Municipalities of the Netherlands

As of January 2021, there are 352 municipalities () plus 3 special municipalities () in the Netherlands. The latter is the status of three of the six island territories that make up the Dutch Caribbean. Municipalities are the second-level administrative division, or public bodies (), in the Netherlands and are subdivisions of their respective provinces. Their duties are delegated to them by the central government and they are ruled by a municipal council that is elected every four years. Municipal mergers have reduced the total number of municipalities by two-thirds since the first official boundaries were created in the mid 19th century. Municipalities themselves are informally subdivided into districts and neighbourhoods for administrative and statistical purposes.
These municipalities come in a wide range of sizes, Westervoort is the smallest with a land area of and Súdwest-Fryslân the largest with a land area of . Schiermonnikoog is both the least populated and the least densely populated municipality at . Amsterdam has the highest population with 872,757 residents, whereas The Hague is the most densely populated with a density of .
Municipal status.
As a second level administrative division municipalities are the third tier of public administration in the Netherlands after the central government and the provinces. The Netherlands is a decentralized unitary state, which means that the central government is supreme and delegates certain tasks to lower levels of government by law. The different levels do, however, make work agreements, which give municipalities a certain degree of independence in their policy decisions. Municipalities are responsible for a wide variety of public services, which include land-use planning, public housing, management and maintenance of local roads, waste management and social security. After the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 three special municipalities (officially public bodies) were formed. These municipalities function the same as regular municipalities and are grouped together as the Caribbean Netherlands and are not part of a province.
The municipalities are governed by both a board of mayor and aldermen and a municipal council. The municipal council, which is titled island council in the special municipalities, is elected every four years. The number of members in the council ranges from nine members for the smallest municipalities to forty-five members for the largest. It is the highest administrative body in the municipality and controls public policy. The executive power lies with the executive board, which consists of a mayor, titled lieutenant governor in the special municipalities, and multiple aldermen, titled island deputies in the special municipalities. The mayor is appointed for six years at a time by the crown and the alderman are elected by the municipal council, typically after each municipal election. The mayor is responsible for public order and is the first in command during emergencies, all other tasks are distributed freely between mayor and aldermen. The exact portfolio for each person differs between each municipality.
Official municipal boundaries were first drawn up in 1832 in the Netherlands after a cadastre was formed. The "Municipalities Act" of 1851, written by prime minister Thorbecke, led to the disappearance of small municipalities. Throughout the years, less populous municipalities have been merged. They were either added to the larger neighbouring cities or multiple smaller municipalities merged into a larger new municipality with a new name. The number of municipalities reduced from 1,209 in 1850 to 537 in 2000; there are 352 municipalities. During this time, multiple mergers occurred simultaneously in large parts of individual provinces; the municipal boundaries were basically redrawn in these regions. In the 19th and large parts of the 20th century, municipal mergers were forced by the central government. This policy changed in the end of the 20th century; local support for the merger is now a large part of the decision-making process. The larger, merged municipalities are intended to handle an increasing workload because more public services are delegated from higher levels of government to the municipalities. Another reason for municipal mergers is the assumption that larger municipalities are more efficient in performing their tasks than smaller ones.
Municipalities have the right to decentralise themselves and form submunicipalities as an additional level of government. This right and the submunicipalities will cease to exist in the near future to reduce the number of levels of government. Only Amsterdam, where the districts are called , as well as Rotterdam, where the districts are called , consist of such formal subdivisions. The Hague, Almere, Breda, Eindhoven, Enschede, Groningen, Nijmegen, Tilburg and Utrecht have instituted as well, although they do not have the same legal submunicipal status. For administrative use by municipalities and data collection by Statistics Netherlands all municipalities are subdivided into districts (), which in turn are subdivided into neighbourhoods (). These subdivisions have, in contrast to the submunicipalities, no formal status.
Municipalities.
Regular municipalities.
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List of subdivisions of Spain by population

Provinces.
This is a list of the provinces of Spain in order of population.
Note: Ceuta and Melilla are autonomous cities ("ciudades autonómas") as both are located in North Africa and do not belong to an autonomous community.


