Götaland (Swedish: [ˈjø̂ːtaˌland] ⓘ; also Gothia, Gothland,[2][3] Gothenland or Gautland) is one of three lands of Sweden and comprises ten provinces.

Geographically it is located in the south of Sweden, bounded to the north by Svealand, with the deep woods of Tiveden, Tylöskog and Kolmården marking the border.

The modern state of Sweden started forming when some provinces of Götaland gradually became more and more politically intertwined with those of Svealand.

The province of Småland, with the historically important city Kalmar on its coast, was sparsely populated and the status of the Baltic island Gotland varied during the Middle Ages.

Bohuslän became Swedish first during the 17th century after being taken from Norway, around the same time as Denmark lost Scania, Halland and Blekinge to Sweden.

[6] Västergötland appears in medieval Icelandic and Norwegian sources as Gautland (Götland), a form which is not etymologically identical to Götaland.

In Sögubrot af Nokkrum for instance, Kolmården between Svealand and Östergötland is described as the border between Sweden and Ostrogothia (...Kolmerkr, er skilr Svíþjóð ok Eystra-Gautland...), and in Hervarar saga, King Ingold I rides to Sweden through Östergötland: Ingi konungr fór með hirð sína ok sveit nokkura ok hafði lítinn her.

In 1384 Bo Jonsson (Grip) stated in his will that the kingdom consisted of Swerige (Sweden, i.e. Svealand), Österland (i.e. Finland) and Göthaland (i.e. Götaland, as of the 1384 borders).

Småland was full of deep forests, especially in the south, and was of lesser importance to Götaland compared to the agricultural areas in Västergötland and Östergötland.

Today, Götaland has no administrative function and is thus an unofficial entity, but it is generally considered to be one of three Swedish lands or parts.