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The Åland Islands occupy a position of strategic importance, as they command one of the entrances to the port of Stockholm, as well as the approaches to the Gulf of Bothnia, in addition to being situated near the Gulf of Finland. The Åland archipelago includes nearly three hundred habitable islands, of which about eighty are inhabited; the remainder are merely some 6,200 skerries and desolate rocks. The archipelago is connected to Åboland archipelago in the east (Finnish: Turunmaan saaristo, Swedish: Åbolands skärgård)—the archipelago adjacent to the southwest coast of Finland. Together they form the Archipelago Sea. To the West from Åland is the Sea of Åland and to the North is the Bothnian Sea.
The surface of the islands is generally rocky and the soil thin due to glacial stripping at the end of the most recent ice age. The islands also contain many meadows that are home to many different kinds of insects, such as the Glanville fritillary butterfly. There are several harbours.
The islands' landmass occupies a total area of 1,527 square kilometres (590 sq mi). Ninety percent of the population live on Fasta Åland, which is also the site of the capital town of Mariehamn. Fasta Åland is the largest island in the archipelago. Its area is difficult to estimate due to its irregular shape and coastline, but estimates range from 740 square kilometres to 879 square kilometres to over 1,010 square kilometres, depending on what is included or excluded.
During the Åland Islands dispute, the parties sought support from different maps of the islands. On the Swedish map, the most densely populated main island dominated, and many skerries were left out. On the Finnish map, many smaller islands or skerries were, for technical reasons, given a slightly exaggerated size. The Swedish map made the islands appear to be closer to the mainland of Sweden than to Finland; the Finnish map stressed the continuity of the archipelago between the main island and mainland Finland, while a greater gap appeared between the islands and the archipelago on the Swedish side. One consequence is the often repeated number of "over 6,000" skerries that was given authority by the outcome of the arbitration.[citation needed]
[Local presence]
- Local presence required ? No.
[Registration]
- What is the registration terms allowed? From 1, 3 or 5 years.
- How long does registration typically take? Up to 24 hours.
- Can registrants be both individuals and legal entities? Yes.
[Renewal]
- Renewal automatic ? You need to send us instructions to renew it before the expiration date.
- Late renewal possible? Until when? Yes, 30 days.
- Restoration possible? No
- Early deletion possible? Yes, but refunds not possible, full period must be paid for.
[Other rules]
- Provide IDN registration? No.
[Transfer]
- Transfer lock available ? No.
- How to transfer? You need to provide us with the Authcode : E-mail current registrar asking for registrar transfer code. Send transfer code to us within 5 days.
- Transfer add 1 year ? Yes, unless otherwise agreed.
[Owner Change]
- How to change the owner? No document required. Request owner transfer code from registrar by e-mail. Send code to new owner. New owner sends code back to us as confirmation of the owner change.