Development of Aland Islands: major trends and challenges
The article considers the key conditions and factors of the development of the Aland Islands, describes main international legal regulations determining the current status of the islands, identifies the trends in the structure of economic activities, analyzes processes of population change by regions and communes, as well as migration flows. The article also characterizes legal framework for socioeconomic development of this Finnish region. It is argued that the key factor behind modern welfare of the islands is not their political status or institutional makeup, but rather their economic and geographical position, the 'concentration effect', and the population influx. It is stressed that wide regional disparities observed within such a small territory are indicative of the spatial structure of society development — primarily under the influence of natural features, which are nearly impossible to disregard.