Thehistorical province of Lapland originally extended further eastward. However, in 1809 theRussian Empire annexed the eastern part of Sweden and formed theGrand Duchy of Finland in that territory. This effectively split Lapland into a Swedish part anda Finnish part, both of which still exist today. Swedish Lapland primarily consists of the inland parts ofVästerbotten County in the south andNorrbotten County in the north. It has the coldest climates of Sweden, with vast seasonal differences caused by the high latitudes and the inland location.
The history of Lapland is in many ways connected to the history ofNorrbotten County andVästerbotten County, since Lapland is a historic region connected to these counties. During theMiddle Ages, Norrbotten/Lapland was considered ano man's land. The area was in fact populated by nomadicSámi people, but the region became increasingly settled by Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian settlers—especially along the coasts and large rivers. From the Middle Ages on, the Swedish kings tried to colonise and Christianise the area using settlers from what is now Finland and southern Sweden. Today, despite large-scale assimilation into the dominant Swedish culture, Finnish and Sámi minorities continue to maintain their cultures and identities.
Despite independent cultural presence, religious beliefs were subject to conversion in the 17th and 18th centuries resulting in Laplanders generally leaving their originalshamanism and converting toLutheranism. Since the 19th century, Lapland has been particularly characterised byLaestadian Lutheranism.
During theindustrialization of Sweden in the late-19th century, natural resources (hydroelectricity, timber and minerals) from Lapland and surrounding provinces played a key role. Still, mining, forestry and hydroelectric power are the backbone of the local economy, together with municipal services. The unemployment has however been relatively high for several decades and many young people leave for the larger cities by the coast or in southern Sweden.
Located in Sweden, Lapland is known for containing theVindelfjällen Nature Reserve, one of the largest nature reserves in Sweden. Other parts of Lapland have been named aUNESCO World Heritage Site, theLaponian area, and the province contains some of the oldest and most spectacularnational parks of northern Europe, e.g.Sarek National Park, established in 1909. Lapland has an area of 109,702 square km (c. 42,300 sq miles), larger thanAustria and almost equal toPortugal. Its land area is also larger than theBenelux countries combined, being more than double the size ofSwitzerland and quite a bit larger than the island ofIreland.
The traditionalprovinces of Sweden serve no administrative or political purposes but are cultural and historical entities. Administratively, Lapland constitutes the western part of twocounties of Sweden,Norrbotten County in the north andVästerbotten County in the south. In contrast to most other areas of Sweden, there is more of an identification with thecounties rather than toprovinces. Thus, most people in these counties refer to the entire county, including the areas in Lapland, when they say 'Norrbotten' or 'Västerbotten'.
As of 31 December 2017, the population of Swedish Lapland is 91,333.[1] The largest cities areKiruna (Northern Sami:Giron,Finnish:Kiiruna,Meänkieli:Kieruna) with 23,178 inhabitants,Gällivare with 18,123 inhabitants andLycksele with 12,177 inhabitants.[3]
Embroidered coat of arms from the funeral ofCharles X Gustav in 1660, crowned with a count's coronet
Theblazon, the formal description of Lapland's coat of arms, reads: "Argent, a Wildman statant Gules wrapped with birch leaves Vert on the head and around the waist holding a Club Or in dexter over the shoulder."[4]
Thewildman wielding a club as heraldic symbol of Lapland first appeared at the coronation ofCharles IX of Sweden in 1607, then at the same king's burial in 1611. The wildman’s red skin color was standardized only in 1949; prior to that, various shades, including natural skin tones, were used, particularly in the early 20th century. The coat of arms ofFinnish Lapland features the same motif, though in different colors. The wildman, though unusual in heraldry, is an old symbol of the uncivilised north and appeared in books and woodcuts of the 16th century.[4]
During the Vasa period, Lapland was formally designated as a county (grevskap), a status symbolized by the count's coronet placed atop its coat of arms. On 18 January 1884 thePrivy Council gave all provinces the right of use to a ducal coronet in their heraldic arms.[5]
Lapland has asubarctic climate in its lower areas, whereas apolar variety can be found inTarfala, where the average high for the warmest month of the year (July) is lower than 10 °C (50 °F) in mean temperatures. The southern parts of the province are significantly milder than the northern, due to the vast geographical differences. However, since Lapland is all made up of inland areas, maritime moderation is less significant than in the counties' coastal areas and in neighbouringNorway, resulting in harsh winters. Southern areas at a lower elevation such asLycksele also have relatively warm summers. Due to theArctic Circle, the northern areas of the province experiencemidnight sun and a moderatepolar night with some civil twilight during opposite sides of the year.
An EU-subsidised government tourism marketing organisation aiming to promote tourism in Northern Sweden has taken the brand name "Swedish Lapland". This name also covers towns in the coastal area of Gulf of Bothnia as well as the border area to Finland though neither areas are a part of the geographical province Swedish Lapland, rather the Lapland area as a whole in northern Scandinavia.
Lapland is home to two prominent national minorities: theSámi people and theTornedalians. The Tornedalians are Finnish speakers who remained within the Swedish borders following the division ofhistorical Lapland after theFinnish War of 1809.[6] As a result of the Industrial Revolution and the separation of Swedish part ofTorne Valley (Meänmaa) from theGrand Duchy of Finland, the Tornedalian language (Meänkieli) began incorporating an increasing number of Swedish loanwords. This divergence meant that Tornedalians did not participate in thestandardization process of Finnish, and they retained older Swedish loanwords that later disappeared from Finnish due to thelanguage strife andFennoman movement in Finland. Today, the standardization of Meänkieli has developed independently from Standard Finnish.[7] Although Meänkieli and Finnish remain largely mutually intelligible, there is ongoing debate about whether Meänkieli should be classified as a distinct language or a dialect of Finnish.
Due to the perception of Lapp as being derogatory towards Sámi people, there is a tendency to avoid the labelLapland altogether in favor of talking about its constituent Västerbotten and Norrbotten counties instead.[8][9][10][11] Since mid-1990s, the Sámi cultural area that was traditionally known asLapland is usually referred to asSápmi.[12]
^"Lapplands klimat".SMHI (in Swedish). Archived fromthe original on 2025-06-21. Retrieved2025-06-21.Lapplands yta utgör hela en fjärdedel av Sveriges. [The area of Lapland is a quarter of the size of Sweden.]
