Between 1634 and 2009, Finland was administered as several provinces, or counties (Finnish: Suomen läänit, Swedish: Finlands län). Finland had always been a unitary state: the provincial authorities were part of the central government's executive branch and apart from Åland, the provinces had little autonomy. There were never any elected provincial parliaments in continental Finland. The system was initially created by the Instrument of Government of 1634 when Finland was a part of Sweden. Its makeup was changed drastically on 1 September 1997, when the number of the provinces was reduced from twelve to six. This effectively made them purely administrative units, as linguistic and cultural boundaries no longer followed the borders of the provinces. The provinces were eventually abolished at the end of 2009. Consequently, different ministries may subdivide their areal organization differently. Besides the former provinces, the municipalities of Finland form the fundamental subdivisions of the country. In current use are the regions of Finland, a smaller subdivision where some pre-1997 läänis are split into multiple regions. Åland retains its special autonomous status and its own regional parliament.
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- ⭐ Core Definition: Provinces of Finland
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Pornainen
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Paimio
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Nuijamaa
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Joutseno
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Ylämaa
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Southern Finland
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Mäntsälä
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Vyborg Province
- Provinces of Finland in the context of Western Finland
Provinces of Finland in the context of Pornainen
Pornainen (Finnish: [ˈpornɑi̯nen]; Swedish: Borgnäs) is a small municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Uusimaa region. The neighboring municipalities are Askola in the east, Mäntsälä in the north, Porvoo in the southeast and Sipoo in the southwest. It is located 18 kilometres (11 mi) east of the town of Järvenpää.
The municipality has a population of 4,964 (30 June 2025) and covers an area of 150.09 square kilometres (57.95 sq mi) of which 3.59 km (1.39 sq mi) is water. The administrative centre of municipality is Kirveskoski (about 2,000 residents), also known as Pornainen's church village, and second largest village is Halkia (about 500 residents). The population density is 33.88 inhabitants per square kilometre (87.7/sq mi).
Provinces of Finland in the context of Paimio
Paimio (Finnish: [ˈpɑi̯mio]; Swedish: Pemar) is a town and municipality of Finland.
It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of 11,241 (30 June 2025) and covers an area of 242.26 square kilometres (93.54 sq mi) of which 3.89 km (1.50 sq mi) is water. The population density is 47.13 inhabitants per square kilometre (122.1/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Provinces of Finland in the context of Nuijamaa
Nuijamaa (Finnish: [ˈnui̯jɑˌmɑː]; literally translated the "club land") is a former municipality in the province of South Karelia in Finland. The municipality had 1,199 inhabitants and an area of 136 km² in 1988. Nuijamaa was a Finnish-speaking municipality. Nuijamaa bordered the municipalities of Lappee, Lappeenranta, Lauritsala, Taipalsaari, Lemi, Luumäki, Ylämaa, and Joutseno. It also shared a border with Russia. It is 26 kilometres (16 mi) from Nuijamaa to the city center of Lappeenranta and 39 kilometres (24 mi) to the medieval town of Vyborg, Russia.
Before the Winter War, Nuijamaa had an area of 356 km (137 sq mi). With the Continuation War in 1944, 220 km (85 sq mi) of the municipality was ceded to Russia. In 1975, an international border with Russia opened in Nuijamaa. The total crossings in 2007 were over 1.7 million.
Provinces of Finland in the context of Joutseno
Joutseno (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈjou̯tseno]) is a former town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the South Karelia region.
The municipality was unilingually Finnish. Joutseno was consolidated with Lappeenranta on 1 January 2009.
Provinces of Finland in the context of Ylämaa
Ylämaa (Finnish: [ˈylæˌmɑː]; literally translated the "Highland") is a former municipality of Finland, located in the province of Southern Finland as part of the South Karelia region. It was consolidated with Lappeenranta on January 1, 2010.
The municipality had a population of 1,408 (31 December 2009) and covers an area of 408.94 square kilometres (157.89 sq mi) of which 29.19 km (11.27 sq mi) is water. The population density is 3.71 inhabitants per square kilometre (9.6/sq mi). The municipality was unilingually Finnish.
Provinces of Finland in the context of Southern Finland
Southern Finland (Finnish: Etelä-Suomen lääni, Swedish: Södra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia.
Provinces of Finland in the context of Mäntsälä
Mäntsälä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈmæntsælæ]) is a municipality in the province of Southern Finland, and is part of the Uusimaa region. It has a population of 20,966(30 June 2025) and covers an area of 596.11 square kilometres (230.16 sq mi) ofwhich 15.26 km (5.89 sq mi)is water. The population density is36.1 inhabitants per square kilometre (93/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Mäntsälä is one of three municipalities in the Uusimaa region that do not have a Swedish name; the others are Nurmijärvi and Askola.
Mäntsälä lies about 60 kilometres (40 mi) north of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. During the last few years, the population of Mäntsälä has been one of the most rapidly increasing in Finland. A new railway, the Kerava–Lahti railway line, was built between Kerava and Lahti with passenger traffic starting on 4 September 2006 from Mäntsälä railway station. Helsinki is about 40 minutes away, and Lahti even closer. Highway 4 (E75) connecting both cities passes through Mäntsälä.
Provinces of Finland in the context of Vyborg Province
Viipuri Province was a province of Finland from 1812 to 1945.
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Provinces of Finland in the context of Western Finland
Western Finland (Finnish: Länsi-Suomen lääni, Swedish: Västra Finlands län) was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Oulu, Eastern Finland and Southern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Bothnia towards Åland. Tampere was the largest city of the province.