Region of Southern Denmark

Region of Southern Denmark Region Syddanmark (Danish) Region Süddänemark (German) Regiuun Syddanmark (North Frisian)
Region
Logo
Coordinates: 55°20′N 9°40′E / 55.333°N 9.667°E / 55.333; 9.667
Country	Denmark
Capital	Vejle
Largest city	Odense
Municipalities	22 Aabenraa Assens Billund Esbjerg Faaborg-Midtfyn Fanø Fredericia Haderslev Kerteminde Kolding Langeland Middelfart Nordfyn Nyborg Odense Svendborg Sønderborg Tønder Varde Vejen Vejle Ærø
Government
• Chairman	Stephanie Lose (V)
Area
• Total	12,191 km2 (4,707 sq mi)
Population  (April 2021)[1]
• Total	1,224,100
• Density	100/km2 (260/sq mi)
GDP [2]
• Total	€61.686 billion (2021)
• Per capita	€50,500 (2021)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 code	DK-83[3]
HDI (2019)	0.930[4] very high · 3rd of 5
Website	www.regionsyddanmark.dk

The Region of Southern Denmark^[5] (Danish: Region Syddanmark, pronounced [ʁekiˈoˀn ˈsyðˌtænmɑk]; German: Region Süddänemark, pronounced [ʁeˈɡi̯oːn zyːtˈdɛːnəˌmaʁk]; North Frisian: Regiuun Syddanmark) is an administrative region of Denmark established on Monday 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which abolished the traditional counties ("amter") and set up five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the number of municipalities from 271 before 1 January 2007 to 98. The reform diminished the power of the regional level dramatically in favor of the local level and the central government in Copenhagen. The Region of Southern Denmark has 22 municipalities. The reform was implemented in Denmark on 1 January 2007, although the merger of the Funish municipalities of Ærøskøbing and Marstal, being a part of the reform, was given the go-ahead to be implemented on Sunday 1 January 2006, one year before the main reform. It borders Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) to the south and Central Denmark Region to the north and is connected to Region Zealand via the Great Belt Fixed Link.

The regional capital is Vejle but Odense is the region's largest city and home to the main campus of the University of Southern Denmark with branch campuses in Esbjerg, Kolding and Sønderborg. The responsibilities of the regional administration include hospitals and regional public transport, which is divided between two operators, Sydtrafik on the mainland and Als, and Fynbus on Funen and adjacent islands. On the island municipalities of Ærø (since 2016)^[6][7] and Fanø (since 2018),^[8][9] the municipalities themselves are responsible for public transport.