57 300 people live year round on the island, a number that changes dramatically during the summer as Gotland is one of Sweden’s most popular summer destinations. Beautiful beaches, rich history and a welcoming climate (Gotland is usually one of the sunniest places in Sweden) contribute to the island’s popularity.

Visby, with 24 000 habitants, was one of the biggest and most important trading towns of the Baltic region in medieval times. Visby has the most well preserved medieval curtain wall of all of northern Europe, and the narrow alleys in the old town are lined with buildings and church ruins that call to mind Visby’s age of greatness in the 13th century. The Hanseatic town of Visby is a World Heritage since 1995.

Gotland municipality was founded in 1971 through a merger between several small municipalities on the island.

In 2011 Gotland became a separate region.

Region Gotland has three main tasks: municipal operations, county council operations and regional development.

The new municipality took over the county council’s tasks, such as healthcare, residential college for adult education and public transport.

Gotland Municipality is also a collaborative organisation in which the locally elected politicians are responsible for regional development. In 2011 Gotland Municipality changed it's name to Region Gotland.