Municipalities of Finland
| Municipalities of Finland Suomen kunnat (Finnish) Finlands kommuner (Swedish) | |
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| Category | Municipality |
| Location | Finland |
| Found in | Regions |
| Number | 309 (list) (as of 2021) |
| Populations | Largest: Helsinki (pop. 657,674) Smallest: Sottunga (pop. 109) |
| Areas | Largest: Inari (17,333.65 km2) Smallest: Kauniainen (6 km2) |
| Government |
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| Part of a series on |
| Administrative divisions of Finland |
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| Regions |
| Sub-regions |
| Municipalities |
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| Wellbeing services counties |
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The municipalities (
Government
Municipalities have
Municipal managers (kaupunginjohtaja, stadsdirektör for cities, kunnanjohtaja, kommunsdirektör for other municipalities) are
Although municipalities do not have police or legislative powers, local ordinances concerning traffic can be set, and municipal parking inspectors can give parking tickets. Municipalities are legal persons and can appear in an administrative court. Likewise, the state of Finland is a separate legal person.
Excluding judicial review of formal compliance to administrative law, municipalities are independent and not a part of a local state hierarchy. Municipalities cooperate in regions of Finland. State agencies have jurisdictions spanning one or more regions: each region is served by an ely-keskus (elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus) on matters of employment, the economy, transport and environment, while law and environmental enforcement is handled by the local aluehallintovirasto, governing multi-region jurisdictions termed alue.-G.H-
Taxation and revenue
Residents pay a municipal tax that is a form of income tax, which is the mainstay of the income of a municipality (42% of income). Municipal tax is nominally a flat tax that is levied from a broader population (including lower income levels) than progressive state income tax, which is collected only from medium to high income earners. However, in practice even the municipal tax is progressive due to generous deductions granted to the lowest income levels. The pre-deduction base tax varies from 16% in affluent Kauniainen to 20% or more in a number of small rural municipalities. Next to the municipal tax, municipalities receive funding from the state budget (valtionapu, 19% of income). This funding is means-tested to municipality wealth and serves to balance the differences in municipal tax revenue.[2] Besides taxes, sales revenue, fees and profit of operations also form a substantial share of municipal income (21%).[2] In 2023, taxation will be significantly changed, when new wellbeing services counties are founded. Since these are funded by the state, municipal taxes will be reduced by 12.64 percentage points from ~20 to ~7%, and state taxes will be increased correspondingly.
Additionally, municipalities levy a property tax, amounting to 3.6% of income, which is comparatively low: the annual fee is 0.32-0.75% of net present value for permanent residences and 0.50-1.00% for leisure properties like summer cottages as well as undeveloped plots. This is always paid by the owner, never a tenant directly, unlike the
Some municipal functions receive direct funding both from the municipality and the state, e.g.
Tasks and services
Finland has an extensive welfare state, and municipalities are responsible for much of the services to that end. Tasks of the municipalities are as follows:[3]
- Social services
- Children's daycare
- Elderly care
- Disabled care
- Social welfare service
- Child protection
- Education (see Education in Finland) and culture
- Peruskoulu (primary education, grades 1–9)
- Lukio (gymnasiums)
- Ammattioppilaitos (secondary vocational schools)
- Ammattikorkeakoulu(tertiary vocational schools)
- Kansanopisto (folk high school)
- Public libraries
- Youth centres
- Public exercise facilities (public tracks, etc.)
- Infrastructure and land use
- Zoning
- Public transport
- Maintenance of local streets
- Water
- Energy
- Waste collection
- Environment
- Economic development
- Promotion of the local economy and employment
- Law enforcement
- Food safety inspection
- Animal welfare inspection
- Environmental protection inspection
- Parking enforcement
- Public transport payment enforcement
Although municipalities are responsible for their own finances, there is much highly specific legislation and regulation that requires the services to be provided up to a standard. Thus, although municipalities have the power to voluntarily spend tax-generated income, they are required to first allocate funds to legally prescribed services.
Municipalities may provide some of these services through corporations that they own or from private companies that they regulate. For example, Helsinki Regional Transport Authority (HSL) provides public transport services in the capital area.
From 2023, new wellbeing services counties will take the responsibility for healthcare and social services from the municipalities.
Statistics
As of 2020[update], there are 310 municipalities in Finland, of which 107 are
Finnish municipalities can choose to be called either kaupunki (city or town) or kunta (small town or rural municipality). Although the Finnish Environment Institute classifies urban settlements with over 15,000 inhabitants as kaupunki,[4] municipalities can name themselves kaupunki with fewer inhabitants. There are 44,773 inhabitants in Nurmijärvi, the largest kunta in Finland, and 1,208 inhabitants in Kaskinen, the smallest kaupunki, so the kunta–kaupunki categorisation mainly concerns the name of the municipality.
