] The autonomous province of Åland forms its own region, with a democratically elected regional parliament (lagting).[11]

Wellbeing service counties

Main article: Wellbeing services counties

The 21 wellbeing services counties occupy middle level between the parliament and the municipal councils. The borders of the counties are mainly based on the regions. The wellbeing services counties are responsible for organising health, social welfare and emergency services. They do not have the right to levy taxes, but the central government allocates the funding to the Wellbeing Services Counties based on the population structure.[12][13] The City of Helsinki and the province of Åland remain outside the wellbeing services county structure.[14]

The County Council is the highest decision-making body in each wellbeing service county. The delegates and the deputy commissioners of the County Council are elected in the county elections for a term of office of four years. The number of delegates varies between 59 and 89, depending on the number of inhabitants. The council is responsible for operations, administration and finance of the county.[12]

State administration

The state administration, the ministries and central agencies, operate at a regional level through various regional agencies. These agencies are distinct from the self-governing regional level.[15]

Since 1 January 2026, the main agencies are the Economic Development Centres (Finnish: elinvoimakeskukset) and the Finnish Supervisory Agency (Lupa- ja valvontavirasto, LVV).[6][7]

Until 31 December 2025, the two main state regional authorities were the Regional State Administrative Agencies (Aluehallintovirasto or AVI) and the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (Elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus or ELY-keskus).[15]

Other administrative arrangements

Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Joulukuu 2020" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  2. ^ "Regions and municipalities". Suomi.fi. 2016-01-01. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
  3. ^ "The special status of the Åland Islands". Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  4. ^ "Tilastokeskus - Luokitukset - Sub-regional units 2013". Tilastokeskus.fi. Archived from the original on 26 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2017.
  5. ^ "Wellbeing services counties will be responsible for organising health, social and rescue services on 1 January 2023". Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Economic Development Centres". Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. 2020s. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  7. ^ a b "New vibrancy centres begin operations". Suomen Yrittäjät. 14 January 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  8. ^ "Kaupunkien ja kuntien lukumäärät ja väestötiedot" (in Finnish). Suomen Kuntaliitto – Association of Finnish Municipalities. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b c Pekkola, Elias; Johanson, Jan-Erik; Kujala, Emmi-Niina; Mykkänen, Mikko (2023). "The Structures of the Finnish Public Administration". Finnish Public Administration. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p. 57–75. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-34862-4_4. ISBN 978-3-031-34861-7. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  10. ^ Pekkola, Elias; Johanson, Jan-Erik; Kujala, Emmi-Niina; Mykkänen, Mikko (2023). "The Structures of the Finnish Public Administration". Finnish Public Administration. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p. 57–75. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-34862-4_4. ISBN 978-3-031-34861-7. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  11. ^ "The special status of the Åland Islands". Ministry for Foreign Affairs. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  12. ^ a b "Wellbeing services counties will be responsible for organising health, social and rescue services on 1 January 2023". Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  13. ^ "Wellbeing services counties will be responsible for organising health, social and rescue services on 1 January 2023". Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
  14. ^ Pekkola, Elias; Johanson, Jan-Erik; Kujala, Emmi-Niina; Mykkänen, Mikko (2023). "The Structures of the Finnish Public Administration". Finnish Public Administration. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p. 57–75. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-34862-4_4. ISBN 978-3-031-34861-7. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
  15. ^ a b Pekkola, Elias; Johanson, Jan-Erik; Kujala, Emmi-Niina; Mykkänen, Mikko (2023). "The Structures of the Finnish Public Administration". Finnish Public Administration. Cham: Springer International Publishing. p. 57–75. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-34862-4_4. ISBN 978-3-031-34861-7. Retrieved 2025-09-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.