Åmål Municipality

Åmål Municipality
Åmåls kommun
Åmål town hall
Åmål town hall
Coat of arms of Åmål Municipality
Coordinates: 59°03′N 12°42′E / 59.050°N 12.700°E / 59.050; 12.700
CountrySweden
CountyVästra Götaland County
SeatÅmål
Area
[1]
 • Total889.71 km2 (343.52 sq mi)
 • Land481.12 km2 (185.76 sq mi)
 • Water408.59 km2 (157.76 sq mi)
 Area as of 1 January 2014.
Population
 (31 December 2023)[2]
 • Total12,006
 • Density13/km2 (35/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeSE
ProvinceDalsland
Municipal code1492
Websitewww.amal.se

Åmål Municipality (Åmåls kommun) is a municipality in Västra Götaland County in western Sweden. Its seat is located in the city of Åmål.

The present municipality was created in 1971 through the amalgamation of the former City of Åmål and the former rural municipality of Tössbo (the latter created in 1952).

Geography and natural resources

The city of Åmål is located in a scenic bay of Lake Vänern, the largest lake in Sweden. The municipality has a small archipelago with some 30 islands, called Tösse skärgård, to the south of the city. The islands are protected as a nature preserve; many of the islands are wooded, but a few are used for farming. They provide habitat for a number of bird species, including grey heron, osprey, mallard, goldeneye, goosander, the black-throated diver and hobby in the bays; on the cobs are colonies of herring gull, and the common tern; while on the fir-covered islands are capercaillie, woodpeckers and other birds.

Population centers in the municipality include Åmål, Fengersfors, and Tösse.

Demographics

This is a demographic table based on Åmål Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics.[3]

In total there were 12,302 residents, including 9,585 Swedish citizens of voting age.[3] 46.3% voted for the left coalition and 52.5% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.

Economy

Fishing was once a major industry, as indicated by the fish appearing on the bottom of the coat of arms. Logging was also of importance. In recent years tourism, especially activities connected to the use of the lake, have increased.

Sister cities

Åmål has seven twin towns:

Finland Loimaa, Finland
Estonia Türi, Estonia
Norway Drøbak, Norway
Denmark Grenaa, Denmark
Germany Gadebusch, Germany
United States De Pere, Wi, United States
Bulgaria Kubrat, Bulgaria

References

  1. ^ "Statistiska centralbyrån, Kommunarealer den 1 januari 2014" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. 2014-01-01. Archived from the original (Microsoft Excel) on 2016-09-27. Retrieved 2014-04-18.
  2. ^ "Folkmängd och befolkningsförändringar - Kvartal 4, 2023" (in Swedish). Statistics Sweden. February 22, 2024. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c "Valresultat 2022 för Åmål i riksdagsvalet" (in Swedish). SVT. 11 September 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2024.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Åmål_Municipality&oldid=1197504372"