Skåne County (Swedish: Skåne län [ˈskôːnɛ ˈlɛːn]), sometimes referred to as Scania County in English, is the southernmost county, or län, of Sweden, basically corresponding to the traditional province of Scania. It borders the counties of Halland, Kronoberg and Blekinge and connects to Capital Region, Denmark by the Öresund Bridge across the Øresund strait. The seat of residence for the Skåne Governor is the city of Malmö. The headquarters of Skåne Regional Council are located in both Kristianstad and Malmö.^[4]

Quick Facts Scania County, Country ...

Skåne County Skåne län (Swedish) Scania County
County of Sweden
Flag Coat of arms
Skåne County in Sweden
Location map of Skåne County in Sweden
Coordinates: 55°59′43″N 13°26′30″E
Country	Sweden
Founded	1 January 1997
Capital	Malmö, Kristianstad
Municipalities	33 Ängelholm Åstorp Båstad Bjuv Bromölla Burlöv Eslöv Hässleholm Helsingborg Höganäs Höör Hörby Kävlinge Klippan Kristianstad Landskrona Lomma Lund Malmö Örkelljunga Osby Östra Göinge Perstorp Simrishamn Sjöbo Skurup Staffanstorp Svalöv Svedala Tomelilla Trelleborg Vellinge Ystad
Government
• Governor	Anneli Hulthén
• County Council	Skåne Regional Council
Area [1]
• Total	11,302.77 km2 (4,364.02 sq mi)
Population  (December 31, 2021)[2]
• Total	1,402,425
• Density	120/km2 (320/sq mi)
GDP [3]
• Total	SEK 478 billion €51.151 billion (2015)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	SE-M
NUTS Region	SE224
Website	www.lansstyrelsen.se www.skane.se

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The present county was created in 1997 when Kristianstad County and Malmöhus County were merged; it covers around 3% of Sweden's total area, while its population of 1.3 million comprises 13% of Sweden's total population. Prince Oscar is Duke of Skåne.

When the new county was established in 1997, it was named Skåne län as its borders coincide with those of the province Skåne. In English, the county as well as the province are sometimes known as Scania, but the name Skåne is more frequently used, e.g. by the county administrative board.^[5][6]

The coat of arms for Skåne County is the same as for the province of Skåne, only with the tinctures reversed and the crown, beak and tongue of the griffin in the same color. When the arms are shown with a royal crown, it represents the County Administrative Board, which is the regional presence of (royal) government authority. Blazon: "Gules, a Griffin's head erased Or, crowned and armed the same."

Skåne County is the administrative equivalent of the province of Skåne, but it also includes an insignificant part of the province of Halland.^{[citation needed]}.

Skåne County is administered by Region Skåne, one of the 20 county councils of Sweden. Its main responsibilities are for the public healthcare system and public transport. In addition, it has for a trial period assumed certain tasks from the County Administrative Board. The two former administrative county councils of the province of Skåne shown on the map, Kristianstad County and Malmöhus County, which were established in 1719, were merged in 1997, forming the present county with boundaries that are almost identical to the boundaries of the province.

The seat of residence for the Governor (landshövding) is the city of Malmö. The County Administrative Board is a Government Agency headed by a Governor. See List of Skåne Governors.

Skåne County contains 33 municipalities^[8] (Swedish: kommuner), the largest by population being Malmö Municipality (340,000 inhabitants), Helsingborg Municipality (145,000), Lund Municipality (123,000 inhabitants) and Kristianstad Municipality (85,000 inhabitants). The municipalities have municipal governments, similar to city commissions, and are further divided into parishes. The parish division is traditionally used by the Church of Sweden, but also serves as a divisioning measure for Swedish census and elections.

The ten most populous localities of Skåne County in 2020 were:^[26]

The ten largest municipalities of the county by total area are:^[27]

The motorway built between Malmö and Lund in 1953 was the first motorway in Sweden. With the opening of the Öresund Bridge between Malmö and Copenhagen (the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe) in 2000, the Swedish motorways were linked with European route E20 in Denmark, and the two countries' railway systems were physically connected. Before the bridge was built there were train ferries operated between Helsingborg and Helsingør. There are also train ferries to and from Germany and Poland.

Skåne has three major public airports, Malmö Airport, Ängelholm–Helsingborg Airport and Kristianstad Airport. One of the oldest airports in the world still in use is located in Skåne, namely Ljungbyhed Airport, in operation since 1910. Starting in 1926, the Swedish Air Force used the airport for flight training, and up until the military school was moved to the nearby Ängelholm F10 Wing in 1997, the airport was extremely busy. In the late 1980s, it was Sweden's busiest airport, with a record high of more than 1,400 take-offs and landings per day.^[29]

The major ports of Skåne are Trelleborg, Ystad, Åhus, Copenhagen Malmö Port, Landskrona Harbour and Helsingborg Harbour. Ferry connections across the Baltic Sea operate from several smaller ports as well.