What are the Provinces of Finland?

From 1997 until 2010, mainland Finland was divided into five provinces (läänit): Southern Finland, Western Finland, Eastern Finland, Oulu and Lapland. The autonomous Åland Islands formed a sixth. The provinces were regional offices of the national government rather than self-governing units. The system dated back to 1634, when Finland was part of Sweden and the first provinces were created, and it continued under Russian rule and after independence in 1917. In 1997 the twelve existing provinces were merged into these five larger ones. The provinces were abolished at the start of 2010, and their work was taken over by Regional State Administrative Agencies and ELY Centres. Finland's regions (maakunnat) are now its main regional divisions.