Langeland Municipality

Langeland Municipality is a municipality (Danish: "kommune") in Region of Southern Denmark, located entirely on the island of Langeland and a number of smaller surrounding islands. The municipality covers an area of 290.30 km2, and has a total population of 12,491 (2020). Being an island, it doesn't have any land borders with any other municipality, though it connects to Svendborg Municipality through the Siøsund Bridge. There are connections by ferry to Ærø Municipality and Lolland Municipality. Its mayor is Tonni Hansen, a member of the Socialist People's Party. The main town and the site of its municipal council is the city of Rudkøbing.
Besides the island of Langeland, the municipality also consists of the inhabited islands of Strynø, Siø, Langø and Lindø as well as the uninhabited islands of Lille Græsholm, Bredholm, Grensholm, Strynø Kalv, Vogterholm, Bondeholm, Store Holm, Bukø, Kværnen, Eskilsø, Kuholm and Asholm.
History.
The town of Rudkøbing was granted market town rights in the 1200s, though struggled to compete with the numerous illegal trade ports around the island. During the Northern Wars in the middle of the 1600s, Rudkøbing was occupied by the Swedes. The occupation hurt the already struggling town, and the population dwindled. In the later parts of the 1700s the town began to recover, and during the industrialization the town and the island grew in population and activity. A new harbour was constructed in Rudkøbing in 1847, and the roads of the island were improved. Steamboat routes to Copenhagen, Svendborg and Ærø were established, and the population of Rudkøbing was tripled during the 1800s.
In the Middle Ages, when Denmark was divided into hundreds, Langeland was divided into two hundreds. These were Langeland's Northern Hundred (Danish: "Langelands Nørre Herred") and Langeland's Southern Hundred (Danish: "Langelands Sønder Herred"), the latter also including the island of Siø. The island of Strynø was part of Sunds Hundred, which encompassed Svendborg and the town's surrounding area, as well as numerous islands in the South Funen Archipelago. The two hundreds on Langeland were part of the fief (Danish: "len") of Tranekær Fief, which became Tranekær County in 1662. Sunds Hundred, with Strynø, meanwhile became a part of Nyborg County. In 1793 the two counties of Tranekær and Nyborg were merged to form Svendborg County, which was merged with Odense County in 1970 to form Funen County (Danish: "Fyns Amt"). This county was dissolved in 2007, and the entirety of Funen County became a part of the Region of Southern Denmark.
Mayors.
Since the 2007 municipal reform, the mayors of Langeland Municipality have been:
Towns.
Below are all settlements in the municipality with populations of at least 200 people (populations as of 2020).
Rudkøbing.
Rudkøbing is located centrally on the island, and thus also the municipality. It is connected to Siø through the Langeland Bridge. South of the bridge, along the island's coast, is Rudkøbing Harbour. Along the harbour are numerous facilities. The southern and central parts of the town consist mainly of residential areas, while the eastern part of the town is home to a sizable industrial area.
South of Rudkøbing is Rudkøbing Forest, which covers approximately 3 acres.
Villages.
There is only one settlement on the islands of Strynø: Strynø By. This village is located centrally on the island, and houses the island's attractions and facilities. It connects to the ferry harbour through a short road. In Strynø By is Strynø Church.
East of the settlement of Søndenbro is the Langeland Fort (Danish: "Langelandsfortet"), a cold war museum and bunker.
In Tranekær is a botanical garden known as the Medicinal Gardens in Tranekær (Danish: "Medicinhaverne i Tranekær"). These gardens include herbs and plants, historically used for medicinal purposes. Also located in Tranekær is Tranekær Castle, a castle from the 1200s. The castle is fortified with moats and fortifications. The castle provide guided tours and
most services provided by manor houses.
From Spodsbjerg is a ferry connection to Tårs on Lolland.
In addition to these villages, there are a number of smaller settlements in the municipality. These are all the settlements with populations of less than 200 people:
Nature.
The southernmost tip of Langeland has been protected since 1961. 25 acres are protected. Exmoor ponies have been released in the area, left on their own as wild horses and only fed in emergencies. Plants in the area include the common toothwort and stemless thistle. Breeding birds in the area include water rail, waterhen, little grebe and red-backed shrike.
65 acres of bog west of Fredmose has been protected since 1981. The bog is known as Sædballe Fredmose, named after the two settlements surrounding it, with Sædballe to the west and Fredmose to the east. It is rich in bird activity, and the nightingale can be found breeding in the bog.
South of Nyby and Hesselbjerg is an area of bogs, lakes and coast known as Tryggelev Nor. 122 acres of it has been protected since 1987, in order to protect the birds of the area. Also protected is 10.5 acres of forest, known as Næs Skov, directly adjacent to Tryggelev Nor. Around 70 species are known to breed in the area, including reed warbler, marsh warbler, bearded reedling and nightingale. Birds of prey in the area include the marsh harrier.
Cliffs and beaches around Ristinge are home to a number of rare beetles and butterflies. Found here are a vulnerable oil beetle, and it is also the only place in Scandinavia to have a registered sighting of the tawny mining bee.
Longelse Farmer's Forest (Danish: "Longelse Bondegårdsskov") is a forest located southwest of Nørre Longelse. 8.5 acres of the forest is protected and the forest is left untouched with little human interference. Despite the forest's small size of around 85,000 m2 it is the most diverse in species on Langeland. It is home to several types of windflowers and other plants, as well as a series of different types of trees. Being left untouched, the forest is also home to breeding birds that enjoy the rotting wood from dead trees. These include the stock dove and brown owl. The forest is also home to both the roe deer and fallow deer.
Also protected are a large number of dykes around the island. These have been protected since 1959. Also protected in the municipality is 4.6 acres of coast north of Bagenkop, protected since 1966, as well as 385 acres of the manor of Skovsgaard, protected since 1973. Another manor with protected area is Tranekær Castle (Danish: "Tranekær Slot"). 65 acres of Tranekær Castle's area is protected. 6 acres around a passage grave west of Tullebølle is also protected, having been protected in 1959.
Lindelse Nor.
Lindelse Nor is a narrow bay located approximately 5 km south of Rudkøbing. The bay contains flooded sites from the stone Stone and Iron Ages. Information signs has been placed along an underwater trail, allowing divers to experience these sites and the underwater landscape.
There are a number of islands in Lindelse Nor. Of these, Lindø and Langø are inhabited. Both are connected to Langeland through a dam. The remaining islands are part of the South Funen Archipelago Nature Reserve (Danish: "Sydfynske Øhav Vildtreservat"). This means that the islands in Lindelse Nor, with the exception of the two inhabited islands, may not be visited from March to July. Birds known to breed in Lindelse Nor and on the islands include red-breasted merganser, northern lapwing, Eurasian oystercatcher and Mute swan.
Strynø.
The area on Strynø is mostly used for agriculture, with only a small number of untouched nature areas. Approximately 190 people live on the island.
Breeding birds on Strynø include starling, Eurasian skylark, European goldfinch, eider and blackbird.
Strynø Kalv.
Strynø Kalv is located west of Strynø, and is privately owned. It was previously inhabited, but is today uninhabited. Nature on the island is mostly left untouched since the 1960s, where the island was used to ship out agricultural products. Today only some animal grazing disrupts the nature. Plants on the island include caspia, pepperwort and sea aster.
3 acres around a small lake on the island is protected. This was done to protect the European fire-bellied toad, which used to be common in the South Funen Archipelago, but is today rare. It was protected in 1951.
Politics.
Langeland's municipal council consists of 15 members, elected every four years. The municipal council has six political committees.
Municipal council.
Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007.
Economy.
The largest industries in Langeland Municipality are social institutions, retail and agriculture.
Large companies in the municipality include Ø Pølser, whose sausages are named after the island of Langeland. GEVEKO, who manufacture road markers, have their headquarters in Sønder Longelse.
Demographics.
There are 12,491 people living in Langeland Municipality (2020). 49.44% are women and 50.56% are men.
Below is the age distribution of the municipality.
Education.
The municipality has 3 ground schools (Nordskolen, Humble Skole and Ørstedskolen), 3 efterskoler (Langeland Efterskole, Musik Efterskolen i Humble and Magleby Efterskole), and 1 independent school (Kassebølle Friskole).
There is also a municipal school that goes up to 4th grade on the island of Strynø and a full-day school that goes up to 7th grade in Skrøbelev, both of which belong to Ørstedskolen.
There is 1 library in the municipality, in Rudkøbing. Associated with the library is a car (the "Book Car" - Danish: "Bogbilen") that brings books to eight different towns across the municipality, including Strynø.
Transport.
Langeland and the municipality is connected to mainland Funen through a series of bridges. From Svendborg the Svendborgsund Bridge connects Funen to Tåsinge. From Tåsinge the Siøsund Bridge connects to Siø. The Siøsund Bridge is 558 meters long. It was built between 1957-1960 and opened on 22 October 1960. From Siø the Langeland Bridge connects to Langeland. The Langeland Bridge is 774 meters long. It was built between 1960-1962 and opened on 10 November 1962. The bridge was created by Anker Engelund.
There are three ferry routes in the municipality. Within the municipality the island of Strynø connects to Langeland through the Strynø Ferry, which docks at Rudkøbing. The trip takes approximately 30 minutes. Another ferry connects Spodsbjerg with Tårs in Lolland Municipality. The trip, called the Langeland Line (Danish: "Langelandslinjen") takes 45 minutes. From Rudkøbing a ferry connects to Marstal in Ærø Municipality. The ferry, ÆrøXpressen, was built in 2020. The trip from Rudkøbing to Marstal takes 50 minutes.
Sights.
The islands of Langeland and Strynø are popular tourist destinations, and as a result there are numerous museums and attractions on the islands.
Museums.
Langeland Fort.
The Langeland Fort (Danish: "Langelandsfortet") is a Cold War bunker. It was built by the Royal Danish Navy in 1952-54 and consisted of 14 different underground bunkers. It was built on the east coast on southern Langeland, and equipped with cannons and batteries to defend the Great Belt, as well as protect the minefields that the Royal Danish Navy would place. The bunker also included anti-air weapons, meant to protect the local radar stations of the Navy and Air Force. The bunker's crew consisted of up to 400 marines, who lived at a nearby barrack. The Langeland Fort was from 1961 to 1986 the seat for the Langeland Marine District (Danish: "Langelands Marinedistrikt").
In 1973 the bunker's anti-air weapons and main battery were preserved and in April 1993 the bunker was shut down. It opened as a museum in June 1997, named the Cold War Museum Langeland Fort (Danish: "Koldkrigsmuseum Langelandsfort"). The museum displays a submarine, minesweeper, Saab 35 Draken fighter aircraft and MiG-23 fighter aircraft. The museum also has exhibits on the Frogman Corps and Cold War espionage.
Churches.
See List of churches in Langeland Municipality
Events.
The Archipelago Day (Danish: "Øhavets Dag") takes place in Ristinge on the last Sunday in August. It takes place on the harbour, and includes several activities related to agricultural shows.
In Lohals is a yearly festival dedicated to the frikadelle. Besides activities related to the frikadelle, there is also live music.
Langeland Festival.
The Langeland Festival (Danish: "Langelandsfestival") is a yearly music festival, set south of Rudkøbing. It takes place on Week 30 and gets around 25,000-30,000 visitors. The festival first began in 1991.
Parishes.
There are 18 parishes in Langeland Municipality. Shown in the table below are the populations of each parish, as well as the percentage of that population that are members of the Church of Denmark. All numbers are from 1 January 2020.
Symbols.
The coat of arms of Langeland Municipality is a white rose branch in the blue ocean, which is how the island of Langeland was described by Adam Oehlenschläger. The coat of arms was created by Ronny Andersen in 2006.


