Åland
Autonomous region of Finland / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Åland (Swedish: [ˈǒːland] ⓘ; Finnish: Ahvenanmaa) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations,[1] it is the smallest region of Finland by both area (1,580 km2) and population (30,129), constituting 0.51% of Finland's land area and 0.54% of its population. Its only official language is Swedish and the capital city is Mariehamn.
Åland Ahvenanmaa | |
---|---|
Region of Åland Landskapet Åland (Swedish) Ahvenanmaan maakunta (Finnish) | |
Anthem: "Ålänningens sång" (Swedish) (English: "Song of the Ålander") | |
Country | Finland |
Autonomy granted | 7 May 1920[1] |
First Regional Assembly (Autonomy Day) | 9 June 1922[2][3] |
EU accession | 1 January 1995 |
Capital and largest city | Mariehamn 60°07′N 019°54′E |
Official languages | Swedish |
Demonym(s) |
|
Government | Devolved parliamentary autonomous region |
• Governor | Peter Lindbäck |
• Premier | Katrin Sjögren |
• MP | Mats Löfström |
Legislature | Lagting |
Area | |
• Total | 1,580[4] km2 (610 sq mi) (unranked) |
Highest elevation | 129.1 m (423.6 ft) |
Population | |
• 2020 estimate | 30,129[5] (223rd) |
• Density | 19.07/km2 (49.4/sq mi) |
GDP (PPP) | 2007 estimate |
• Total | $1.563 billion[6] |
• Per capita | $55,829 |
GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | €1.1 billion |
• Per capita | €36,200[7] |
HDI (2017) | 0.900[8] very high |
Currency | Euro (€) (EUR) |
Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
UTC+03:00 (EEST) | |
Date format | dd.mm.yyyy |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +358 18 |
ISO 3166 code | |
Internet TLD | .ax |
Website | www.aland.ax |
Åland is situated in a Finnish archipelago, called the Åland Islands, at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea. It comprises Fasta Åland, on which 90% of the population resides,[9] and about 6,500 skerries and islands to its east,[10] of which about 60–80 are inhabited. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Roslagen in Sweden by 38 kilometres (20+1⁄2 nautical miles) of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is contiguous with the Finnish archipelago. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry of Märket, which it shares with Sweden.[11] From Mariehamn, there is a ferry distance of about 160 kilometres (86 nautical miles) to Turku, a coastal city of mainland Finland, and also to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
Åland's autonomous status means that those provincial powers normally exercised by representatives of the central Finnish Government are largely exercised by its own government. The current demilitarised, neutral position of Åland dates back to the Paris Peace Treaty after the Åland War in the 1850s.[12]