Counties of Sweden

The counties of Sweden (Swedish: Sveriges län) are the top-level geographic subdivisions of Sweden. Sweden is today divided into 21 counties; however, the numbers of counties has varied over time, due to territorial gains/losses and to divisions and/or mergers of existing counties. This level of administrative unit was first established in the 1634 Instrument of Government on Lord Chancellor Count Axel Oxenstierna's initiative, and superseded the historical provinces of Sweden (Swedish: landskap) in order to introduce a more efficient administration of the realm. At that time, they were what the translation of län into English literally means: fiefdoms. The county borders often follow the provincial borders, but the Crown often chose to make slight relocations to suit its purposes.

In every county except Gotland there is a county administrative board (länsstyrelse) headed by a governor (landshövding), appointed by the government, as well as a separate county council (landsting).

The aims of the county administrative board is to supervise the local state administration that is not otherwise assigned to other government agencies, and to coordinate the political goals with the central government. The county council is the elected regional political assembly for the municipal affairs of the county, primarily regarding public healthcare, public transport and culture.

A number of several other government agencies are organised on a county basis, including the main bodies of the police, employment, social insurance, and forestry services.

...
Wikipedia