West Region, Ireland

The West Region (coded IE042) is a NUTS Level III statistical region of Ireland. It consists of the territory of Galway City, the regional capital, as well as the counties of Galway, Mayo and Roscommon. The West region spans 13,801 km² (20% of the total area of the state) and has a population of 453,109.
Prior to 2014, the region was governed by the West Regional Assembly. Statutory instrument No. 573/2014 abolished that assembly. Since that date, the association between Regional Assemblies and NUTS regions has ceased. The NUTS regions are used for statistical reporting to Eurostat, while the Regional Assemblies are responsible for planning at a local government level.
The region is located on the western seaboard of Ireland with the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the River Shannon delimiting the region to the east. The West Region is largely rural, with only 30% of its population living in urban areas. It is noted for its continuance of Irish traditions, such as the Irish language in the region's Gaeltacht areas.
Former Regional Authority.
The West Region was administered by the West Regional Authority, which consisted of 28 elected representatives including the region's representative on the European Union Committee of the Regions. These representatives met once a month and were nominated from the four administrative councils of the region:
The Regional Authorities were dissolved in 2014 and were replaced by Regional Assemblies.
Demographics.
According to the 2006 census, the region had a population of 380,057, which constitutes 9.7% of the national population. Its population density was 27 persons per km². The population of the regional capital, Galway City, was 72,414.
Economy.
According to Eurostat figures for 2012, the region has GDP of €13.802 bn and a GDP per capita of €31,500.
Tourism in the region is bolstered by its geography, with it attracting tourists from across Ireland and elsewhere, with inland rivers, lakes, mountains and plains, along with off shore islands, a large number of beaches, and its rugged coastline amongst natural attractions.
Transport.
There is an international airport in the region – Ireland West Airport Knock which is served by flights to the United Kingdom, and continental Europe. Mainline rail services operate from both Galway and Mayo to Dublin. The M6 motorway, connecting Galway to Dublin, was completed in 2009. The M17 motorway from Shannon to the M6 opened in 2010 and its short continuation north to Tuam (as the M18 motorway) opened in 2017.
The Western Railway Corridor re-opened in 2010 as far as Athenry, a junction with the Dublin-Galway line.
Urban areas.
A list of the largest urban areas in the West Region. County capitals are shown in bold.


