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Names and territories of the wellbeing services counties 

The provisions on the names of the wellbeing services counties and on the municipalities that belong to each county are laid down in section 7 of the Act on the Implementation of the Reform of Health, Social and Rescue Services and on the Entry into Force of Related Legislation (616/2021). The wellbeing services counties are: 

  1. The wellbeing services county of East Uusimaa, which consists of the following municipalities in the region of Uusimaa: Askola, Lapinjärvi, Loviisa, Myrskylä, Porvoo, Pukkila, and Sipoo; 
  2. The wellbeing services county of Central Uusimaa, which consists of the following municipalities in the region of Uusimaa: Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Nurmijärvi, Mäntsälä, Tuusula, and Pornainen; 
  3. The wellbeing services county of West Uusimaa, which consists of the following municipalities in the region of Uusimaa: Espoo, Hanko, Inkoo, Karkkila, Kauniainen, Kirkkonummi, Lohja, Raasepori, Siuntio, and Vihti; 
  4. The wellbeing services county of Vantaa and Kerava, which consists of the cities of Vantaa and Kerava in the region of Uusimaa;
  5. The wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Southwest Finland; 
  6. The wellbeing services county of Satakunta, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Satakunta; 
  7. The wellbeing services county of Kanta-Häme, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Kanta-Häme; 
  8. The wellbeing services county of Pirkanmaa, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Pirkanmaa; 
  9. The wellbeing services county of Päijät-Häme, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Päijät-Häme; 
  10. The wellbeing services county of Kymenlaakso, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Kymenlaakso; 
  11. The wellbeing services county of South Karelia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of South Karelia; 
  12. The wellbeing services county of South Savo, which consists of the municipalities in the region of South Savo; 
  13. The wellbeing services county of North Savo, which consists of the municipalities in the region of North Savo; 
  14. The wellbeing services county of North Karelia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of North Karelia; 
  15. The wellbeing services county of Central Finland, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Central Finland; 
  16. The wellbeing services county of South Ostrobothnia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of South Ostrobothnia; 
  17. The wellbeing services county of Ostrobothnia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Ostrobothnia; 
  18. The wellbeing services county of Central Ostrobothnia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Central Ostrobothnia; 
  19. The wellbeing services county of North Ostrobothnia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of North Ostrobothnia; 
  20. The wellbeing services county of Kainuu, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Kainuu; 
  21. The wellbeing services county of Lapland, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Lapland.

Wellbeing services counties on the map

  1. East Uusimaa 
  2. Central Uusimaa 
  3. West Uusimaa 
  4. Vantaa and Kerava 
  5. Southwest Finland
  6. Satakunta
  7. Kanta-Häme 
  8. Pirkanmaa 
  9. Päijät-Häme 
  10. Kymenlaakso
  11. South Karelia 
  12. South Savo 
  13. North Savo 
  14. North Karelia 
  15. Central Finland 
  16. South Ostrobothnia 
  17. Ostrobothnia 
  18. Central Ostrobothnia 
  19. North Ostrobothnia 
  20. Kainuu 
  21. Lapland 
     

Kartta hyvinvointialueiden rajoista

County councils

The highest decision-making power in each wellbeing services county will be exercised by a county council, the members and deputy members of which will be elected in county elections. The elections are direct, secret and proportional, and the right to vote is equal. The term of the county councils is four years. From 2025 onwards, county elections will be held in conjunction with municipal elections. However, the first county elections will be conducted as separate elections on Sunday 23 January 2022. The City of Helsinki is not a wellbeing services county nor does it belong to any of the wellbeing services counties, which is why no county elections will be conducted in Helsinki. Another exception is Åland, which is not affected by the health and social services reform.

Each county council will decide how many members it will have, but the minimum numbers are determined in the Act on Wellbeing Services Counties. Under the Act, a minimum of 59 county councillors must be elected in the smallest counties, while the minimum number of councillors in the largest counties is 89.

Population of a wellbeing services county Minimum number of county councillors
200,000 or less 59
200 001 - 400 000 69
400 001 - 600 000 79
over 600,000 89

The number of residents in each wellbeing services county is determined based on the data contained in the Population Information System on 30 November the year preceding election year (at the end of the day).

In the 2025 county elections, the following numbers of county councillors will be elected:

  • 79 councillors in the wellbeing services counties of West Uusimaa, Southwest Finland, Pirkanmaa and North Ostrobothnia,
  • 69 councillors in the wellbeing services counties of Central Uusimaa, Vantaa-Kerava, Satakunta, Päijät-Häme, North Savo and Central Finland, and
  • 59 councillors in all other wellbeing services counties.