Län
Län, len, lääni and len refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Denmark, Finland and Norway. The provinces of Finland were abolished on 1 January 2010. In Norway, the term was in use from 1308 and in Denmark from the beginning of the 13th century. As of 19 February 1662 the len of Denmark-Norway were converted into amt.
They are also sometimes used in other countries, especially as a translation of the Russian word volost. During the period when Finland was a part of the Russian Empire, when Russian was made an official language alongside Swedish, it was synonymous with the word guberniya.
The term
The word literally means "fief" and is cognate with English. The usual English language terms used are separate for the two countries, where Sweden has chosen to translate the term as "county" while Finland prefers "province". With a shared administrative tradition spanning centuries, ending only in 1809, this is a separation by convention, rather than by distinction.The term matches reasonably well the British term "county", but not so well the American term "county" which is usually much smaller in population, akin to a Swedish "kommun".
Before län were adopted, the historical provinces were defined as either "hertigdöme" or "grevskap", which adds further confusion. Later all historical provinces have been given "hertigdöme" as honorary title.
The ''län''
In Sweden a län is but an arm of the executive power of the national government, and has no autonomy nor legislative power. The län subdivision does not always match the traditional provinces, which are called landskap in Swedish and maakunnat in Finnish. The same situation existed in Finland until län/lääni were abolished in 2010.Historically the term guberniya was used for the län/lääni in the Grand Duchy of Finland as a part of Russia from 1809 to 1917. See Governorates of the Grand Duchy of Finland.