Provinces of Sweden

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The 25 provinces of Sweden (Swedish: Sveriges landskap) are historical, geographical and cultural regions. They have no administrative function (except in some sports contexts), but retain their own cultural identities, dialects and folklore.

Several were administrative subdivisions until 1634, when they were replaced by the counties of Sweden (län). Some were conquered later on from Denmark–Norway. Others, like the provinces of Finland, have been lost.

In some cases, the county and province borders correspond almost exactly, as with Blekinge and Blekinge County. The island of Gotland is both a province, a county and a municipality (kommun). The only other province to share a name with a modern municipality is Härjedalen, though the borders are not quite the same. Administrative borders are subject to change – for example, several of today’s counties were created in the 1990s – while the provincial borders have remained stable for centuries. All the provinces are also ceremonial duchies, but as such have no administrative or political functions.

Nevertheless, the provinces of Sweden are no archaic concept; they are still referenced in everyday speech and seen as culturally distinct. The main exception is Lapland, where people see themselves as citizens of Västerbotten or Norrbotten, based on the counties.

Sweden’s two largest cities, Stockholm and Gothenburg, both have provincial borders running through them: Stockholm is split between Uppland and Södermanland, and Gothenburg is split between Västergötland and Bohuslän. According to a 2011 survey, people in major cities – Stockholm, Gothenburg and, to a lesser extent, Malmö – identify primarily with their city, rather than their province.^[2]