Flag of Aland
Åland is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1,580 km², and a population of 30,129, constituting 0.51% of its land area and 0.54% of its population. Its only official language is Swedish and Mariehamn is the capital city.
Åland is situated in an archipelago, called the Åland Islands, at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. It comprises Fasta Åland on which 90% of the population resides and a further ±6,500 skerries and islands to its east. Of Åland's thousands of islands, about 60-80 are inhabited. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Roslagen in Sweden by 38 kilometres (24 mi) 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. From Mariehamn, there is a ferry distance of about 160 kilometres (99 mi) to Turku, a coastal city of mainland Finland, and also to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.
Aland's Coat of Arms
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 days of the Paris Peace Treaty after the Åland War in the 1850s. 2021 marked the 100th anniversary of the autonomous status.
Autonomy[]
The autonomous status of Åland was affirmed by a decision made by the League of Nations in 1921 following the Åland Islands dispute. It was reaffirmed within the treaty admitting Finland to the European Union. By law, Åland is politically neutral and entirely demilitarised, and residents are exempt from conscription to the Finnish Defence Forces. Åland was granted extensive autonomy by the Parliament of Finland in the Act on the Autonomy of Åland of 1920, which was later replaced by new legislation by the same name in 1951 and 1991. The constitution of Finland defines a "constitution of Åland" by referring to this act. Åland remains exclusively Swedish-speaking by this act. The people of Åland are also very negative about the use and presence of the Finnish language in Åland to any extent, possibly to emphasise their own Ålandic identity. Although a referendum to join the European Union had been held in mainland Finland on 16 October 1994, Åland held a separate vote on 20 November as they were a separate customs jurisdiction. EU membership was approved by 73.64% of voters. In connection with Finland's admission to the European Union, a protocol was signed concerning Åland that stipulates, among other things, that provisions of the European Community Treaty shall not force a change of the existing restrictions for foreigners (i.e., persons who do not enjoy "home region rights"—hembygdsrätt—in Åland) to acquire and hold real property or to provide certain services.
Etymology[]
Åland's original name was in the Proto-Norse language *Ahvaland which means 'land of water'. Proto-Germanic ahwō is related to the Latin word for water, aqua. In Swedish, this first developed into Áland and eventually into Åland, literally 'river land'—even though rivers are not a prominent feature of Åland's geography. The Finnish and Estonian names of the area, Ahvenanmaa and Ahvenamaa ('perch-land', from Finnish avenet, for the type of fish), are seen to preserve another form of the old name.
Another theory suggests that the Finnish Ahvenanmaa would be the original name of the archipelago, from which the Swedish Åland derives.
The official name, Landskapet Åland, means 'the Region of Åland'; landskap is cognate to English landscape.