Halland County (Swedish: Hallands län, [ˈhǎlːan(d)s ˈlɛːn]) is a county (län) on the western coast of Sweden. It corresponds roughly to the cultural and historical province of Halland. The capital is Halmstad. Prince Julian, the son of Prince Carl Philip, is Duke of Halland.
Halland County Hallands län (Swedish) | |
|---|---|
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 Halland County in Sweden | |
 Location map of Halland County in Sweden | |
| Coordinates: 56°43′00″N 12°49′16″E / 56.71667°N 12.82111°E | |
| Country |  Sweden |
| Founded | 1719 |
| Capital | Halmstad |
| Municipalities | |
| Government | |
| • Governor | Anders Thornberg |
| • Council | Region Halland |
| Area | |
| • Total | 5,454 km2 (2,106 sq mi) |
| Population (31 December 2023)[1] | |
| • Total | 343,746 |
| • Density | 63/km2 (160/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | SEK 102 billion €10.920 billion (2015) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | SE-N |
| NUTS Region | SE231 |
| Website | www |
It borders the counties of Västra Götaland, Jönköping, Kronoberg, Scania and the sea of the Kattegat.
Heraldry
The County of Halland inherited its coat of arms from the province of Halland. When it is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board.
Province
Counties mainly serve administrative purposes in Sweden. The culture and history of the area is to be found in its provincial counterpart Halland. The county was designed with virtually the same boundaries as the province. The major exception is a part of Hylte Municipality, which belongs to the province of Småland.
Geography
- Genevadsån river
Administration
The main aim of the County Administrative Board is to fulfil the goals set in national politics by the Riksdag and the Government, to coordinate the interests and promote the development of the county, to establish regional goals and safeguard the due process of law in the handling of each case. The County Administrative Board is a Government Agency headed by a governor. See List of Halland Governors.
Politics
Region Halland is the local government for Halland County, and is controlled by the regional council and regional board of Halland. The regional council is elected directly by the residents in regional elections held every four years at the same time as municipal and Riksdag elections.
Among the main responsibilities of the Halland Regional Council (Region Halland) are health care and public transit. The right-leaning political parties have held a majority in every election from 1912 until 2014, regaining it in 2018 and losing it again in 2022. However, even when only able to form a minority, the right-wing have controlled the regional board.
Governors
Riksdag elections
The table details all Riksdag election results of Halland County since the unicameral era began in 1970. The blocs denote which party would support the Prime Minister or the lead opposition party towards the end of the elected parliament.
| Year | Turnout | Votes | V | S | MP | C | L | KD | M | SD | NyD | Left | Right |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970[3] | 89.9 | 119,972 | 2.4 | 37.7 | 33.5 | 13.1 | 1.8 | 11.8 | 40.0 | 58.4 | |||
| 1973[4] | 91.9 | 134,086 | 2.6 | 36.6 | 37.4 | 7.6 | 0.9 | 14.5 | 39.3 | 59.5 | |||
| 1976[5] | 92.8 | 146,371 | 2.4 | 35.4 | 35.1 | 10.3 | 0.7 | 15.9 | 37.7 | 61.4 | |||
| 1979[6] | 91.8 | 150,322 | 3.0 | 35.8 | 27.6 | 10.3 | 0.8 | 22.2 | 38.8 | 60.1 | |||
| 1982[7] | 92.5 | 155,884 | 3.2 | 37.8 | 1.7 | 23.9 | 5.9 | 1.3 | 26.1 | 41.0 | 55.8 | ||
| 1985[8] | 90.9 | 159,494 | 2.9 | 38.4 | 1.7 | 18.5 | 15.6 | 22.7 | 41.3 | 56.8 | |||
| 1988[9] | 87.3 | 157,729 | 3.4 | 38.0 | 5.7 | 17.9 | 13.1 | 2.1 | 19.5 | 47.1 | 50.5 | ||
| 1991[10] | 88.2 | 164,719 | 2.6 | 32.1 | 3.2 | 13.7 | 9.1 | 7.0 | 24.3 | 7.4 | 34.7 | 54.1 | |
| 1994[11] | 88.0 | 170,741 | 4.2 | 40.4 | 4.7 | 12.6 | 6.7 | 3.7 | 25.4 | 1.5 | 49.3 | 48.4 | |
| 1998[12] | 82.8 | 164,049 | 8.6 | 31.8 | 3.9 | 8.4 | 4.3 | 12.8 | 24.7 | 44.3 | 50.2 | ||
| 2002[13] | 81.5 | 168,247 | 5.9 | 35.8 | 3.9 | 9.5 | 13.9 | 9.9 | 17.4 | 1.0 | 45.7 | 50.7 | |
| 2006[14] | 83.5 | 179,470 | 4.0 | 31.6 | 4.0 | 10.4 | 7.7 | 6.7 | 29.7 | 2.9 | 39.6 | 54.4 | |
| 2010[15] | 86.2 | 195,565 | 3.5 | 26.8 | 5.9 | 8.8 | 7.8 | 5.6 | 34.7 | 5.4 | 36.2 | 56.9 | |
| 2014[16] | 87.5 | 206,559 | 3.8 | 28.4 | 5.9 | 8.4 | 5.7 | 4.4 | 27.7 | 12.9 | 38.0 | 46.2 | |
| 2018[17] | 89.0 | 216,982 | 4.8 | 25.8 | 3.5 | 10.1 | 5.7 | 7.1 | 22.9 | 18.6 | 44.3 | 54.3 | |
| 2022[18] | 86.6 | 224,183 | 4.0 | 28.3 | 3.6 | 7.0 | 4.8 | 6.0 | 22.5 | 22.6 | 42.9 | 55.9 |
Municipalities
Sweden's counties are entities for Sweden's municipalities, responsible for such things as child care, education, street planning, etc. Municipalities in Halland County are, from north to south, with the numbers of inhabitants::
In Halland Province: (2021)
- Falkenberg: 46,773
- Halmstad: 104,573
- Hylte: 10,619
- Kungsbacka: 85,301
- Laholm: 26,319
- Varberg: 66,658
Culture
Music groups
- Gyllene Tider
- Roxette
- Isildurs Bane
- Sonic Syndicate
- Sabel
Localities in order of size
The five most populous localities of Halland County in 2020:[19]
| # | Locality | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Halmstad | 71,422 |
| 2 | Varberg | 36,327 |
| 3 | Falkenberg | 28,747 |
| 4 | Kungsbacka | 24,071 |
| 5 | Onsala | 12,415 |
Demographics
Foreign background
SCB have collected statistics on backgrounds of residents since 2002. These tables consist of all who have two foreign-born parents or are born abroad themselves.[20] The chart lists election years and the last year on record alone.
| Location | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falkenberg | 10.8 | 12.1 | 13.6 | 15.5 | 18.6 | 19.2 |
| Halmstad | 15.7 | 17.0 | 18.8 | 20.1 | 24.5 | 25.2 |
| Hylte | 14.0 | 16.5 | 19.5 | 24.3 | 31.8 | 32.1 |
| Kungsbacka | 7.0 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 8.6 | 10.7 | 11.1 |
| Laholm | 8.5 | 9.7 | 11.6 | 13.5 | 18.0 | 18.7 |
| Varberg | 9.0 | 9.6 | 10.7 | 11.8 | 13.7 | 14.2 |
| Total | 11.0 | 11.9 | 13.2 | 14.8 | 17.8 | 18.4 |
| Source: SCB [20] | ||||||