Värmland County

Värmland County (Swedish: Värmlands län) is a county or län in west central Sweden. It borders the Swedish counties of Dalarna, Örebro and Västra Götaland, as well as the Norwegian counties of Østfold, Akershus and Innlandet to the west. The title of Duke of Värmland is claimed by His Royal Highness Prince Carl Philip.

Värmland County Värmlands län (Swedish)
County of Sweden
Flag Coat of arms
Värmland County in Sweden
Location map of Värmland County in Sweden
Country	Sweden
Founded	1779
Capital	Karlstad
Municipalities	16 Årjäng Arvika Eda Filipstad Forshaga Grums Hagfors Hammarö Karlstad Kil Kristinehamn Munkfors Säffle Storfors Sunne Torsby
Government
• Governor	Georg Andrén
• Council	Region Värmland
Area
• Total	17,591 km2 (6,792 sq mi)
Population  (31 December 2023)[1]
• Total	283,548
• Density	16/km2 (42/sq mi)
GDP [2]
• Total	SEK 91 billion €9.695 billion (2015)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	SE-S
NUTS Region	SE311
Website	www.s.lst.se

Province

Main article: Värmland

The county has more or less the same boundaries as Värmland Province, except that the municipalities of Karlskoga and Degerfors are part of Örebro County.

Administration

Värmland County was formed in 1779, when it was separated from Närke and Värmland County.

The main aim of the County Administrative Board is to fulfil the goals set in national politics by the Riksdag and the Government, to coordinate the interests of the county, to promote the development of the county, to establish regional goals and safeguard the due process of law in the handling of each case. The County Administrative Board is a Government Agency headed by a Governor. See List of Värmland Governors.

Politics

The County Council of Värmland is called Region Värmland.

Riksdag elections

The table details all Riksdag election results of Värmland County since the unicameral era began in 1970. The blocs denote which party would support the Prime Minister or the lead opposition party towards the end of the elected parliament.

Year	Turnout	Votes	V	S	MP	C	L	KD	M	SD	NyD	Left	Right
1970[3]	88.9	183,757	4.3	51.1		20.1	14.3	2.2	7.6			55.9	42.7
1973[4]	91.6	188,565	4.9	48.3		26.0	8.8	1.0	10.5			53.2	45.4
1976[5]	92.2	196,183	4.0	46.1		25.8	9.8	0.7	13.2			50.1	48.8
1979[6]	91.2	195,704	4.9	47.7		20.2	8.6	0.8	17.2			52.5	46.1
1982[7]	91.6	196,415	4.8	50.4	1.4	17.0	5.3	1.1	20.0			55.2	42.2
1985[8]	89.8	192,892	4.8	49.4	1.4	13.5	12.1		18.6			54.2	44.3
1988[9]	85.3	182,427	5.4	49.2	4.6	14.1	10.1	1.8	14.7			59.1	38.9
1991[10]	86.4	184,819	4.6	42.9	2.6	10.7	7.5	6.3	17.9		7.0	47.5	42.4
1994[11]	86.6	185,145	6.8	49.7	4.4	9.4	6.2	3.4	18.6		1.0	60.9	37.5
1998[12]	81.0	169,723	14.1	41.1	4.1	6.4	4.0	10.7	18.4			59.2	39.5
2002[13]	79.8	165,413	8.7	43.4	4.0	9.2	11.5	8.1	12.4	1.4		56.0	41.1
2006[14]	81.3	168,426	6.4	42.0	3.9	10.0	6.0	5.8	20.9	2.9		52.3	42.7
2010[15]	84.1	177,215	5.8	38.9	5.6	7.6	6.0	4.7	25.7	4.8		50.1	44.0
2014[16]	86.0	182,077	5.2	39.1	5.2	7.4	4.1	4.0	19.6	12.6		49.5	35.2
2018[17]	87.3	183,966	7.0	33.9	3.3	9.3	4.4	6.3	16.4	18.0		53.2	45.3
2022[18]	85.2	184,607	5.0	34.6	3.6	6.3	3.7	5.8	17.1	22.8		49.5	49.4