Highlands and Islands

The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles).
The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 1886 applied. This area consisted of eight counties of Scotland:
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) uses a broader definition also used at Eurostat's NUTS level 2, and there has been a Highlands and Islands electoral region of the Scottish Parliament since 1999.
In "Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service" the name refers to the local government areas (council areas) of Highland, Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles. "Northern", as in "Northern Constabulary", is also used to refer to this area.
As of early 2021, Police Scotland operated six Command Areas in Highlands and Islands: North Highland, Inverness, South Highland, Orkney Islands, Shetland Island and Western Isles. Each had a Local Area Commander and a Chief Inspector. The police service works in partnership with Highland Council, Shetland, Orkney and Western Isles Councils.
The HITRANS (Highlands and Islands Partnership for Transport), established in 2006, covers most of the council areas of Argyll and Bute, Highland, Moray, Orkney and the Western Isles. Shetland is covered by the separate Shetland Partnership for Transport. Helensburgh and Lomond is covered by SPT.
A 2018 estimate stated that population was 469,365, an increase of 0.5% from 2011. A higher than average percentage were self-employed compared to Scotland (11.0% compared to
8.7%). The unemployment rate was lower than in Scotland in general, 2.3% vs. 3.2%, and the employment rate was higher at 78.6% vs. 74.7%.
The restrictions required by the worldwide pandemic increased unemployment in the Highlands and Islands in summer 2020 to 5.7%; that was significantly higher than the 2.4 per cent in 2019. The rates were said to be highest in "Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross and Argyll and the Islands". A December 2020 report stated that between March (just before the effects of pandemic were noted) and December, the unemployment rate increased by "more than 97%" and suggested that the outlook was even worse for spring 2021.
Politics.
Highlands and Islands is an electoral region of the Scottish Parliament.
In the 2007 election, this region was the last to declare its regional votes, which were the decisive results in determining that the Scottish National Party overtook Scottish Labour to obtain the largest representation in the Scottish Parliament by one seat.
In the June 2017 election, Angus MacNeil, Drew Hendry and Ian Blackford (all SNP) were re-elected in Highlands and Islands. One new MP was elected, Jamie Stone (Lib Dem).


List of regions of the United Kingdom by GRP per capita

This article is about the gross regional product (GRP) per capita of regions of the United Kingdom, defined as Level 2 regions of the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS 2), in nominal values. Values are shown in euros in the original source. For comparison, all figures are converted into pounds sterling and US dollars according to annual average exchange rates. All values are rounded to the nearest hundred.


Ostrobothnia (region)

Ostrobothnia (; ) is a region 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.
Ostrobothnia is one of the two Finnish regions with a Swedish-speaking majority (the other being the constitutionally monolingual province of Åland); Swedish-speakers make up 51.2%. The region contains thirteen bilingual municipalities and one that is exclusively Finnish-speaking. The capital of Vaasa is predominantly inhabited by Finnish speakers, whereas smaller towns and rural areas are generally dominated by the Swedish language. The three most inhabited municipalities of that type are Korsholm, Jakobstad and Pedersöre.
Geographically, Ostrobothnia has little topographical relief, because it is mostly former seafloor brought to surface by post-glacial rebound and the accumulation of alluvial sediment. Ostrobothnia has both vast expanses of cultivated fields ("lakeus") as in Southern Ostrobothnia, and the archipelago of Kvarken (Finnish: "Merenkurkku"). Glacial transport has deposited large quantities of rocks in the area. Like elsewhere in Pohjanmaa, rivers are a prominent part of the landscape. The major rivers that discharge into the Gulf of Bothnia in Ostrobothnia are Kyrönjoki, Lapuanjoki and Ähtävänjoki.
Kaskinen, a coastal town located in the southern part of the region, is the smallest town in Finland in terms of both area and population.
Name and symbols.
Prior to the officialization of the names of the Finnish regions, Ostrobothnia was also known as "Vasa kustregionen" in Swedish and "Vaasan rannikkoseutu" in Finnish, both of which translate into "[the] coastal region of Vaasa". The Institute for the Languages of Finland recommended that the region be named "Kustösterbotten" in Swedish and "Rannikko-Pohjanmaa" in Finnish, meaning "coastal Ostrobothnia" in English. However, upon the confirmation of the names of the Finnish regions on 26 February 1998, the current name of the region was officialized instead, according to the wishes of the regional government. The central government cited the Swedish language's prevalence in the region, as well as the lack of a common consensus on an alternative name the reasons for its decision. In local circles or communities, Ostrobothnia is often referred to as "Pampas". The word derives from the similarities in the flat landscape with the Pampas area in South America.
The regional tree is the black alder ("Alnus glutinosa"), the regional mammal is the common elk ("Alces alces alces"), the regional stone is Vaasa granite and the regional song is "The march of Vaasa" (, ).
Coat of arms.
Gules, a sheaf Or; on chief countercharged four ermines 2+2 courant.
The sprouting wheatsheaf is a symbol of the Royal House of Vasa; a Vasa king established the city of Vaasa, the capital of the region. The running stoats are a symbol of Ostrobothnia.
Municipalities and languages.
The region of Ostrobothnia is made up of 14 municipalities, of which six have city status (marked in bold), and the links are only in the majority language names. The greater Vaasa region has about 40% Swedish native speakers and a Finnish majority, whereas the Jakobstad region has about 70% and the southern region about 57% Swedish speakers. The rural part of the Vaasa region has a sizeable Swedish-speaking majority, with the majority of native Finnish speakers in Ostrobothnia as a whole living in Vaasa city proper. Isokyrö is a former unilingually Finnish municipality of the region, but transferred to South Ostrobothnia in 2021.
Ostrobothnia is similar to German-speaking South Tyrol in Italy in that its capital has the majority language of the country as the mainly spoken one, but the region in general is having a different majority language to the nation as a whole. Other similar regions in Western Europe with a different main language compared to the country also see that reflected in the capitals. The main difference between the language statuses of Ostrobothnia and South Tyrol is that Swedish is official at governmental level in all of Finland, something that does not apply to German outside of the Tyrolean region.
Former municipalities:
Climate.
Ostrobothnia is located in the borderlands between the humid continental and subarctic climates (Köppen "Dfb/Dfc"). Its winters are moderated by prevailing westerly winds from the mild North Atlantic Current travelling across Norway, Sweden and the Bay of Bothnia. Although the sea tends to easily freeze over in winter during prolonged spells of cold weather due to the low salinity, winters seldom get severely cold.
In general during latter decades, the southern Bothnia Bay coastlines of central Norrland in Sweden across the strait and Ostrobothnia mostly range from slightly above average highs in summer to about highs and lows in winter. Due to the vastness of the region from north to south, this will vary by a bit from one place to another depending on latitude.
Precipitation is quite variable but is enough to build up a reliable snowpack all through the region during winter months. In summer, Ostrobothnia experiences perpetual civil twilight due to its high latitude with the sun angle never falling below -3° at summer solstice in Vaasa and -2° in Jakobstad. During that time of the year, daylight remains bright enough to permit daytime outdoor activities without artificial lighting especially under clear skies. As a result, days are short during winter although all areas of Ostrobothnia are far south of the Arctic Circle.
Politics.
Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in Ostrobothnia:


