[5] On 31 December 1951 there were 93 local government units on the island of Gotland, among them one city (Visby), one market town (Slite), one county council and a lot of rural municipalities, many of them with fewer than 100 inhabitants.

The first of the two nationwide local government reforms in Sweden during the 20th century was implemented on 1 January 1952.

After ten years it was clear that this reform had not been radical enough and the work began preparing for the next one.

The results of the Sweden Democrats were not listed at a municipal level by the SCB between 1988 and 1998 due to the party's small size at the time.

The municipality coordinates the annual Almedalen Week (Almedalsveckan), an important meetingplace for everyone involved in Swedish politics.

During the week, representatives from the political parties in the Riksdag take turns to hold speeches in the Almedalen park in Visby.