Municipalities

Main page: Category:Municipalities of Värmland County

In Värmland Province:

• Arvika
• Eda
• Filipstad
• Forshaga
• Grums
• Hagfors
• Hammarö
• Karlstad
• Kil
• Kristinehamn
• Munkfors
• Storfors
• Sunne
• Säffle
• Torsby
• Årjäng

Demographics

Foreign background

SCB have collected statistics on backgrounds of residents since 2002. These tables consist of all who have two foreign-born parents or are born abroad themselves.^[19] The chart lists election years and the last year on record alone.

Location	2002	2006	2010	2014	2018	2019
Arvika	8.8	10.4	11.8	13.0	14.9	15.1
Eda	20.7	23.8	26.1	27.7	31.1	31.7
Filipstad	8.6	10.1	12.1	16.4	22.8	22.5
Forshaga	6.0	7.0	7.3	8.8	11.0	10.8
Grums	8.1	8.8	9.8	11.0	13.0	13.5
Hagfors	6.2	7.8	9.7	12.2	15.6	16.1
Hammarö	7.0	7.0	7.4	7.6	9.1	8.9
Karlstad	9.5	11.0	12.8	14.0	16.8	17.6
Kil	6.4	6.9	7.3	8.2	9.0	9.5
Kristinehamn	8.3	9.6	11.1	14.2	17.1	17.5
Munkfors	5.3	6.9	8.3	10.5	16.5	16.3
Storfors	14.7	16.7	18.6	22.1	22.6	20.8
Sunne	4.8	5.5	6.6	8.4	11.5	11.6
Säffle	5.7	7.2	8.5	11.9	17.1	17.1
Torsby	6.7	8.3	10.3	12.2	14.1	14.7
Årjäng	15.0	17.4	19.4	21.7	24.8	25.5
Total	8.6	10.0	11.5	13.3	16.1	16.5
Source: SCB [19]

Climate

Värmland being a landlocked county results in greater temperature differences than at the nearby west coast of Sweden and south coast of Norway. As a result, the southern areas of the county has a humid continental climate with strong oceanic influences. The latter climate type is prevalent in a small area at the shores of Lake Vänern due to recent warming. More northerly areas see a subarctic climate with relatively mild winters for the climate type. The subarctic classification of areas such as Hagfors and Torsby is more due to the cool summer nights that renders September below 10 °C (50 °F) in mean temperatures.

Climate data for Karlstad, 2002-2015, extremes from 1901, precipitation 1961-1990
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	10.2 (50.4)	12.6 (54.7)	20.1 (68.2)	25.8 (78.4)	29.0 (84.2)	32.5 (90.5)	34.0 (93.2)	32.0 (89.6)	25.2 (77.4)	20.0 (68.0)	14.7 (58.5)	11.5 (52.7)	34.0 (93.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−0.2 (31.6)	0.6 (33.1)	5.2 (41.4)	11.5 (52.7)	16.2 (61.2)	20.1 (68.2)	22.6 (72.7)	21.3 (70.3)	16.8 (62.2)	9.9 (49.8)	5.0 (41.0)	1.1 (34.0)	10.8 (51.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−2.6 (27.3)	−2.3 (27.9)	0.9 (33.6)	6.1 (43.0)	10.9 (51.6)	14.7 (58.5)	17.6 (63.7)	16.5 (61.7)	12.3 (54.1)	6.5 (43.7)	2.5 (36.5)	−1.6 (29.1)	6.7 (44.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−5.1 (22.8)	−5.2 (22.6)	−3.3 (26.1)	0.8 (33.4)	5.6 (42.1)	9.4 (48.9)	12.7 (54.9)	11.7 (53.1)	7.7 (45.9)	3.1 (37.6)	0.1 (32.2)	−4.3 (24.3)	2.7 (36.9)
Record low °C (°F)	−32.5 (−26.5)	−36.0 (−32.8)	−26.9 (−16.4)	−18.4 (−1.1)	−5.0 (23.0)	−1.8 (28.8)	3.5 (38.3)	1.0 (33.8)	−5.0 (23.0)	−12.0 (10.4)	−19.9 (−3.8)	−28.0 (−18.4)	−36.0 (−32.8)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	46.1 (1.81)	32.8 (1.29)	38.8 (1.53)	39.0 (1.54)	43.9 (1.73)	56.3 (2.22)	65.4 (2.57)	76.1 (3.00)	73.0 (2.87)	70.7 (2.78)	72.6 (2.86)	50.7 (2.00)	665.3 (26.19)
Mean monthly sunshine hours	47	70	174	220	254	287	265	223	181	103	48	44	1,916
Source 1: [20]
Source 2: [21]

