Åland

Åland (/ˈɔːlənd/ AW-lənd, Swedish: [ˈǒːland] ^ⓘ; Finnish: Ahvenanmaa) is an autonomous and demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area (1,580 km² or 610 sq mi) and population (30,654), constituting 0.51% of Finland's land area and 0.54% of its population. Its official language is Swedish and the capital city is Mariehamn.

Åland is situated in an archipelago, called the Åland Islands, at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea. It comprises Fasta Åland, on which 90% of the population resides, and about 6,500 skerries and islands to its east, of which about 60–80 are inhabited. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Roslagen in Sweden by 38 km (20+1⁄2 nautical miles) of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is contiguous with the Finnish archipelago. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry of Märket, which it shares with Sweden. From Mariehamn, there is a ferry distance of about 160 km (86 nautical miles) to Turku, a coastal city of mainland Finland, and also to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden.

Åland's autonomous status means that those provincial powers normally exercised by representatives of the central Finnish Government are largely exercised by its own government. The current demilitarised, neutral position of Åland dates back to the Paris Peace Treaty after the Åland War in the 1850s.

The dispute over Åland's status led to the League of Nations affirming its autonomous status in 1921. This autonomy was reaffirmed in the treaty admitting Finland to the European Union. By law, Åland is politically neutral and entirely demilitarised. Consequently, its residents are exempt from universal male conscription into the Finnish Defence Forces.

The Parliament of Finland initially granted Åland extensive autonomy through the Act on the Autonomy of Åland in 1920. This act was subsequently updated with new versions in 1951 and 1991. The constitution of Finland refers to this act, establishing it as the basis for Åland's specific constitutional framework. The Act also mandates that Åland remains exclusively Swedish-speaking.

Åland held a separate referendum on joining the European Union on 20 November 1994 (after the mainland Finland referendum on 16 October), as it constituted a distinct customs jurisdiction. Membership was approved by 73.64% of voters. Finland's accession treaty includes a specific protocol for Åland. This protocol ensures that EU law does not override existing restrictions on non-residents (individuals without Ålandic home region rights, hembygdsrätt) acquiring or holding real property, or providing certain services within Åland.

Åland's hypothetical name in the Proto-Norse language was *Ahvaland. The Proto-Germanic root ahwō is related to the Latin word for water, aqua. In Swedish, the name evolved from Áland to Åland, meaning "river land"—despite^{[editorializing]} rivers not being a notable feature of the archipelago.^{[citation needed]}

The Finnish and Estonian names for the region, Ahvenanmaa and Ahvenamaa (meaning "perch land," from Finnish ahven, a type of fish), are believed to preserve an alternative version of the old name.