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Lapin lääni/maakunta Lapplands län/landskap Lapland Province Lapland Region Province FI-LL Residence city Rovaniemi Governor Hannele Pokka Historical provinces Laponia Österbotten Västerbotten Regions Lapland (FI1A3) Area  - Total Ranked 1st/- 98,946 km² Population  - Total (2002)  - Density Ranked 5th/- 187,777 2,0/km²

Lapland Province Lapland Region Map highlighting the location of the Province of Lapland

The Province of Lapland (Lappi in Finnish and Sami, Lappland in Swedish) is one of the Provinces of Finland. The municipalities in the province cooperate in a Regional Council, which also makes it the Region of Lapland. It borders the Province of Oulu and the Region of North Ostrobothnia in the south. It also borders to the Gulf of Bothnia, Norrbotten County in Sweden, Finnmark County in Norway and to Murmansk Oblast in Russia. In some parts of the world, particularly Britain and Finland itself, it is considered the traditional home of Santa Claus (Joulupukki).

Contents 1 Historical Provinces 2 Population 3 Administration 3.1 Regional Council 3.2 Sami Domicile Area 3.3 Municipalities 4 Heraldry 5 See also 6 External links

For History, Geography and Culture see: Laponia, Österbotten and Västerbotten

Lapland was separated from the province of Oulu in 1936. After the Second World War, the Petsamo and Salla areas were ceded to the Soviet Union.

Lapland is home only to about 3.6% of the Finnish population, and is by far the least densely populated area in the country. The biggest towns in the Finnish Lapland are Rovaniemi (the provincial capital), Kemi, and Tornio. Of the more than 185 000 inhabitants, less than 5% are Sami people.

The State Provincial Office is a joint regional authority of seven different ministries. It promotes national and regional objectives of the State central administration.

The 21 municipalities of Lapland are organised into a single Region, where they cooperate in the Lapland Regional Council, Lapin liitto or Lapplands förbund.

The northermost municipalities of Lapland where the Sami people are the most numerous, form the Sami Domicile Area. Sami organization exists in parallel with the provincial one.

Main article: Municipalities of Lapland

Municipalities of Lapland

Enontekiö | Inari | Kemi | Kemijärvi | Keminmaa | Kittilä | Kolari | Muonio | Pelkosenniemi | Pello | Posio | Ranua | Rovaniemen mlk | Rovaniemi | Salla | Savukoski | Simo | Sodankylä | Tervola | Tornio | Utsjoki | Ylitornio

Lapland | Finland

The coat of arms for the Province of Lapland is composed out of the coats of arms of Lapponia and Ostrobothnia. The Regional Council of Lapland uses the Finnish variation of the coat of arms for Lapponia.

• Lappmarken
• Lääni
• Sami people
• Sápmi (area)

• Lapland State Provincial Office - Official site
• Lapland Regional Council - Official site
• Lapland Finland Portal - from not-for-profit Lapland Tourism Organization (in 6 languages)
• Finnish Lapland on Wikitravel
• Holidays in Lapland - visit Lapland
• [1] Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences - video portal. Videos about Lapland experiences and lifestyle.
• [2] - Videos about Finnish Lapland

Lapland

Regional flower - Finnish - Latin	Globe-flower - Kullero - Trollius europaeus
Regional bird	Bluethroat
Regional fish	Salmon

v • d • e Provinces of Finland
Eastern Finland • Lapland • Oulu • Southern Finland • Western Finland • Åland

v • d • e Regions of Finland
Åland · Central Finland · Central Ostrobothnia · Eastern Uusimaa · Finland Proper · Kainuu · Kymenlaakso · Lapland · North Karelia · Northern Ostrobothnia · Northern Savonia · Ostrobothnia · Pirkanmaa · Päijänne Tavastia · Satakunta · South Karelia · Southern Ostrobothnia · Southern Savonia · Tavastia Proper · Uusimaa