Scania

Scania ( Skåne in Swedish and in Danish ) is the southernmost of the 25 traditional non-administrative provinces (landskap) of Sweden, constituting a peninsula on the southern tip of the Scandinavian peninsula, and some adjacent islands. The modern administrative subdivision (län) Skåne County is almost, but not totally, congruent with the province. The largest city is Malmö, which is also the third largest in Sweden and the administrative centre of Skåne County.

To the north, Scania borders the provinces of Halland and Småland, to the north-east Blekinge, to the east and south the Baltic Sea, and to the west the Öresund strait. Since 2000 a road and railway bridge, the Øresund Bridge constitutes a fixed link to the Danish island of Zealand. It is part of the transnational Öresund Region.

The province, up until the Treaty of Roskilde in 1658, formed part of the kingdom of Denmark . The transition to Sweden was later confirmed by the Treaty of Copenhagen 1660, the Peace of Lund 1679, the Peace of Travendal 1700. The last serious Danish attempt to retake the province failed in 1710, after the Battle of Helsingborg. The years 1658–1719 constituted a transitional period where the province was not considered part of Sweden proper, but had the status of conquered "foreign land" under a Governor-General. The integration into the Swedish nation was sometimes opposed by locals, who supported Danish attempts to retake the province. In 1719 Scania was divided in two counties and has since that been regarded fully integrated with the rest of the country.

Around 130 km long from north to south, Scania covers less than 3% of Sweden's total area, but the population of approximately 1,230,000 represents 13% of Sweden's total population. About 16% of the total population of the province are foreign-born. With 111 inh/km² Scania is the second most densely populated province of Sweden, next only to Södermanland. The western part, along the coast of Øresund is by far the most populated part of the province.