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.

Province of Lapland	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.