Editing Finland (section)

===Regions===
{{Main|Regions of Finland}}
Finland consists of 19 regions ({{lang|fi|maakunta}}). The counties are governed by regional councils which serve as forums of cooperation for the [[Municipalities of Finland|municipalities]] of a county. The main tasks of the counties are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition, the public health services are usually organized based on counties. Regional councils are elected by municipal councils, each municipality sending representatives in proportion to its population. In addition to inter-municipal cooperation, which is the responsibility of regional councils, each county has a state Employment and Economic Development Centre which is responsible for the local administration of labour, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and entrepreneurial affairs. Historically, counties are divisions of [[historical provinces of Finland]], areas that represent local dialects and culture more accurately.

Six [[Regional State Administrative Agencies of Finland|Regional State Administrative Agencies]] are responsible for one of the counties called {{lang|fi|alue}} in Finnish; in addition, Åland was designated a seventh county.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.avi.fi/fi/Sivut/etusivu.aspx |title=Tervetuloa aluehallintoviraston verkkosivuille! |publisher=State Provincial Office |language=fi |access-date=9 June 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315151138/http://www.avi.fi/fi/Sivut/etusivu.aspx |archive-date=15 March 2012 }}</ref>

{| style="width:90%"
| style="width:50%" |
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width: 330px;" | Regional map
! English&nbsp;name<ref>{{cite web |title=Suomen hallintorakenteeseen ja maakuntauudistukseen liittyviä termejä sekä maakuntien ja kuntien nimet fi-sv-en-(ru) |url=https://vnk.fi/documents/10616/3457861/Suomen+hallintorakenteeseen+ja+maakuntauudistukseen+liittyvi%C3%A4+termej%C3%A4+sek%C3%A4+maakuntien+ja+kuntien+nimet+fi-sv-en-%28ru%29/974f7fc5-1466-c667-9787-381c5bd57603/Suomen+hallintorakenteeseen+ja+maakuntauudistukseen+liittyvi%C3%A4+termej%C3%A4+sek%C3%A4+maakuntien+ja+kuntien+nimet+fi-sv-en-%28ru%29.pdf |access-date=23 August 2019 |website=vnk.fi |pages=8–9 |archive-date=11 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220611150344/https://vnk.fi/documents/10616/3457861/Suomen+hallintorakenteeseen+ja+maakuntauudistukseen+liittyvi%C3%A4+termej%C3%A4+sek%C3%A4+maakuntien+ja+kuntien+nimet+fi-sv-en-%28ru%29/974f7fc5-1466-c667-9787-381c5bd57603/Suomen+hallintorakenteeseen+ja+maakuntauudistukseen+liittyvi%C3%A4+termej%C3%A4+sek%C3%A4+maakuntien+ja+kuntien+nimet+fi-sv-en-%28ru%29.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
! Finnish&nbsp;name
! Swedish&nbsp;name
! Capital
! Regional state administrative agency
|-
| rowspan="19" | {{Finnish Regions|options=float:top}}
| [[Lapland, Finland|Lapland]]
| {{lang|fi|Lappi}}
| {{lang|sv|Lappland}}
| [[Rovaniemi]]
| [[Municipalities of Lapland|Lapland]]
|-
| [[North Ostrobothnia]]
| {{lang|fi|Pohjois-Pohjanmaa}}
| {{lang|sv|Norra Österbotten}}
| [[Oulu]]
| [[Northern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency|Northern Finland]]
|-
| [[Kainuu]]
| {{lang|fi|Kainuu}}
| {{lang|sv|Kajanaland}}
| [[Kajaani]]
| Northern Finland
|-
| [[North Karelia]]
| {{lang|fi|Pohjois-Karjala}}
| {{lang|sv|Norra Karelen}}
| [[Joensuu]]
| [[Eastern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency|Eastern Finland]]
|-
| [[North Savo]]
| {{lang|fi|Pohjois-Savo}}
| |{{lang|sv|Norra Savolax}}
| [[Kuopio]]
| Eastern Finland
|-
| [[South Savo]]
| {{lang|fi|Etelä-Savo}}
| {{lang|sv|Södra Savolax}}
| [[Mikkeli]]
| Eastern Finland
|-
| [[South Ostrobothnia]]
| {{lang|fi|Etelä-Pohjanmaa}}
| {{lang|sv|Södra Österbotten}}
| [[Seinäjoki]]
| [[Western and Central Finland Regional State Administrative Agency|Western and Central Finland]]
|-
| [[Central Ostrobothnia]]
| {{lang|fi|Keski-Pohjanmaa}}
| {{lang|sv|Mellersta Österbotten}}
| [[Kokkola]]
| Western and Central Finland
|-
| [[Ostrobothnia (administrative region)|Ostrobothnia]]
| {{lang|fi|Pohjanmaa}}
| {{lang|sv|Österbotten}}
| [[Vaasa]]
| Western and Central Finland
|-
| [[Pirkanmaa]]
| {{lang|fi|Pirkanmaa}}
| {{lang|sv|Birkaland}}
| [[Tampere]]
| Western and Central Finland
|-
| [[Central Finland]]
| {{lang|fi|Keski-Suomi}}
| {{lang|sv|Mellersta Finland}}
| [[Jyväskylä]]
| Western and Central Finland
|-
| [[Satakunta (region)|Satakunta]]
| {{lang|fi|Satakunta}}
| {{lang|sv|Satakunta}}
| [[Pori]]
| South-Western Finland
|-
| [[Southwest Finland]]
| {{lang|fi|Varsinais-Suomi}}
| {{lang|sv|Egentliga Finland}}
| [[Turku]]
| South-Western Finland
|-
| [[South Karelia]]
| {{lang|fi|Etelä-Karjala}}
| {{lang|sv|Södra Karelen}}
| [[Lappeenranta]]
| [[Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency|Southern Finland]]
|-
| [[Päijät-Häme]]
| {{lang|fi|Päijät-Häme}}
| {{lang|sv|Päijänne-Tavastland}}
| [[Lahti]]
| Southern Finland
|-
| [[Kanta-Häme]]
| {{lang|fi|Kanta-Häme}}
| {{lang|sv|Egentliga Tavastland}}
| [[Hämeenlinna]]
| Southern Finland
|-
| [[Uusimaa (region)|Uusimaa]]
| {{lang|fi|Uusimaa}}
| {{lang|sv|Nyland}}
| [[Helsinki]]
| Southern Finland
|-
| [[Kymenlaakso]]
| {{lang|fi|Kymenlaakso}}
| {{lang|sv|Kymmenedalen}}
| [[Kotka]] and [[Kouvola]]
| Southern Finland
|-
| Åland{{refn|group=note|name="åland_note"|The role that the regional councils serve on [[Mainland Finland]] are on Åland handled by the autonomous [[Government of Åland]].}}
| {{lang|fi|Ahvenanmaa}}
| {{lang|sv|Åland}}
| [[Mariehamn]]
| [[Municipalities of Åland|Åland]]
|}
|}
The county of [[Eastern Uusimaa|Eastern Uusimaa (Itä-Uusimaa)]] was consolidated with Uusimaa on 1 January 2011.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.valtioneuvosto.fi/ajankohtaista/tiedotteet/tiedote/fi.jsp?oid=274585 |title=Valtioneuvosto päätti Uudenmaan ja Itä-Uudenmaan maakuntien yhdistämisestä |date=22 October 2009 |publisher=Ministry of Finance |language=fi |access-date=30 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807084712/http://www.valtioneuvosto.fi/ajankohtaista/tiedotteet/tiedote/fi.jsp?oid=274585 |archive-date=7 August 2011 }}</ref>

