Västra Götaland Västra Götalands län
—  County of Sweden  —
Coat of arms
Country	Sweden
Capital	Gothenburg
Government
• Governor	Lars Bäckström
• Council	Västra Götaland Regional Council
Area
• Total	23,945 km2 (9,245 sq mi)
Population (March 31 2011)[1]
• Total	1,589,016
• Density	66/km2 (170/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
GDP/ Nominal	SEK 386,538 million (2004)
GDP per capita	SEK 376,900 (2010)
NUTS Region	SE232

Västra Götaland County (Swedish: Västra Götalands län) is a county or län on the western coast of Sweden.

The county is the second largest (in terms of population) of Sweden's counties and it is subdivided into 49 municipalities (kommuner). Its population of 1,590,000 amounts to 17% of Sweden's population. The capital and governmental seat of Västra Götaland County is Gothenburg.

The county was established as recently as 1998, when Älvsborg County, Gothenburg and Bohus County and Skaraborg County were merged.

Provinces[link]

Sweden's counties are generally of greater importance than its provinces. The counties are the main administrative units for politics, population counts.

Due to its size and young age, the Västra Götaland County has no common inheritance. Of cultural and historical significance are the provinces that Västra Götaland County consists of: Västergötland, Bohuslän and Dalsland. There is also an insignificant part of the province Halland within the county.

In addition, the previous counties that were abolished in 1999 had been in use since the 17th century, and therefore have some cultural and historical significance.

Neighbours[link]

Västra Götaland County borders to the counties of Värmland, Örebro, Östergötland, Jönköping and Halland. It is also bounded by the Norwegian county of Østfold, lakes Vättern and Vänern, as well as the strait of Skagerrak.

Administration[link]

Västra Götaland was created in 1998 by a merger of the three former counties of Gothenburg and Bohus County, Älvsborg County and Skaraborg County. The seat of residence for the Governors or Landshövding is Gothenburg, while the seat of political administration and power is Vänersborg. The Governor is the head of the County Administrative Board or Länsstyrelse.

Politics[link]

The Västra Götaland Regional Council or Västra Götalandsregionen is an evolved County Council that for a trial period has assumed certain tasks from the County Administrative Board. Similar trial councils are applied for Skåne County and Gotland County.

Municipalities[link]

Heraldry[link]

The arms for the County of Västra Götaland was granted in 1999 when the county was formed. It a combination of the provincial arms of Västergötland, Bohuslän and Dalsland with the arms for the city of Gothenburg. When the arms is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board, which is the regional presence of (royal) government authority. Blazon: "Quartered, I. the arms of Gothenburg, II. the arms of Bohuslän, III. the arms of Dalsland turned in courtoisie, IV. the arms of Västergötland."

References and notes[link]

External links[link]

• List of Västra Götaland Governors
• Region Västra Götaland
• seo services chandigarh
• Västra Götaland County Administrative Board
• Gothenburg Regional Association of Local Authorities
• Sjuhärad Regional Association of Local Authorities
• Skaraborg Regional Association of Local Authorities
• Fyrbodals Regional Association of Local Authorities

v t e Counties (län) of Sweden Blekinge Dalarna Gävleborg Gotland Halland Jämtland Jönköping Kalmar Kronoberg Norrbotten Örebro Östergötland Scania (Skåne) Södermanland Stockholm Uppsala Värmland Västerbotten Västernorrland Västmanland Västra Götaland

v t e Municipalities and seats of Västra Götaland County Municipalities Ale Alingsås Åmål Bengtsfors Bollebygd Borås Dals-Ed Essunga Falköping Färgelanda Götene Gothenburg Grästorp Gullspång Härryda Herrljunga Hjo Karlsborg Kungälv Lerum Lidköping Lilla Edet Lysekil Mariestad Mark Mellerud Mölndal Munkedal Öckerö Orust Partille Skara Skövde Sotenäs Stenungsund Strömstad Svenljunga Tanum Tibro Tidaholm Tjörn Töreboda Tranemo Trollhättan Uddevalla Ulricehamn Vänersborg Vara Vårgårda Municipal seats Alingsås Åmål Bengtsfors Bollebygd Borås Ed Falköping Färgelanda Götene Gothenburg Grästorp Gullspång and Hova Henån Herrljunga Hjo Karlsborg Kinna Kungälv Kungshamn Lerum Lidköping Lilla Edet Lysekil Mariestad Mellerud Mölndal Mölnlycke Munkedal Nödinge-Nol Nossebro Öckerö Partille Skara Skärhamn Skövde Stenungsund Strömstad Svenljunga Tanumshede Tibro Tidaholm Töreboda Tranemo Trollhättan Uddevalla Ulricehamn Vänersborg Vara Vårgårda Counties of Sweden Sweden

Coordinates: 58°13′01″N 11°44′00″E / 58.217025°N 11.733398°E / 58.217025; 11.733398