# Västernorrland County

Västernorrland County (Swedish: Västernorrlands län) is a county (län) in the north of Sweden. It is bordered by the counties of Gävleborg, Jämtland, Västerbotten and the Gulf of Bothnia.
The name Västernorrland means "Western Norrland", as it was in the western part of the original Norrland (northern Sweden and northern Finland).

## Province

For History, Geography and Culture, see: Ångermanland or Medelpad
Västernorrland County covers approximately the historical provinces of Ångermanland (Angermannia) and Medelpad.

## Administration

The main aim of the county administrative board – a government agency headed by a governor – is to fulfil the goals set out in national politics by the Riksdag and the government, to coordinate the interests of the county, to promote the development of the county, to establish regional goals and safeguard the due process of law in the handling of each case. See List of Västernorrland governors.

## Politics

The regional council of Västernorrland is the Region Västernorrland.

## Riksdag elections

The table details all Riksdag election results of Västernorrland 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 | 89.1 | 177,619 | 6.6 | 52.2 | | 23.0 | 9.5 | 2.5 | 5.9 | | | 58.8 | 38.4 |
| 1973 | 92.1 | 178,788 | 6.3 | 50.7 | | 27.7 | 5.6 | 2.4 | 6.7 | | | 57.0 | 40.1 |
| 1976 | 92.7 | 186,498 | 5.0 | 50.4 | | 28.4 | 6.8 | 1.8 | 7.3 | | | 55.4 | 42.5 |
| 1979 | 92.0 | 185,794 | 5.4 | 51.2 | | 23.6 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 10.8 | | | 56.6 | 40.9 |
| 1982 | 92.2 | 186,181 | 5.3 | 53.7 | 1.4 | 20.9 | 3.8 | 2.3 | 12.4 | | | 59.0 | 37.1 |
| 1985 | 90.5 | 183,019 | 5.4 | 53.2 | 1.3 | 17.6 | 10.0 | | 12.2 | | | 58.6 | 39.8 |
| 1988 | 86.6 | 173,568 | 6.0 | 51.6 | 5.1 | 14.9 | 8.8 | 3.6 | 9.4 | | | 62.7 | 33.1 |
| 1991 | 86.8 | 173,566 | 5.1 | 47.9 | 3.1 | 11.3 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 13.0 | | 4.7 | 53.0 | 38.7 |
| 1994 | 87.1 | 173,210 | 6.7 | 55.0 | 4.8 | 9.2 | 6.0 | 3.9 | 13.0 | | 0.7 | 66.6 | 32.1 |
| 1998 | 81.6 | 157,892 | 14.8 | 45.1 | 4.1 | 6.6 | 3.6 | 10.2 | 13.7 | | | 64.0 | 34.1 |
| 2002 | 79.5 | 150,966 | 9.9 | 49.3 | 3.8 | 9.6 | 9.3 | 7.6 | 8.5 | 0.8 | | 63.0 | 35.0 |
| 2006 | 81.5 | 153,417 | 6.7 | 46.0 | 3.8 | 10.6 | 5.4 | 5.7 | 17.2 | 2.2 | | 56.5 | 38.8 |
| 2010 | 84.6 | 159,975 | 6.0 | 44.0 | 5.5 | 7.0 | 5.2 | 4.4 | 21.6 | 4.5 | | 55.5 | 38.1 |
| 2014 | 86.1 | 162,112 | 5.7 | 46.3 | 4.4 | 6.7 | 3.4 | 3.8 | 15.9 | 10.8 | | 56.3 | 29.8 |
| 2018 | 87.8 | 163,001 | 8.2 | 39.8 | 2.7 | 9.9 | 3.4 | 5.4 | 13.7 | 15.6 | | 60.5 | 38.1 |
| 2022 | 85.2 | 160,500 | 5.8 | 39.4 | 3.4 | 7.5 | 2.7 | 5.4 | 14.0 | 20.1 | | 56.1 | 42.2 |

## Municipalities

In Medelpad Province:
* Sundsvall
* Timrå
* Ånge
In Ångermanland Province:
* Härnösand
* Kramfors
* Sollefteå
* Örnsköldsvik

## 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. The chart lists election years and the last year on record alone.
| Location | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2019 |
| Härnösand | 5.9 | 7.7 | 9.1 | 12.7 | 17.4 | 17.7 |
| Kramfors | 5.3 | 6.5 | 8.2 | 11.1 | 15.3 | 15.8 |
| Sollefteå | 5.0 | 6.1 | 7.9 | 11.1 | 14.9 | 14.2 |
| Sundsvall | 7.4 | 8.4 | 10.1 | 11.9 | 13.9 | 14.4 |
| Timrå | 6.4 | 7.8 | 9.5 | 11.0 | 12.2 | 12.2 |
| Ånge | 4.0 | 5.2 | 6.4 | 7.8 | 10.0 | 9.7 |
| Örnsköldsvik | 5.0 | 6.0 | 7.2 | 8.3 | 11.1 | 11.5 |
| Total | 6.1 | 7.3 | 8.8 | 10.8 | 13.5 | 13.9 |
| Source: SCB |||||||

## History

Västernorrland County was formed in 1634, when counties were introduced, replacing the older provinces. Västernorrland then included parts of Sweden north of the city of Gävle, except Jämtland and Härjedalen – which belonged to Norway – and except Finland.
The county grew and shrank significantly since its creation. The boundary adjustments:
* Västerbotten County was separated in 1637.
* Jämtland and Härjedalen joined in 1657, but they both separated as Jämtland County in 1810.
* Gävleborg County separated in 1762.
* Other minor changes have taken place.
Even though the name Västernorrland literally means "Western Norrland", it is today situated on the eastern coast of Swedish Norrland. The "west" in its name (väster) arose due to the fact that, at the time, Norrland was a much larger region, including northern Finland as well. Västernorrland was therefore the part of Norrland that lay west of the Baltic Sea, which used to be a Swedish inland sea.

## Heraldry

The arms for the County of Västernorrland are a combination of those of Ångermanland and Medelpad. When it is shown with a royal crown, it represents the county administrative board. Blazon: "Parted per pale, the arms of Angermannia and the arms of Medelpad."

## Miscellaneous topics

Local public transport in the county is provided by Din Tur.