The Åland Islands/ Åland/ Ahvenanmaa form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarized, monolingually Swedish-speaking region and historical province of Finland. Capital/(and largest city):Mariehamn/GovernmentAutonomous region of Finland/Autonomy - Declared1920 - Recognized 1921/EU accessionJanuary 1, 1995/Area - Total13,517 km2 /Population: - 2009 estimate27,700 /CurrencyEuro/Internet TLD.ax/Calling code+358 The islands collectively are the smallest region of Finland, comprising 0.5% of Finland's population and 0.49% of land area. The islands consist of the main island Fasta Åland (literally "Firm Åland"), where 90% of the population resides,and an archipelago to the east that consists of over 6500 skerries and islands. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Sweden by 38 kilometres (24 mi) of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is virtually contiguous with the Finnish Archipelago Sea. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry of Märket,which it shares with Sweden. Due to the Åland Islands' autonomous status, the powers exercised at the provincial level by representatives of the central state administration in the rest of Finland are largely exercised by the Government of Åland in Åland.