Västra Götaland County

Västra Götaland County (Swedish: Västra Götalands län) is a county or län on the western coast of Sweden.

Västra Götaland County

Västra Götalands län
County of Sweden
Orust's only runestone next to an iron age burial ground.
Flag
Coat of arms
Västra Götaland County in Sweden
Location map of Västra Götaland County in Sweden
CountrySweden
Founded01 January 1998
CapitalGothenburg, Vänersborg
Municipalities
Government
 • GovernorLars Bäckström
 • CouncilVästra Götaland Regional Council
Area
 • Total25,247 km2 (9,748 sq mi)
Population
 (December 31, 2019)[1]
 • Total1,725,881
 • Density68/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeSE-O
GDP/ Nominal$80 billion (2015)
GDP per capita$50,000 (2015)[2]
NUTS RegionSE232
Websitewww.o.lst.se

The county is the second largest (in terms of population) of Sweden's counties and it is subdivided into 49 municipalities (kommuner). Its population of 1,616,000 amounts to 17% of Sweden's population. The formal capital and seat of the governor of Västra Götaland County is Gothenburg. The political capital and seat of the Västra Götaland Regional Council is Vänersborg.

The county was established in 1 January 1998, when Älvsborg County, Gothenburg and Bohus County and Skaraborg County were merged.

Provinces

Sweden's counties are generally of greater importance than its provinces. The counties are the main administrative units for politics and population counts.

Due to its size and young age, the Västra Götaland County has no common inheritance. Of cultural and historical significance are the provinces that Västra Götaland County consists of: Västergötland, Bohuslän and Dalsland. There is also an insignificant part of the province Halland within the county.

In addition, the previous counties that were abolished in 1998 had been in use since the 17th century, and therefore have some cultural and historical significance.

Neighbours

Västra Götaland County borders to the counties of Värmland, Örebro, Östergötland, Jönköping and Halland. It is also bounded by the Norwegian county of Viken both with a land and maritime border, lakes Vättern and Vänern, as well as the strait of Skagerrak.

Administration

Västra Götaland was created in 1998 by a merger of the three former counties of Gothenburg and Bohus County, Älvsborg County and Skaraborg County. The seat of residence for the Governors or Landshövding is Gothenburg, while the seat of political administration and power is Vänersborg. The Governor is the head of the County Administrative Board or Länsstyrelse.

Politics

The Västra Götaland Regional Council or Västra Götalandsregionen is an evolved County Council that for a trial period has assumed certain tasks from the County Administrative Board. Similar trial councils are applied for Skåne County and Gotland County.

Municipalities
  1. Ale
  2. Alingsås
  3. Bengtsfors
  4. Bollebygd
  5. Borås
  6. Dals-Ed
  7. Essunga
  8. Falköping
  9. Färgelanda
  10. Grästorp
  11. Gullspång
  12. Götene
  13. Gothenburg
  14. Herrljunga
  15. Hjo
  16. Härryda
  17. Karlsborg
  18. Kungälv
  19. Lerum
  20. Lidköping
  21. Lilla Edet
  22. Lysekil
  23. Mariestad
  24. Mark
  25. Mellerud
  26. Munkedal
  27. Mölndal
  28. Orust
  29. Partille
  30. Skara
  31. Skövde
  32. Sotenäs
  33. Stenungsund
  34. Strömstad
  35. Svenljunga
  36. Tanum
  37. Tibro
  38. Tidaholm
  39. Tjörn
  40. Tranemo
  41. Trollhättan
  42. Töreboda
  43. Uddevalla
  44. Ulricehamn
  45. Vara
  46. Vårgårda
  47. Vänersborg
  48. Åmål
  49. Öckerö

Demographics

Foreign background

SCB have collected statistics on backgrounds of residents since 2002. These tables consist of all who have two foreign-born parents or are born abroad themselves.[3] The chart lists election years and the last year on record alone.