Climate data for Arvika (roughly 50 km north of Karlstad) — Extremes 1945-present, precipitation 1961-1990
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	10.2 (50.4)	11.8 (53.2)	20.4 (68.7)	25.5 (77.9)	29.8 (85.6)	33.8 (92.8)	32.8 (91.0)	33.9 (93.0)	28.0 (82.4)	20.4 (68.7)	15.2 (59.4)	13.0 (55.4)	33.9 (93.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−0.6 (30.9)	0.5 (32.9)	5.6 (42.1)	11.8 (53.2)	16.6 (61.9)	20.7 (69.3)	22.9 (73.2)	21.4 (70.5)	16.9 (62.4)	9.9 (49.8)	4.9 (40.8)	0.3 (32.5)	10.9 (51.6)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−4.4 (24.1)	−3.8 (25.2)	−0.2 (31.6)	5.4 (41.7)	10.2 (50.4)	14.2 (57.6)	16.9 (62.4)	15.4 (59.7)	11.0 (51.8)	5.3 (41.5)	1.6 (34.9)	−3.3 (26.1)	5.6 (42.1)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−8.2 (17.2)	−8.2 (17.2)	−6.0 (21.2)	−0.9 (30.4)	3.8 (38.8)	7.7 (45.9)	10.8 (51.4)	9.5 (49.1)	5.1 (41.2)	0.8 (33.4)	−1.7 (28.9)	−7.0 (19.4)	0.4 (32.7)
Record low °C (°F)	−35.5 (−31.9)	−38.0 (−36.4)	−30.0 (−22.0)	−16.0 (3.2)	−6.7 (19.9)	−3.4 (25.9)	1.2 (34.2)	−1.9 (28.6)	−7.0 (19.4)	−14.5 (5.9)	−24.0 (−11.2)	−31.9 (−25.4)	−38.0 (−36.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	43.5 (1.71)	30.8 (1.21)	31.5 (1.24)	37.6 (1.48)	44.6 (1.76)	62.0 (2.44)	71.6 (2.82)	80.8 (3.18)	73.5 (2.89)	71.5 (2.81)	64.3 (2.53)	44.5 (1.75)	656.0 (25.83)
Source 1: [22]
Source 2: [23]

