Lapland/Norrbotten
Facts and figures
The name Lapland is an internationally recognized
word and has the connotation of the whole of northern Scandinavia,
which is not exactly true, but as long as people around the world
make the mental connection, I feel it justified to use "Lapland"
when I talk about northern Sweden. To write about the county of
Norrbotten is more accurate though when describing the geographical
area where we live.
You can have a look at my border page
for a better understanding of the naming situation, but meanwhile,
here is two pictures to help you get the basics.
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| Province of Lapland | County of Norrbotten |
Below, I present some facts about the county of Norrbotten.
Geography
Area: 98 249 km2
Population: 252 874
Population density : 2.6 persons / km2
Five largest cities: Luleå (72.000), Piteå (40.000),
Boden (28.000), Kiruna (23.000), Gällivare (19.000).
Compared with Japan, it would mean the combined size of Hokkaido
and Kyushu, and the population of Shimonoseki.
Protected nature
The Laponia World Heritage site comprises many
of the big national parks in Lapland, and with the addition of some
of the adjoining nature reserves it has a total area of 9.400 km2
of coherent wilderness. The same area as the whole of Cyprus or
half of Shikoku. But there is more..
If we add all the nature reserves, the total area of protected nature
in the province jumps to about 24.000 km2, the combined size of
Shikoku and Wakayama. Which gives that about 25% of the nature is
protected. And protected in Sweden means no roads, hotels, amusement
parks or vending machines. Some of these areas are not easily accessed.