Peloponnese

The Peloponnese () or Peloponnesus (; , ) is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridge which separates the Gulf of Corinth from the Saronic Gulf. During the late Middle Ages and the Ottoman era, the peninsula was known as the Morea (), a name still in colloquial use in its demotic form ().
The peninsula is divided among three administrative regions: most belongs to the Peloponnese region, with smaller parts belonging to the West Greece and Attica regions.
Geography.
The Peloponnese is a peninsula located at the southern tip of the mainland, in area, and constitutes the southernmost part of mainland Greece. It is connected to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth, where the Corinth Canal was constructed in 1893. However, it is also connected to the mainland by several bridges across the canal, including two submersible bridges at the north and the south end. Near the northern tip of the peninsula, there is another bridge, the Rio–Antirrio bridge (completed 2004). Indeed, the Peloponnese is rarely, if ever, referred to as an island.
The peninsula has a mountainous interior and deeply indented coasts. The Peloponnese possesses four south-pointing peninsulas, the Messenian, the Mani, the Cape Malea (also known as Epidaurus Limera), and the Argolid in the far northeast of the Peloponnese. Mount Taygetus in the south is the highest mountain in the Peloponnese, at . Οther important mountains include Cyllene in the northeast (), Aroania in the north (), Erymanthos () and Panachaikon in the northwest (), Mainalon in the center (), and Parnon in the southeast (). The entire peninsula is earthquake prone and has been the site of many earthquakes in the past.
The longest river is the Alfeios in the west (110 km), followed by the Evrotas in the south (82 km), and also the Pineios, also in the west (70 km). Extensive lowlands are found only in the west, except for the Evrotas valley in the south and the Argolid in the northeast. The Peloponnese is home to numerous spectacular beaches, which are a major tourist draw.
Two groups of islands lie off the Peloponnesian coast: the Argo-Saronic Islands to the east, and the Ionian to the west. The island of Kythira, off the Epidaurus Limeira peninsula to the south of the Peloponnese, is considered to be part of the Ionian Islands. The island of Elafonisos used to be part of the peninsula but was separated following the major quake of 365 AD.
Since antiquity, and continuing to the present day, the Peloponnese has been divided into seven major regions: Achaea (north), Corinthia (northeast), Argolis (east), Arcadia (center), Laconia (southeast), Messenia (southwest), and Elis (west). Each of these regions is headed by a city. The largest city is Patras (pop. 170,000) in Achaia, followed by Kalamata (pop. 55,000) in Messenia.
History.
Mythology and early history.
The peninsula has been inhabited since prehistoric times. Its modern name derives from ancient Greek mythology, specifically the legend of the hero Pelops, who was said to have conquered the entire region. The name "Peloponnesos" means "Island of Pelops".
The Mycenaean civilization, mainland Greece's (and Europe's) first major civilization, dominated the Peloponnese in the Bronze Age from its stronghold at Mycenae in the north-east of the peninsula. The Mycenaean civilization collapsed suddenly at the end of the 2nd millennium BC. Archeological research has found that many of its cities and palaces show signs of destruction. The subsequent period, known as the Greek Dark Ages, is marked by an absence of written records.
Classical antiquity.
In 776 BC, the first Olympic Games were held at Olympia, in the western Peloponnese and this date is sometimes used to denote the beginning of the classical period of Greek antiquity. During classical antiquity, the Peloponnese was at the heart of the affairs of ancient Greece, possessed some of its most powerful city-states, and was the location of some of its bloodiest battles.
The major cities of Sparta, Corinth, Argos and Megalopolis were all located on the Peloponnese, and it was the homeland of the Peloponnesian League. Soldiers from the peninsula fought in the Persian Wars, and it was also the scene of the Peloponnesian War of 431–404 BC. The entire Peloponnese with the notable exception of Sparta joined Alexander's expedition against the Persian Empire.
Along with the rest of Greece, the Peloponnese fell to the expanding Roman Republic in 146 BC, when the Romans razed the city of Corinth and massacred its inhabitants. The Romans created the province of Achaea comprising the Peloponnese and central Greece. During the Roman period, the peninsula remained prosperous but became a provincial backwater, relatively cut off from the affairs of the wider Roman world.
Middle Ages.
Byzantine rule and Slavic settlement.
After the partition of the Empire in 395, the Peloponnese became a part of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. The devastation of Alaric's raid in 396–397 led to the construction of the Hexamilion wall across the Isthmus of Corinth. Through most of late antiquity, the peninsula retained its urbanized character: in the 6th century, Hierocles counted 26 cities in his "Synecdemus". By the latter part of that century, however, building activity seems to have stopped virtually everywhere except Constantinople, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Athens. This has traditionally been attributed to calamities such as plague, earthquakes and Slavic invasions. However, more recent analysis suggests that urban decline was closely linked with the collapse of long-distance and regional commercial networks that underpinned and supported late antique urbanism in Greece, as well as with the generalized withdrawal of imperial troops and administration from the Balkans.
The scale of the Slavic incursions and settlement in the 7th and 8th centuries remains a matter of dispute, although it is nowadays considered much smaller than previously thought. The Slavs did occupy most of the peninsula, as evidenced by the abundance of Slavic toponyms, but these toponyms accumulated over centuries rather than as a result of an initial "flood" of Slavic invasions, and many appeared to have been mediated by speakers of Greek, or in mixed Slavic-Greek compounds.
Fewer Slavic toponyms appear on the eastern coast, which remained in Byzantine hands and was included in the "thema" of Hellas, established by Justinian II c. 690. While traditional historiography has dated the arrival of Slavs to southern Greece to the late 6th century, according to Florin Curta there is no evidence for a Slavic presence in the Peloponnese until after c. 700 AD, when Slavs may have been allowed to settle in specific areas that had been depopulated.
Relations between the Slavs and Greeks were probably peaceful apart from intermittent uprisings. There was also a continuity of the Peloponnesian Greek population. This is especially true in Mani and Tsakonia, where Slavic incursions were minimal, or non-existent. Being agriculturalists, the Slavs probably traded with the Greeks, who remained in the towns, while Greek villages continued to exist in the interior, governing themselves, possibly paying tribute to the Slavs. The first attempt by the Byzantine imperial government to re-assert its control over the independent Slavic tribes of the Peloponnese occurred in 783, with the logothete Staurakios' overland campaign from Constantinople into Greece and the Peloponnese, which according to Theophanes the Confessor made many prisoners and forced the Slavs to pay tribute.
From the mid-9th century, following a Slavic revolt and attack on Patras, a determined Hellenization process was carried out. According to the "Chronicle of Monemvasia", in 805 the Byzantine governor of Corinth went to war with the Slavs, exterminated them, and allowed the original inhabitants to claim their lands. They regained control of the city of Patras and the region was re-settled with Greeks. Many Slavs were transported to Asia Minor, and many Asian, Sicilian and Calabrian Greeks were resettled in the Peloponnese. By the turn of the 9th century, the entire Peloponnese was formed into the new "thema" of Peloponnesos, with its capital at Corinth.
The imposition of Byzantine rule over the Slavic enclaves may have largely been a process of Christianization and accommodating Slavic chieftains into the Imperial fold, as literary, epigraphic and sigillographic evidence testify to Slavic "archontes" participating in Imperial affairs. By the end of the 9th century, the Peloponnese was culturally and administratively Greek again, except for a few small Slavic tribes in the mountains such as the Melingoi and Ezeritai. Although they were to remain relatively autonomous until Ottoman times, such tribes were the exception rather than the rule. Even the Melingoi and Ezeritai, however, could speak Greek and appear to have been Christian.
The success of the Hellenization campaign also shows that the Slavs had settled among many Greeks, in contrast to areas further north in what is now Bulgaria and the former Yugoslavia, as those areas could not be Hellenized when they were recovered by the Byzantines in the early 11th century. A 2017-human genetics study showed that the Peloponnesians have little admixture with populations of the Slavic homeland and are much closer to Sicilians and southern Italians.