Climate data for Blomskog (southerly near Norwegian border) (2002-2015 temp averages, 1964-1990 precipitation, extremes since 1964)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	10.0 (50.0)	12.7 (54.9)	20.0 (68.0)	26.6 (79.9)	28.6 (83.5)	31.1 (88.0)	32.7 (90.9)	32.9 (91.2)	25.6 (78.1)	20.0 (68.0)	13.8 (56.8)	10.0 (50.0)	32.9 (91.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	0.0 (32.0)	0.4 (32.7)	4.7 (40.5)	10.8 (51.4)	15.3 (59.5)	19.2 (66.6)	21.5 (70.7)	20.2 (68.4)	15.9 (60.6)	9.5 (49.1)	4.8 (40.6)	0.9 (33.6)	10.2 (50.4)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−2.7 (27.1)	−2.6 (27.3)	0.4 (32.7)	5.5 (41.9)	10.0 (50.0)	13.7 (56.7)	16.5 (61.7)	15.5 (59.9)	11.9 (53.4)	6.1 (43.0)	2.2 (36.0)	−1.8 (28.8)	6.2 (43.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−5.3 (22.5)	−5.7 (21.7)	−3.8 (25.2)	0.2 (32.4)	4.7 (40.5)	8.3 (46.9)	11.5 (52.7)	10.8 (51.4)	6.9 (44.4)	2.7 (36.9)	−0.3 (31.5)	−4.6 (23.7)	2.1 (35.8)
Record low °C (°F)	−32.4 (−26.3)	−36.5 (−33.7)	−27.0 (−16.6)	−15.3 (4.5)	−5.6 (21.9)	−2.7 (27.1)	0.9 (33.6)	−2.0 (28.4)	−6.8 (19.8)	−14.2 (6.4)	−25.4 (−13.7)	−30.3 (−22.5)	−36.5 (−33.7)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	52.2 (2.06)	37.1 (1.46)	41.4 (1.63)	38.1 (1.50)	42.6 (1.68)	55.9 (2.20)	59.3 (2.33)	70.1 (2.76)	76.3 (3.00)	78.8 (3.10)	72.4 (2.85)	52.1 (2.05)	676.5 (26.63)
Source 1: SMHI Precipitation normals 1961-1990[24]
Source 2: SMHI average data 2002-2015[25]

Climate data for Gustavsfors (central Värmland) (2002-2015 temp averages, 1961-1990 precipitation, extremes since 1917)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	8.8 (47.8)	11.3 (52.3)	17.7 (63.9)	25.2 (77.4)	28.5 (83.3)	33.4 (92.1)	33.4 (92.1)	34.4 (93.9)	27.2 (81.0)	20.2 (68.4)	13.1 (55.6)	9.8 (49.6)	34.4 (93.9)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	−1.9 (28.6)	−0.6 (30.9)	3.4 (38.1)	10.7 (51.3)	15.4 (59.7)	19.6 (67.3)	22.0 (71.6)	20.3 (68.5)	15.6 (60.1)	8.5 (47.3)	3.4 (38.1)	−1.3 (29.7)	8.7 (47.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)	−5.8 (21.6)	−5.2 (22.6)	−2.0 (28.4)	4.3 (39.7)	9.0 (48.2)	12.9 (55.2)	15.8 (60.4)	14.4 (57.9)	9.8 (49.6)	4.3 (39.7)	0.2 (32.4)	−4.9 (23.2)	4.4 (39.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−9.6 (14.7)	−9.6 (14.7)	−7.4 (18.7)	−2.2 (28.0)	2.7 (36.9)	6.3 (43.3)	9.6 (49.3)	8.4 (47.1)	3.9 (39.0)	0.0 (32.0)	−3.0 (26.6)	−8.5 (16.7)	−0.7 (30.7)
Record low °C (°F)	−42.0 (−43.6)	−38.0 (−36.4)	−31.7 (−25.1)	−26.6 (−15.9)	−9.4 (15.1)	−3.9 (25.0)	−0.9 (30.4)	−3.4 (25.9)	−8.2 (17.2)	−17.6 (0.3)	−27.9 (−18.2)	−35.4 (−31.7)	−42.0 (−43.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	41.7 (1.64)	29.4 (1.16)	34.6 (1.36)	39.3 (1.55)	48.2 (1.90)	68.0 (2.68)	79.9 (3.15)	80.2 (3.16)	75.6 (2.98)	65.2 (2.57)	62.3 (2.45)	47.0 (1.85)	671.3 (26.43)
Source 1: SMHI Precipitation normals 1961-1990[26]
Source 2: SMHI average data Jan 2002 - Dec 2015[27]

Heraldry

The county of Värmland inherited its coat of arms from the province of the same name. When it is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board. Blazon: "Argent, an Eagle displayed Azure beaked, langued and membered Gules."

See also

• Duke of Värmland, a title for members of the royal family (see Duchies in Sweden)
  The title is presently held by Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland
• Egenäs