Schleswig-Holstein
URL: https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/places/de-schleswig-holstein.html

Schleswig-Holstein lies between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, has its capital in Kiel, and covers around 15,800 km² with about 2.91 million inhabitants (2022 census).

## Overview

Schleswig-Holstein lies in northern Germany between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea and borders Denmark. The state capital is Kiel. The state covers around 15,800 km² and has about 2.91 million inhabitants (2022 census). Its ISO-3166-2 code is DE-SH. Schleswig-Holstein was founded in 1946 as a state in the British occupation zone.

## Administrative divisions

Schleswig-Holstein has never had government regions. Below the state level there are 11 districts (in SH the rural districts are called "Kreise") and 4 urban districts (Flensburg, Kiel, Lübeck, Neumünster).

## Major cities

- Kiel (around 300,000 inhabitants)
- Lübeck (around 220,000 inhabitants)
- Flensburg (around 90,000 inhabitants)
- Neumünster (around 80,000 inhabitants)

## Transport

Kiel and Lübeck are important Baltic Sea ports with ferry connections to Scandinavia; the A 7 connects the state with Hamburg and Denmark, and the planned Fehmarnbelt fixed link will significantly shorten the connection to Denmark.

## Economy

Important are the maritime economy and shipbuilding, tourism on the North Sea and Baltic Sea, renewable energies (wind power) as well as agriculture and the food industry.

Updated: 2026-10-28

Tags:
- 行政区划 https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/tags/admin-division.html

Mentioned in:
- Administrative divisions of Germany https://knowledge.ivjn.us/en/concepts/germany-admin-divisions.html

Sources:
- Schleswig-Holstein — Wikipedia https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein abgerufen 2026-10-28