The areas of the municipalities vary, as the population is the primary criterion for forming a municipality. The largest municipalities in size are found in Lapland, of which the largest is Inari at 17,333.65 km2 (6,692.56 sq mi) (130 km square). The smallest municipalities are very small towns. Kaskinen is an independent town with a land area of only 10.49 km2 (4.05 sq mi). Kauniainen, which was originally a corporation in Espoo, is only 6.00 km2 (2.32 sq mi).[5]
History
Municipalities were originally
On 6 February 1865, the modern municipalities were established as secular entities separate from the parishes.[6] The reform was inspired by the Swedish municipal reforms of 1862. Up to 1964, cities financed their own police and registry services. Until 1977 municipalities were divided into cities (kaupunki, stad), market towns (kauppala, köping) and rural municipalities (maalaiskunta, landskommun). The market town category was abolished and these were renamed as cities. The rest of the municipalities were classified as 'other municipalities'. All municipalities called maalaiskunta were eventually either merged to their parent cities or changed their names. From 1995 onwards only 'municipality' is recognized by law and any municipality is allowed to call itself a city.
Identification and heraldry
Not all municipalities have an obvious urban center; indeed, rural municipalities are often composed of distributed rural villages. Although the church village (kirkonkylä, abbreviated kk) is the historical center, the largest or administrative center may be in another village. For example, Askola has a church village (Askolan kirkonkylä), but its administrative center is in Monninkylä. Often, the church village has the same name as the municipality, as with Askola. However, this is not necessarily so, e.g. Enontekiö is governed from Hetta; these villages are often erroneously labeled in maps. This is expected as the name of the municipality refers to the entire parish, not just a single center like a church village. Villages have no administrative role, although some have voluntary village associations (kyläyhdistys) and other non-governmental public life.
Although related, urban areas in Finland (taajama) are not local administrative units. A catalog is independently compiled each year by Statistics Finland, a state agency, and used primarily for traffic-related purposes (signage, speed limits, and highway planning). There are 745 officially recognized urban areas in Finland, 49 of which have more than 10,000 inhabitants and six more than 100,000.
Each municipality has a distinct coat of arms. They are posted on the municipal borders and shown in official documents representing the municipality. The coats of arms for many municipalities have been designed in the modern era, many of them by Gustaf von Numers. In addition, municipalities like Vantaa since 2015 and Helsinki since 2017 have a logo distinct from their coat of arms.
Capital region
Distinctively, the
Mergers and reform
There is currently a heated political debate in Finland about reforming the municipality system. Essentially, a multitude of small municipalities is seen as detrimental to the provision of public services, having originated during Finland's agrarian years. As a result, there have been suggestions of state-imposed mergers. A committee led by the former Minister for Regional and Municipal Affairs,
Recently, many voluntary mergers have been agreed on.[7] Ten mergers were completed in 2005, one in 2006, 14 in 2007 and one in 2008. In 2009, there were even more, many of which consolidated more than two municipalities. Several cities merged with surrounding rural municipalities in Hämeenlinna, Salo, Kouvola, Seinäjoki, Naantali, Kauhava, Lohja, Raseborg, Jyväskylä and Oulu in 2009. In total, there were 32 mergers, involving 99 municipalities, that reduced the number of municipalities by 67. The year 2009 also marked the end of the last maalaiskunta, a municipality surrounding a city but sharing the name, in Jyväskylä. There were four mergers in 2010, six in 2011, ten in 2013, three in 2015, four in 2016, two in 2017, one in 2020 and one in 2021. In the period 2005–2021, the number of municipalities was voluntarily reduced from 444 to 309.
In 2012,
The
Municipalities by regions
- Municipalities of Central Finland
- Municipalities of Finland Proper
- Municipalities of Kainuu
- Municipalities of Kymenlaakso
- Municipalities of Lapland
- Municipalities of North Karelia
- Municipalities of South Karelia
- Municipalities of Ostrobothnia
- Municipalities of Central Ostrobothnia
- Municipalities of Northern Ostrobothnia
- Municipalities of Southern Ostrobothnia
- Municipalities of Pirkanmaa
- Municipalities of Satakunta
- Municipalities of Northern Savonia
- Municipalities of Southern Savonia
- Municipalities of Tavastia Proper
- Municipalities of Päijänne Tavastia
- Municipalities of Uusimaa
- Municipalities of Åland
Map
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The biggest party in the municipalities after the 2017 Finnish municipal elections -
The biggest party in the municipalities after the 2021 Finnish municipal elections -
Second largest party by vote percentage after the 2021 Finnish municipal elections
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See also
- List of municipalities of Finland
- List of cities and towns in Finland
- List of former municipalities of Finland
References
- ^ "IS selvitti kokouspalkkiot: Näin tienaa kuntapoliitikko – Helsinki 355 €, Luhanka ja Savukoski 25 €". 9 April 2017.
- ^ a b "Laskelma kuntien ja kuntayhtymien menoista v PPT lataa".
- ^ Tony Hagerlund verkkoviestintäpäällikkö. "Diaesitykset ja perustiedot kunnista". Kunnat.net. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
- ^ "Alueluokkien kuvaukset". Ymparisto.fi (in Finnish). Finnish Environment Institute SYKE. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
- ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Kunnallinen itsehallinto 150 vuotta". Nopolanews (in Finnish). 6 February 2015. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
- ^ Kuntaliitto. Ajankohtaiset kuntaliitokset, 2007. http://www.kunnat.net/k_peruslistasivu.asp?path=1;29;348;4827;50631
- ^ "Jopa 280 kunnan on käynnistettävä liitosselvitys". Turun Sanomat (in Finnish). TS-Group. 26 June 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
External links
Media related to Municipalities in Finland at Wikimedia Commons
