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Finland's April elections a test for local power structure

Finland holds municipal elections in April. At the same time, there are council elections in 21 so-called wellbeing services counties. After the healthcare reform, they will be responsible for social and healthcare services. But interest in running as a candidate and in voting seems to be falling. Perhaps due to a worsening economy and reduced municipal powers. Or because elections have become too frequent.

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The local government expert

The Finnish municipal researcher Siv Sandberg at the Central Library’s third floor, from where you can spot Medborgartorget (Citizen’s Square) – a popular space for demonstrations – and behind it, Parliament House. National politics play a key role, despite Finnish municipalities’ level of autonomy.

Municipal Finland
  •  There are 307 municipalities in Finland, 108 of which use the designation “city”.
  • The most populous and densely populated municipality is the capital, Helsinki, with around 664,028 inhabitants. 
  • The smallest municipality on mainland Finland is Luhanka with 692 residents, and the smallest city is Kaskinen with 1,256 residents.
  • The smallest municipality in the Åland archipelago is Sottunga, with around 100 residents. Åland is a special case in Finland with 15 small municipalities housing just over 30,000 people. Nearly half of them live in Mariehamn.
  • Finland’s biggest municipality by area is Inari in the northernmost Lapland/Sápmi, with an area measuring around 17,334 km².
  • The smallest municipality is Kauniainen near Helsinki, measuring around 6 km².
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