Apart from the troubled relations with the Slavs, the coastal regions of the Peloponnese suffered greatly from repeated Arab raids following the Arab capture of Crete in the 820s and the establishment of a corsair emirate there. After the island was recovered by Byzantium in 961 however, the region entered a period of renewed prosperity, where agriculture, commerce, and urban industry flourished.
Frankish rule and Byzantine reconquest.
In 1205, following the destruction of the Byzantine Empire by the forces of the Fourth Crusade, the Crusaders under William of Champlitte and Geoffrey of Villehardouin marched south through mainland Greece and conquered the Peloponnese against sporadic local Greek resistance. The Franks then founded the Principality of Achaea, nominally a vassal of the Latin Empire, while the Venetians occupied several strategically important ports around the coast such as Navarino and Coron, which they retained into the 15th century. The Franks popularized the name "Morea" for the peninsula, which first appears as the name of a small bishopric in Elis during the 10th century. Its etymology is disputed, but it is most commonly held to be derived from the mulberry tree ("morea"), whose leaves are similar in shape to the peninsula.
Frankish supremacy in the peninsula, however, received a critical blow after the Battle of Pelagonia, when William II of Villehardouin was forced to cede the newly constructed fortress and palace at Mystras near ancient Sparta to a resurgent Byzantium. This Greek province (and later a semi-autonomous Despotate) staged a gradual reconquest, eventually conquering the Frankish principality by 1430. The same period was also marked by the migration and settlement of the Arvanites to Central Greece and the Peloponnese.
The Ottoman Turks began raiding the Peloponnese from c. 1358, but their raids intensified only after 1387 when the energetic Evrenos Bey took control. Exploiting the quarrels between Byzantines and Franks, he plundered across the peninsula and forced both the Byzantine despots and the remaining Frankish rulers to acknowledge Ottoman suzerainty and pay tribute. This situation lasted until the Ottoman defeat at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, after which Ottoman power was for a time checked.
Ottoman incursions into the Morea resumed under Turahan Bey after 1423. Despite the reconstruction of the Hexamilion wall at the Isthmus of Corinth, the Ottomans under Murad II breached it in 1446, forcing the Despots of the Morea to re-acknowledge Ottoman suzerainty, and again under Turahan in 1452 and 1456. Following the occupation of the Duchy of Athens in 1456, the Ottomans occupied a third of the Peloponnese in 1458, and Sultan Mehmed II extinguished the remnants of the Despotate in 1460. The last Byzantine stronghold, Salmeniko Castle, under its commander Graitzas Palaiologos, held out until July 1461. Only the Venetian fortresses of Modon, Coron, Navarino, Monemvasia, Argos and Nauplion escaped Ottoman control.
Ottoman conquest, Venetian interlude and Ottoman reconquest.
The Venetian fortresses were conquered in a series of Ottoman-Venetian Wars: the first war, lasting from 1463 to 1479, saw much fighting in the Peloponnese, resulting in the loss of Argos, while Modon and Coron fell in 1500 during the second war. Coron and Patras were captured in a crusading expedition in 1532, led by the Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, but this provoked another war in which the last Venetian possessions on the Greek mainland were lost.
Following the Ottoman conquest, the peninsula was made into a province ("sanjak"), with 109 "ziamets" and 342 "timars". During the first period of Ottoman rule (1460–1687), the capital was first in Corinth (Turk. "Gördes"), later in Leontari ("Londari"), Mystras ("Misistire") and finally in Nauplion (Tr. "Anaboli"). Sometime in the mid-17th century, the Morea became the centre of a separate "eyalet", with Patras ("Ballibadra") as its capital. Until the death of Suleiman the Magnificent in 1570, the Christian population (counted at some 42,000 families c. 1550) managed to retain some privileges and Islamization was slow, mostly among the Albanians or the estate owners who were integrated into the Ottoman feudal system.
Although they quickly came to control most of the fertile lands, Muslims remained a distinct minority. Christian communities retained a large measure of self-government, but the entire Ottoman period was marked by a flight of the Christian population from the plains to the mountains. This occasioned the rise of the "klepht"s, armed brigands and rebels, in the mountains, as well as the corresponding institution of the government-funded "armatoloi" to check the "klephts" activities.
With the outbreak of the "Great Turkish War" in 1683, the Venetians under Francesco Morosini occupied the entire peninsula by 1687, and received recognition by the Ottomans in the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699). The Venetians established their province as the "Kingdom of the Morea" (It. "Regno di Morea"), but their rule proved unpopular, and when the Ottomans invaded the peninsula in 1715, most local Greeks welcomed them. The Ottoman reconquest was easy and swift, and was recognized by Venice in the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718.
The Peloponnese now became the core of the Morea Eyalet, headed by the "Mora valesi", who until 1780 was a pasha of the first rank (with three horsetails) and held the title of vizier. After 1780 and until the Greek War of Independence, the province was headed by a "muhassil". The pasha of the Morea was aided by several subordinate officials, including a Christian translator ("dragoman"), who was the senior Christian official of the province. As during the first Ottoman period, the Morea was divided into 22 districts or beyliks. The capital was first at Nauplion, but after 1786 at Tripolitza (Tr. "Trabliçe").
The Moreot Christians rose against the Ottomans with Russian aid during the so-called "Orlov Revolt" of 1770, but it was swiftly and brutally suppressed. As a result, the total population decreased during this time, while the Muslim element in it increased. Nevertheless, through the privileges granted with the Treaty of Kuchuk-Kainarji, especially the right for the Christians to trade under the Russian flag, led to a considerable economic flowering of the local Greeks, which, coupled with the increased cultural contacts with Western Europe (Modern Greek Enlightenment) and the inspiring ideals of the French Revolution, laid the groundwork for the Greek War of Independence.
Modern Greece.
The Peloponnesians played a major role in the Greek War of Independence – the war began in the Peloponnese, when rebels took control of Kalamata on March 23, 1821. The Greek insurgents made rapid progress and the entire peninsula was under Greek control within a few months, except for a few coastal forts and the main Turkish garrison at Tripolitsa. The fighting was fierce and marked by atrocities on both sides; eventually the entire Muslim population was either massacred or fled to the forts. The capture of Tripolitsa in September 1821 marked a turning point. Rivalries among the insurgents eventually erupted into civil war in 1824, which enabled the Ottoman Egyptian vassal Ibrahim Pasha to land in the peninsula in 1825.
The Peloponnese peninsula was the scene of fierce fighting and extensive devastation following the arrival of Ibrahim's Egyptian troops. Partly as a result of the atrocities committed by Ibrahim, the UK, France, and the Russian Empire decided to intervene in favor of the Greeks. The decisive naval Battle of Navarino was fought in 1827 off Pylos on the west coast of the Peloponnese, where a combined British, French and Russian fleet decisively defeated the Turko-Egyptian fleet. Subsequently, a French expeditionary corps cleared the last Turko-Egyptian forces from the peninsula in 1828. The city of Nafplion, on the east coast of the peninsula, became the first capital of the independent Greek state.
During the 19th and early 20th century, the region became relatively poor and economically isolated. A significant part of its population emigrated to the larger cities of Greece, especially Athens, and other countries such as the United States and Australia. It was badly affected by the Second World War and Greek Civil War, experiencing some of the worst atrocities committed in Greece during those conflicts. Living standards improved dramatically throughout Greece after the country accedes to the European Union in 1981.
In late August 2007, large parts of Peloponnese suffered from wildfires, which caused severe damage in villages and forests and the death of 77 people. The impact of the fires to the environment and economy of the region are still unknown. It is thought to be the largest environmental disaster in modern Greek history.
Cities.
The principal modern cities of the Peloponnese are (2011 census):
Archaeological sites.
The Peloponnese possesses many important archaeological sites dating from the Bronze Age through to the Middle Ages. Among the most notable are:
Cuisine.
Specialities of the region:
Several notable Peloponnese wines have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status. The Mantineia region makes a white wine made from Moschofilero, the Nemea wine region makes renowned red wines from the Agiorgitiko grape, and fortified red wine is made in the region around the city of Patras from Mavrodafni grapes.


