2007 Danish Municipal Reform in the context of "Region Zealand"

The five regions of Denmark (Danish: regioner) were created as administrative entities at a level above the municipalities and below the central government in the public sector as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, when the 13 counties (amter) were abolished. At the same time, the number of municipalities (kommuner) was cut from 270 (from 271 in 2006) to 98. The reform was approved and made into a law by the lawmakers in the Folketing 26 June 2005 with elections to the 98 municipalities and 5 regions being held Tuesday 15 November 2005.

Each of the five regions is governed by a popularly elected regional council with 41 members, from whom the regional chairperson is chosen. This is 205 members in total. The number of regions will be reduced to four from 1 January 2027. The number of council members elected will change to between 25 and 47 in the 2025 Danish local elections for a total of 134 in the four regional councils that will then be elected.

The Central Denmark Region (Danish: Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid-Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish municipal reform. The reform abolished the traditional counties (amter) and replaced them with five new administrative regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the total number of municipalities from 271 to 98. The reform diminished the power of the regional level dramatically in favour of the local level and the national government in Copenhagen. The Central Denmark Region comprises 19 municipalities.