The Aland Islands form an archipelago at the entrance of the Gulf of Bothnia in the Baltic Sea belonging to Finland. It is autonomous, demilitarized and is the only monolingual Swedish-speaking region in Finland.
In 1919, Finland took the islands, after the withdrawal of the last German soldiers who occupied it. The inhabitants of Aland sought incorporation with Sweden; however, they were unsuccessful. The case was resolved in the League of Nations, where kit was decided to grant autonomy to the Aland Islands, beginning in 1922. Aland has its own Parliament, with a Prime Minister, ministerial portfolios and two representatives in the Nordic Council, the same as Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Legally, Aland is politically neutral, is completely demilitarized and its residents are exempt from obligatory military service in Finland’s Defense Forces.
Aland has its own flag, has issued its own postage stamps since 1984 and directs its own police force.