The Republic of Finland, which gained independence in 1917, is one of Europe's youngest independent States. It is one of the biggest countries in Europe in area, but it is also one of the most sparsely populated, with an average of only 17 people per km living in its land area of 304 500 km2. All in all, there are just slightly over 5.2 million Finns. The history of independent Finland has been characterized by rapid transformation from an agrarian to a modern Western society.
Since the 17th century, general regional administrative authority has been exercised by provincial State offices. After independence, Finland had nine provinces, but over the years their number rose to 12. The provincial State offices had significant regional powers and responsibility. The next tier below the province was the municipality, which saw to such matters as education, municipal road traffic, social security, health, culture, waste management and public transport.
Regional administration was reformed in 1994, when regional development was transferred from the provincial State offices to regional councils. These councils are now responsible for the general development of the regions. Other issues are still handled by the provincial State offices. The regions, which number 20 including ÅLAND , correspond to the NUTS 3 division. There are five major regions at NUTS 2 level. The division into major regions is solely statistical and has no bearing on regional policy.
Subordinate to the regions are regional sub-units. This division is based mainly on employment and intermunicipal cooperation. Most regional income transfers are allocated on the basis of the sub-unit division. There are 82 such sub-units in Finland. The municipality is still the basic tier of regional administration. At the beginning of 2004, there are 444 municipalities in Finland.
One of the regions, and also itself a major region, is ÅLAND , a group of islands that forms a NUTS 1 area of its own. A demilitarized autonomous region, ÅLAND has the right to enact laws. This is done through the ÅLAND Legislative Assembly (lagtinget). Relations between Finland and ÅLAND are regulated by the Act on the autonomy of ÅLAND . Matters pertaining to autonomy are prepared and dealt with by the Government of ÅLAND . The central administrative agency functions in association with the Government of ÅLAND .
