Lapland was separated from the province of Oulu in 1936. After the Second World War, the Petsamo and Salla areas were ceded to the Soviet Union. Under the royalist constitution of Finland during the first half of 1918, Lapland was to become a Grand Principality and part of the inheritance of the proposed Kingdom of Finland.
Population
Lapland is the home of about 3.6% of Finland's population, and is by far the least densely populated area in the country. The biggest towns in Lapland Province are Rovaniemi (the provincial capital), Kemi, and Tornio. Of the more than 185 000 inhabitants, less than 5% are Sami people.
Administration
The State Provincial Office is a joint regional authority of seven different ministries. It promotes national and regional objectives of the State central administration.
Regional Council
The 21 municipalities of Lapland are organised into a single Region, where they cooperate in the Lapland Regional Council, Lapin liitto or Lapplands förbund.
Sami Domicile Area
The northermost municipalities of Lapland where the Sami people are the most numerous, form the Sami Domicile Area. Sami organization exists in parallel with the provincial one.
The coat of arms for the Province of Lapland is composed out of the coats of arms of Laponia and Ostrobothnia. The Regional Council of Lapland uses the Finnish variation of the coat of arms for Laponia.
Most of the gold used to mint Finnish gold coins comes from Lapland. Lapland itself has been the main motif for a recent commemorative coin, the Finish First Finnish gold euro commemorative coin, minted in 2002. On the reverse side, the midnight sun above a lake in Lapland can be observed.