Montana Province

Montana Province (, transliterated: "Oblast Montana") is a province in northwestern Bulgaria, bordering Serbia in the southwest and Romania in the north. It spreads its area between the Danube river and the Balkan Mountains. As of February 2011, the province has a population of 148,098 inhabitants, on territory of . It was named after its administrative centre the city of Montana.
Municipalities.
The Montana province (Област, "oblast") contains 11 municipalities (singular: община, "obshtina" - plural: Общини, "obshtini"). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and in Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population as of 2011.
Population.
The Montana province had a population of 148,098 according to a 2011 census, of which were male and were female.
As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 155,899 of which are inhabitants aged over 60 years.
The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II:
Ethnic groups.
Total population (2011 census): 148 098
Ethnic groups (2011 census):
Identified themselves: 143 467 persons:
In the 2001 census, 181,175 people of the population of 182,258 of Montana Province identified themselves as belonging to one of the following ethnic groups (with percentage of total population):
Language.
In the 2001 census, 181,208 people of the population of 182,258 of Montana Province identified one of the following as their mother tongue (with percentage of total population):
160,494 Bulgarian (),
19,849 Romani (),
220 Turkish (),
and 645 other ().
Religion.
In the 2011 census, 136,175 people of the population of 148,098 of Montana Province identified one of the following as their religion:
In the 2001 census, 172,358 people of the population of 182,258 of Montana Province identified one of the following as their religion:
Towns and villages.
The place names in bold have the status of town (in Bulgarian: град, transliterated as "grad"). Other localities have the status of village (in Bulgarian: село, transliterated as "selo"). The names of localities are transliterated in Latin alphabet, followed in parentheses by the original name in Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet which links to the corresponding Bulgarian Wikipedia article).
Berkovitsa (Берковица).
The Berkovitsa municipality has one town (in bold) and 19 villages:
Boychinovtsi (Бойчиновци).
The Boychinovtsi municipality has one town (in bold) and 12 villages:
Brusartsi (Брусарци).
The Brusartsi municipality has one town (in bold) and nine villages:
Chiprovtsi (Чипровци).
The Chiprovtsi municipality has one town (in bold) and nine villages:
Georgi Damyanovo (Георги Дамяново).
The Georgi Damyanovo municipality has 13 villages:
Lom (Лом).
The Lom municipality has one town (in bold) and nine villages:
Medkovets (Медковец).
The Medkovets municipality has five villages:
Montana (Монтана).
The Montana municipality has one town (in bold) and 23 villages:
Valchedram (Вълчедръм).
The Valchedram municipality has one town (in bold) and ten villages:
Varshets (Вършец).
The Varshets municipality has one town (in bold), eight villages and one monastery (which has official status as a locality):
Yakimovo (Якимово).
The Yakimovo municipality has four villages:


