Åland Islands
The Åland Islands are an archipelago located in the Baltic Sea, at the southern end of the Gulf of Bothnia in southwestern Finland. Since 1921, the Åland Islands are a self-governing and demilitarized region under the Republic of Finland. The Åland islands are bordered by the Sea of Åland and the Archipelago Sea and are geographically positioned between southwestern Finland and eastern Sweden.
Geography
The Åland archipelago covers a total area of 1,551 km
2 and comprises approximately 300 islands and over 6,200 small rocky islands. Out of these 300 islands, only 80 islands are inhabited. The archipelago occupies just 0.51% of Finland’s total land area and is therefore considered its smallest region. Fasta Åland is the biggest and most populated island in the archipelago. The archipelago’s administrative capital, its principal town and major seaport, Mariehamn, is located on Fasta Åland.