Location 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2019
Ale 15.2 16.2 17.7 19.1 22.8 23.8
Alingsås 9.4 10.4 11.6 13.1 15.1 15.4
Bengtsfors 9.7 11.2 13.7 16.6 22.8 23.1
Bollebygd 7.9 8.5 9.5 10.5 13.2 13.7
Borås 20.3 22.5 24.7 27.0 30.8 31.7
Dals-Ed 13.3 14.5 14.2 16.3 18.2 17.8
Essunga 5.7 6.4 7.9 9.1 10.9 11.6
Falköping 7.4 9.0 11.4 14.8 18.6 19.6
Färgelanda 6.2 7.5 10.1 10.7 14.1 14.6
Gothenburg 25.6 27.3 29.9 32.4 36.1 37.0
Grästorp 5.0 6.5 7.2 7.9 9.2 9.5
Gullspång 8.4 10.2 12.5 17.4 21.0 21.3
Götene 7.6 8.6 10.1 11.5 13.6 13.8
Herrljunga 9.3 9.8 11.6 13.4 15.5 15.8
Hjo 5.6 6.2 7.1 8.0 10.1 10.3
Härryda 12.1 12.6 13.0 13.5 15.6 15.9
Karlsborg 3.7 4.4 5.8 7.4 10.9 10.5
Kungälv 9.1 9.6 10.2 11.0 13.2 14.0
Lerum 10.1 10.7 11.2 11.7 13.9 14.4
Lidköping 7.9 8.9 9.8 11.1 13.3 13.7
Lilla Edet 15.2 16.2 16.6 18.1 21.8 22.4
Lysekil 8.9 9.7 11.3 13.2 16.8 17.0
Mariestad 9.6 10.8 11.6 12.6 14.3 14.8
Mark 10.8 11.5 12.7 14.0 16.6 17.0
Mellerud 9.7 12.1 13.4 15.4 21.6 22.1
Munkedal 7.1 8.1 9.0 11.0 14.5 14.5
Mölndal 15.0 16.2 17.6 19.5 23.3 23.9
Orust 5.8 6.2 7.0 8.1 10.0 10.3
Partille 16.3 17.9 19.3 20.8 24.4 25.6
Skara 8.6 10.1 12.0 15.7 19.8 20.8
Skövde 12.9 14.1 15.7 17.3 20.0 20.5
Sotenäs 6.7 7.2 8.3 9.3 11.7 12.3
Stenungsund 9.7 9.8 10.5 11.3 13.8 14.2
Strömstad 18.5 21.0 23.2 27.7 31.7 32.4
Svenljunga 10.0 11.4 13.8 15.9 19.5 19.7
Tanum 8.4 9.4 10.6 11.4 14.6 14.6
Tibro 9.4 10.9 12.6 15.7 19.7 20.2
Tidaholm 7.3 8.4 9.4 11.4 13.7 14.0
Tjörn 6.4 6.9 7.2 8.6 10.4 10.8
Tranemo 12.5 13.7 15.2 17.7 21.3 21.9
Trollhättan 18.2 20.0 22.9 25.9 29.0 29.8
Töreboda 6.3 8.1 8.9 12.0 16.3 17.3
Uddevalla 12.2 13.5 15.0 17.5 21.5 22.4
Ulricehamn 8.3 9.6 11.7 13.3 16.3 16.9
Vara 6.4 7.1 8.3 9.6 12.6 13.2
Vårgårda 9.4 10.0 11.0 12.3 15.7 16.4
Vänersborg 8.7 9.9 11.7 15.2 19.6 20.3
Åmål 9.6 10.5 11.0 14.3 19.8 19.6
Öckerö 4.5 4.6 4.9 5.4 7.9 8.1
Total 15.0 17.4 19.4 21.6 25.0 25.7
Source: SCB [3]

Heraldry

The arms for the County of Västra Götaland were granted in 1998 when the county was formed. They are a combination of the provincial arms of Västergötland, Bohuslän and Dalsland and the arms of the city of Gothenburg. When the arms are shown with a royal crown they represent the County Administrative Board, which is the regional presence of (royal) government authority. Blazon: "Quartered, I. the arms of Gothenburg, II. the arms of Bohuslän, III. the arms of Dalsland turned in courtoisie, IV. the arms of Västergötland."

References and notes
  1. "Folkmängd efter region, civilstånd, ålder, kön och år". Statistics Sweden. 31 December 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2020.
  2. http://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/national-accounts/national-accounts/regional-accounts/
  3. "PxWeb - välj variabler och värden" (in Swedish). SCB. Retrieved 11 August 2020.

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