The regional level

At regional level, Sweden is divided into 21 counties. The political tasks at this level are carried out on the one hand by the county councils and regions, whose decision-makers are directly elected by the people of the county and, on the other, by the county administrative boards which are government bodies in the counties.

Sweden's counties

In each of Swedens 21 counties there is a county administrative board which is central governments regional representative and functions as a link between the national and regional levels. The Head of the county administrative board is appointed by the Government and is designated County Governor. The county administrative board is responsible for, among other things, certain social welfare matters and regional planning, and also cooperates with the majority of public authorities at central, regional and local levels.

The county labour board and the National Board of Forestry are examples of other government bodies in the county. A county board or the equivalent is accountable to a public administration and deals with the same issues as the latter, albeit at the regional level.

County councils

The principal area of responsibility for county councils is health and medical service (around 80 per cent of expenditure). Other common county council areas include dental service, education (above all training programmes in the health care professions), culture (primarily county music, theatres and museums) and support to the countys business sector. Responsibility for public transport in a county is often divided between the municipalities and the county council. County council operations are financed through government grants, county council taxes and charges and are regulated, inter alia, by the Swedish Local Government Act.

The political decisions of a county council are taken by an elected assembly, the county council. The county council appoints a county executive committee which leads and coordinates county council work. In addition, there are a number of committees whose task is to deal with different matters to be raised in the council. The committees must also implement the decisions taken.

The government of three of Swedens counties differs from the others. Gotland county has no county council, instead its tasks are carried out by Gotland municipality. In the county councils of Skåne and Västra Götaland, increased regional autonomy is being tested, which among other things means that these county councils have been given greater responsibility for regional development.