Scania - Administration

Administration

Like the other provinces of Sweden, the province of Scania serves no administrative or political purposes, but is an exclusively historical and cultural entity.

Between 1719 and 1996 the province was subdivided in two administrative counties (län), Kristianstad County and Malmöhus County each under a governor (landshövding) appointed by the central government of Sweden. When the first local government acts took effect in 1863 each county also got an elected county council (landsting). The counties were further divided into municipalities. The local government reform of 1952 reduced the number of municipalities and a second subdivision reform, carried out between 1968 and 1974 established today's 33 municipalities (Swedish: kommuner) in Scania. The municipalities have municipal governments, similar to city commissions, and are further divided into parishes (församlingar). The parishes are primarily entities of the Church of Sweden, but they also serve as a divisioning measure for the Swedish population registration and other statistical uses.

In 1997 the two counties were merged, and Skåne County has almost the same boundaries as the province. For the pre-1997 counties see map to the right, which also outlines the still valid municipal limits.

Two years later the county council areas were amalgamated forming Region Skåne, responsible mainly for public healthcare, public transport and regional planning and culture.