Northern Albania

Northern Albania () is one of the three NUTS-2 Regions of Albania. This ethnographical territory is sometimes referred to as Ghegeria () which also includes parts of the Albanian-inhabited territories of Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia.
It consists of the counties of Dibër, Durrës, Kukës, Lezhë and Shkodër. The term usually denotes to the northern half of the country inhabited by the Ghegs, who predominantly live in the mountainous north of the Shkumbin river. However the area inhabited by Gheg Albanians is not always identical to the area often referred to as Northern Albania, as the Gheg inhabited regions of Durrës, Tirana, Elbasan, Kavajë, Bulqizë, and occasionally Krujë, Mat, and Dibër, are often excluded from Northern Albania and instead included in Central Albania.
References.


Luxembourg (Belgium)

Luxembourg (; ; ; ; ), also called Belgian Luxembourg, is the southernmost province of Wallonia and of Belgium. It borders on the country of Luxembourg to the east, the French departments of Ardennes, Meuse and Meurthe-et-Moselle to the south and southwest, and the Walloon provinces of Namur and Liège to the north. Its capital and largest city is Arlon (, ), in the south-east of the province.
It has an area of , making it the largest Belgian province. With around 285,000 residents, it is also the least populated province, with a density of , making it a relatively sparsely settled part of a very densely populated region.
It is significantly larger (70%), but much less populous than the neighbouring Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. About eighty percent of the province is part of the densely wooded Ardennes region. The southernmost region of the province is called Gaume or Belgian Lorraine (main city: Virton).
The Arelerland or Arlon region (in red on the map of arrondissements, below) bordering the neighbouring Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg has the particularity that many of its residents have historically spoken Luxembourgish, a language closely related to German, rather than the French or Walloon spoken elsewhere in the province.
The province was separated from the neighbouring Luxembourg by the Third Partition of Luxembourg, de jure in 1830–31 by the Conference of London dealing with the consequences of the Belgian Revolution of 1830, de facto in 1839, after William I, King of the Netherlands and Grand-Duke of Luxembourg, agreed to its decisions and thus the province was given to the newly created Kingdom of Belgium.
Subdivisions.
Luxembourg province is divided into five administrative districts () containing a total of 44 municipalities ().
Economy.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the province was €7.0 billion in 2018, accounting for 1.5% of Belgiums economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €21,800 or 72% of the EU27 average in the same year. Luxembourg was the province with the lowest GDP per capita.


Rural gmina


Thisted Municipality

Thisted municipality is a municipality (Danish: "kommune") in North Jutland Region, Denmark. The municipality covers an area of 1,072 km², and has a total population of 45,549 (2008). The main town and the site of its municipal council is the town of Thisted.
On 1 January 2007 Thisted municipality was, as the result of "Kommunalreformen" ("The Municipal Reform" of 2007), merged with Hanstholm and Sydthy municipalities to form a new Thisted municipality.
Thy.
Thisted municipality is roughly identical with the traditional district of Thy, except that the municipality includes a small portion of the district Hanherred, but not the southernmost peninsula of Thy, Thyholm.
Politics.
Municipal council.
Thisted's municipal council consists of 27 members, elected every four years.
Below are the municipal councils elected since the Municipal Reform of 2007.


Provinces of Spain

Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces (, ; sing. "provincia"). Spain's provincial system was recognized in its 1978 constitution but its origin dates back to 1833. Ceuta, Melilla and the plazas de soberanía are not part of any provinces.
Provincial organization.
The layout of Spain's provinces closely follows the pattern of the territorial division of the country carried out in 1833. The only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the subdivision of the Canary Islands into two provinces rather than one.
Historically, the provinces served mainly as transmission belts for policies enacted in Madrid, as Spain was a highly centralised state for most of its modern history. The importance of the provinces has declined since the adoption of the system of autonomous communities in the period of the Spanish transition to democracy. They nevertheless remain electoral districts for national elections and as geographical references: for instance in postal addresses and telephone codes.
A small town would normally be identified as being in, say, Valladolid province rather than the autonomous community of Castile and León. The provinces were the "building-blocks" from which the autonomous communities were created. Consequently, no province is divided between more than one of these communities.
Most of the provinces—with the exceptions of Álava, Asturias, Biscay, Cantabria, Guipúzcoa, the Balearic Islands, La Rioja, and Navarre—are named after their principal town. Only two capitals of autonomous communities—Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia—are not also the capitals of provinces.
Seven of the autonomous communities comprise no more than one province each: Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarre. These are sometimes referred to as "uniprovincial" communities.
The table below lists the provinces of Spain. For each, the capital city is given, together with an indication of the autonomous community to which it belongs and a link to a list of municipalities in the province. The names of the provinces and their capitals are ordered alphabetically according to the form in which they appear in the main Wikipedia articles describing them. Unless otherwise indicated, their Spanish-language names are the same; locally valid names in Spain's other co-official languages (Basque, Catalan, which is officially called Valencian in the Valencian Community, Galician) are also indicated where they differ.
See also.
General: