| Official Name: | Blekinge County |
| Settlement Type: | County of Sweden |
| Flag Size: | 100px |
| Blank Emblem Type: | |
| Blank Emblem Size: | 150px |
| Image Map1: | Sweden Blekinge location map.svg |
| Map Caption1: | Location map of Blekinge County in Sweden |
| Coordinates: | 56.2433°N 14.3811°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Sweden |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | 1683 |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Karlskrona |
| Parts Type: | Municipalities |
| Parts: | 5 |
| P1: | Karlshamn |
| P2: | Karlskrona |
| P3: | Olofström |
| P4: | Ronneby |
| P5: | Sölvesborg |
| Leader Title: | Governor |
| Leader Name: | Ulrica Messing |
| Leader Title1: | Council |
| Leader Name1: | Landstinget Blekinge |
| Area Total Km2: | 3039.4 |
| Population As Of: | 31 December 2023 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 157,973 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | GDP |
| Demographics1 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics1 Info1: | SEK 53 billion €5.649 billion (2015) |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Iso Code: | SE-K |
| Blank Name Sec2: | NUTS Region |
Blekinge County (sv|Blekinge län) is a county or län in the south of Sweden. It borders the Counties of Skåne, Kronoberg, Kalmar and the Baltic Sea. The capital is Karlskrona. It is the smallest of the present administrative counties of Sweden, covering only 0,7% of the total area of the country. Princess Adrienne, the daughter of Princess Madeleine, is Duchess of Blekinge.
Blekinge, the historical province Blekinge, has virtually the same boundaries as the current administrative entity, Blekinge County.
Blekinge County was a part of Kalmar County between 1680 and 1683, due to the foundation of the naval base at Karlskrona.
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 and 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 Blekinge Governors.
The County of Blekinge inherited its coat of arms from the province of Blekinge. When it is shown with a royal crown it represents the County Administrative Board.
See main article: Blekinge County Council. Blekinge county council, or Region Blekinge, is a municipal entity that is independent of, but coterminous with, the County Administrative Board. Its main responsibilities lie in health care and public transportation issues for the county.
The table details all Riksdag election results of Blekinge 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 | % | Votes | V | S | MP | C | L | KD | M | SD | NyD | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970[3] | 85.4 | 95,576 | 4.2 | 50.2 | 18.7 | 15.2 | 1.6 | 9.9 | ||||
| 1973[4] | 90.8 | 98,425 | 4.1 | 49.6 | 22.9 | 9.4 | 1.8 | 12.0 | ||||
| 1976[5] | 92.0 | 103,248 | 3.3 | 49.5 | 22.0 | 10.5 | 1.5 | 12.6 | ||||
| 1979[6] | 91.2 | 103,037 | 3.9 | 49.9 | 16.5 | 11.3 | 1.4 | 16.6 | ||||
| 1982[7] | 91.5 | 103,262 | 4.0 | 52.7 | 1.2 | 15.6 | 5.6 | 1.9 | 18.8 | |||
| 1985[8] | 89.9 | 102,751 | 4.4 | 51.6 | 1.3 | 12.4 | 12.4 | 17.6 | ||||
| 1988[9] | 86.0 | 98,424 | 4.8 | 52.2 | 5.3 | 11.3 | 9.6 | 2.8 | 13.8 | |||
| 1991[10] | 87.5 | 99,208 | 4.1 | 46.0 | 2.8 | 9.0 | 7.5 | 6.2 | 18.1 | 4.6 | ||
| 1994[11] | 87.6 | 100,235 | 6.5 | 52.9 | 4.4 | 7.6 | 5.2 | 3.3 | 18.5 | 1.1 | ||
| 1998[12] | 82.3 | 93,756 | 13.1 | 42.4 | 3.9 | 5.3 | 3.6 | 11.0 | 19.2 | |||
| 2002[13] | 82.3 | 94,558 | 8.3 | 45.7 | 3.8 | 6.1 | 11.1 | 8.8 | 13.2 | 2.8 | ||
| 2006[14] | 83.1 | 95,781 | 5.4 | 42.1 | 3.7 | 7.2 | 6.4 | 5.2 | 22.0 | 6.2 | ||
| 2010[15] | 85.8 | 100,162 | 5.1 | 36.5 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 5.4 | 4.0 | 27.3 | 9.8 | ||
| 2014[16] | 86.8 | 102,225 | 4.7 | 37.2 | 4.9 | 5.7 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 19.4 | 18.5 | ||
| 2018[17] | 88.5 | 104,514 | 5.5 | 31.4 | 2.9 | 6.8 | 4.0 | 5.7 | 17.3 | 25.2 | ||
| 2022[18] | 86.1 | 104,846 | 4.4 | 31.1 | 2.9 | 4.8 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 17.9 | 28.5 |
See main article: List of governors of Blekinge County.
The current governor of Blekinge County is Swedish Social Democratic Party politician Ulrica Messing, appointed on the 1st of October 2021.
Population as of 2009-12-31Blekinge county total 152 591, 1.6% of the nation.
The five most populous localities of Blekinge County in 2020:[19]
| Locality | Population | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 36,904 | ||
| 2 | 20,228 | ||
| 3 | 12,803 | ||
| 4 | 8,832 | ||
| 5 | 7,777 |
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.[20] The chart lists election years and the last year on record alone.
| Location | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2018 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karlshamn | 7.6 | 9.2 | 10.9 | 13.6 | 17.1 | 17.8 |
| Karlskrona | 7.1 | 9.0 | 12.5 | 13.3 | 16.2 | 16.5 |
| Olofström | 21.9 | 22.3 | 23.4 | 26.6 | 31.2 | 31.4 |
| Ronneby | 8.4 | 10.1 | 12.6 | 14.8 | 21.4 | 21.9 |
| Sölvesborg | 9.3 | 10.5 | 11.9 | 13.2 | 15.3 | 15.2 |
| Total | 9.0 | 10.6 | 13.0 | 14.8 | 18.5 | 18.9 |
| align=left colspan=7 | Source: SCB |