The region shares the island ofSjælland (Zealand) with the neighbouring Capital Region of Copenhagen. The region also includes the islands of Lolland, Falster, and Møn. It incorporates the provinces of Østsjælland and Vest-og Sydsjælland, which consists of 17 municipalities. With a population of just over 0.85 million, it is the second least populated of the all the regions in Denmark. The largest city is Roskilde.
Region Zealand in the context of Region of Southern Denmark
The Region of Southern Denmark (Danish: Region Syddanmark, pronounced[ʁekiˈoˀnˈsyðˌtænmɑk]; German: Region Süddänemark, pronounced[ʁeˈɡi̯oːnzyːtˈdɛːnəˌmaʁk]; North Frisian: Regiuun Syddanmark) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 270 (271 before 2006) before 1 January 2007 to 98. The reform diminished the power of the regional level dramatically in favor of the local level and the central government in Copenhagen. The Region of Southern Denmark has 22 municipalities. The reform was implemented in Denmark on 1 January 2007, although the merger of the Funish municipalities of Ærøskøbing and Marstal, being a part of the reform, was given the go-ahead to be implemented on Sunday 1 January 2006, one year before the main reform. It borders Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) to the south and Central Denmark Region to the north and is connected to Region Zealand via the Great Belt Fixed Link.
The regional capital is Vejle but Odense is the region's largest city and home to the main campus of the University of Southern Denmark with branch campuses in Esbjerg, Kolding and Sønderborg.The responsibilities of the regional administration include hospitals and regional public transport, which is divided between two operators, Sydtrafik on the mainland and Als, and Fynbus on Funen and adjacent islands. On the island municipalities of Ærø (since 2016) and Fanø (since 2018), the municipalities themselves are responsible for public transport. Billund Airport is region's main airport, it is the second-busiest airport in Denmark behind Copenhagen Airport and one of the busiest air cargo centres. It handes an average of more than three million passengers a year, and millions of pounds of cargo.
Region Zealand in the context of Urban area of Copenhagen
The urban area of Copenhagen (also known as Greater Copenhagen) (Danish: Storkøbenhavn or Hovedstadsområdet), lying mostly in the Capital Region of Denmark but also in Region Zealand, consist of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities and the former Copenhagen County. In all, it consists of 18 municipalities, and except parts of Ballerup, Greve (of former Roskilde County), Ishøj, former Søllerød and former Værløse, mentioned with (the part of) their population included from 2007. Ishøj and Greve Strand are included for the first time since 1999. As of 1 January 2025, this area had a population of 1,396,508. Statistics Denmark states that the definition of the urban area is based on UN's 200m definition.
The Øresund Region (Danish: Øresundsregionen[ˈøːɐsɔnsʁekiˌoˀnn̩]; Swedish: Öresundsregionen[œːrɛˈsɵ̂nːdsrɛɡɪˌuːnɛn]), also known as the Greater Copenhagen Region for marketing purposes, is a transnational metropolitan region encompassing the Capital Region of Denmark and Region Zealand in eastern Denmark and Region Skåne in southern Sweden. Centred around the Øresund strait and the two cities which lie on either side, Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden, the region is connected by the Øresund Bridge, which spans the strait at its southern end, and the HH Ferry route between Helsingør, Denmark, and Helsingborg, Sweden, at the narrowest point of the strait.
The region has a population of app. 4.5 million (2023) and a population density of 170/km (440/sq mi). The Øresund Region consists of both rural and urban areas. Areas on the periphery of the region have a relatively low population density, whereas the two metropolitan areas of Copenhagen and Malmö are two of the most densely populated in Scandinavia. Helsingborg also forms an important urban hub on the Swedish side.
The University of Copenhagen consists of six different faculties, with teaching taking place in its four distinct campuses, all situated in Copenhagen. The university operates 36 different departments and 122 separate research centres in Copenhagen, as well as a number of museums and botanical gardens in and outside the Danish capital. The University of Copenhagen also owns and operates multiple research stations around Denmark, with two additional ones located in Greenland. Additionally, The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and the public hospitals of the Capital and Zealand Region of Denmark constitute the conglomerate Copenhagen University Hospital.
Falster (Danish:[ˈfælˀstɐ]) is an island in south-eastern Denmark with an area of 486.2 km (187.7 sq mi) and 43,398 inhabitants as of 1 January 2010. Located in the Kattegat, Belts and Sound area, it is part of Region Zealand and is administered by Guldborgsund Municipality. Falster includes Denmark's southernmost point, Gedser Odde, near Gedser.
This structure was established per an administrative reform (Danish: Strukturreformen; English: (The) Structural Reform) of the public sector of Denmark, effective 26 June 2005 (council elections 15 November 2005), which abolished the 13 counties (amter; singular amt) and created five regions (regioner; singular region) which unlike the counties (1970–2006) (Danish (singular) amtskommune lit.'county municipality') are not municipalities. The 270 municipalities were consolidated into 98 larger units, most of which have at least 20,000 inhabitants.
