21 Regions of Finland

Finland is divided into 19 regions The regions are governed by regional councils, which serve as forums of cooperation for the municipalities of a region. The main tasks of the regions are regional planning and development of enterprise and education. In addition, the public health services are usually organized on the basis of regions. Currently, the only region where a popular election is held for the council is Kainuu. Other regional councils are elected by municipal councils, each municipality sending representatives in proportion to its population.

Household pennant is a quite common Finnish tradition. A household pennant can be flown whenever there is no flag day and it is usually a means of telling that the "master of the house" is at home. These pennants have a long, narrow, triangular shape, usually half the length of the flag pole. The triangle has a base of roughly one tenth of the length and it is connected to the pole via a single lanyard, giving the pennant the ability to rotate while flying.

The Åland Islands or Åland is an archipelago province at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. It is autonomous, demilitarised and is the only monolingually Swedish-speaking region in Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland, constituting 0.51% of its land area and 0.54% of its population. Mariehamn is the capital city of Åland.

Central Finland is a region in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, and South Savo.

Southwest Finland, calqued as Finland Proper, is a region in the Southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The region's capital and most populous city is medieval Turku, which was known as former capital city of Finland before Helsinki.

Kainuu is one of the 19 regions of Finland. Kainuu borders the regions of North Ostrobothnia, North Savo and North Karelia. In the east, it also borders Russia.

Kanta-Häme, sometimes referred to as Tavastia Proper is a region of Finland. The region is also sometimes called the Häme region. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, Päijät-Häme, and Uusimaa.

North Karelia is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Kainuu, North Savo, South Savo and South Karelia, as well as Russia.

South Karelia is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia.

Kymenlaakso is a region in Finland. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Päijät-Häme, South Savo and South Karelia and Russia. Its name means literally The Valley of River Kymi. Kymijoki is one of the biggest rivers in Finland with a drainage basin with 11% of the area of Finland. The city of Kotka with 51,000 inhabitants is located at the delta of River Kymi and has the most important import harbour in Finland. Other cities are Kouvola further in the inland which has after a municipal merger 81,000 inhabitants and the old bastion town Hamina.

Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The municipalities in the region cooperate in a Regional Council. There are 21 municipalities in Lapland region. Lapland borders the region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Troms and Finnmark County in Norway, and Murmansk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia in Russia. Topography varies from vast mires and forests of the South to fells in the North. The Arctic circle crosses Lapland, so polar phenomena such as the Midnight Sun and Polar night can be seen in Lapland.

Ostrobothnia is a region of Finland. It is located in Western Finland. It borders the regions of Central Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia, and Satakunta and is one of the four modern regions making up the historical province of Ostrobothnia.

Central Ostrobothnia is a region in Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and South Ostrobothnia.

North Ostrobothnia is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia.

South Ostrobothnia is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South Ostrobothnia is the ninth largest in terms of population. Seinäjoki is the regional centre and by far the largest city in the area.

Pirkanmaa, is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme and Southwest Finland. Most of the water area in the Kokemäki River watershed is located in the Pirkanmaa region, although Lake Vanajavesi is partly in the Kanta-Häme region. The region got its name from Pirkkala, which in the Middle Ages comprised most of present-day Pirkanmaa. Tampere is the regional center and capital of Pirkanmaa, and at the same time the largest city in the region.

Satakunta is a region of Finland, part of the former Western Finland Province. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia and Ostrobothnia. The capital city of the region is Pori. The name of the region literally means Hundred. The historical province of the same name was a larger area within Finland, covering modern Satakunta as well as much of Pirkanmaa.

Northern Savonia or, officially, North Savo is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of Southern Savonia, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the region and Lake Kallavesi is the largest lake in the region.

Southern Savonia or, officially, South Savo is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of Northern Savonia, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total area of Southern Savonia is 18,768.33 km2, with a population of 153,738 (2011).

Päijänne Tavastia or, officially, Päijät-Häme is a region in Southern Finland south of the lake Päijänne. It borders the regions of Uusimaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Pirkanmaa, Central Finland, South Savo and Kymenlaakso. The biggest city in the region is Lahti.

Uusimaa is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, along with the surrounding Greater Helsinki area, are both contained in the region, which makes Uusimaa Finland's most populous region. The population of Uusimaa is 1,638,469.