====Administrative divisions====
{{Main|Administrative divisions of Finland|Sub-regions of Finland|Municipalities of Finland|Historical provinces of Finland}}
[[File:Finland administrative divisions 2.svg|thumbnail|[[Municipalities of Finland|Municipalities]] (thin borders) and [[Regions of Finland|regions]] (thick borders) of Finland (2021)]]
The fundamental administrative divisions of the country are the [[Municipalities of Finland|municipalities]], which may also call themselves towns or cities. They account for half of the public spending. Spending is financed by municipal income tax, state subsidies, and other revenue. {{As of|2021}}, there are 309 municipalities,<ref name="Suomen Kuntaliitto">{{cite web|title=Kaupunkien ja kuntien lukumäärät ja väestötiedot|url=https://www.kuntaliitto.fi/tilastot-ja-julkaisut/kaupunkien-ja-kuntien-lukumaarat-ja-vaestotiedot|access-date=7 March 2021|publisher=Suomen Kuntaliitto – Association of Finnish Municipalities|language=fi|archive-date=8 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200108222022/https://www.kuntaliitto.fi/tilastot-ja-julkaisut/kaupunkien-ja-kuntien-lukumaarat-ja-vaestotiedot|url-status=live}}</ref> and most have fewer than 6,000 residents.

In addition to municipalities, two intermediate levels are defined. Municipalities co-operate in seventy [[Sub-regions of Finland|sub-regions]] and nineteen [[Counties of Finland|counties]]. These are governed by the member municipalities and have only limited powers. The autonomous province of Åland has a permanent democratically elected regional council. Sami people have a semi-autonomous [[Sami native region (Finland)|Sami native region]] in Lapland for issues on language and culture.

[[Health system|Health]], [[Social services|social]] and [[emergency service]]s are organised by the [[Wellbeing services counties of Finland|Wellbeing services counties]]. Finland has 21 Wellbeing services counties and the county structure is mainly based on the region structure. The [[County council (Finland)|County council]], which is responsible for the operation, administration and finances of the area, is the highest decision-making body in the Wellbeing services county. The delegates and deputy commissioners of the county council are elected in the county elections for a term of office of four years. Wellbeing services counties are self-governing. However, they do not have the right to levy taxes and their funding is based on central government funding.<ref name="stm-wellbeing">{{cite web| url = https://stm.fi/en/wellbeing-services-counties| title = Wellbeing services counties will be responsible for organising health, social and rescue services on 1 January 2023| publisher = Ministry of Social Affairs and Health| access-date = 7 September 2023| archive-date = 7 September 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230907074217/https://stm.fi/en/wellbeing-services-counties| url-status = live}}</ref>

The [[Helsinki capital region|capital region]] – comprising Helsinki, [[Vantaa]], [[Espoo]] and [[Kauniainen]] – forms a continuous [[conurbation]] of approximately {{formatnum: {{#expr: ({{Data Finland municipality/population count|Helsinki}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Espoo}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Vantaa}} + {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Kauniainen}}) /1000000 round 2 }}}} million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in [[Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council]].