The province is granted a considerable level of self-government, consisting of a large range of exclusive legislative and executive powers and a fiscal regime that allows it to retain 90% of revenue, while remaining a net contributor to the national budget.

[6] The other members are the Austrian federal state Tyrol to the north and east, and the Italian autonomous province of Trento to the south.

German and Ladin speakers usually refer to the area as Südtirol; the Italian equivalent Sudtirolo (sometimes parsed Sud Tirolo[11]) is becoming increasingly common.

The subsequent alliance between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini declared that South Tyrol would not follow the destiny of Austria, which had been annexed by Nazi Germany.

Instead the dictators agreed that the German-speaking population be transferred to German-ruled territory or dispersed around Italy, but the outbreak of the Second World War prevented them from fully carrying out their plans.

[22][23] In 1943, when the Italian government signed an armistice with the Allies, the region was occupied by Nazi Germany, which reorganised it as the Operation Zone of the Alpine Foothills and put it under the administration of Gauleiter Franz Hofer.

After the war, the Allies decided that the province would remain a part of Italy, under the condition that the German-speaking population be granted a significant level of self-government.

Alcide De Gasperi, Italy's prime minister, a native of Trentino, wanted to extend the autonomy to his fellow citizens.

[26] The extensive self-government[24] provided by the current institutional framework has been advanced as a model for settling interethnic disputes and for the successful protection of linguistic minorities.

[27] This is among the reasons why the Ladin municipalities of Cortina d'Ampezzo/Anpezo, Livinallongo del Col di Lana/Fodom and Colle Santa Lucia/Col have asked in a referendum to be detached from Veneto and reannexed to the province, from which they were separated under the fascist government.

The province is bordered by Austria to the east and north, specifically by the Austrian federal states Tyrol and Salzburg, and by the Swiss canton of Graubünden to the west.

The alpine valleys between 900 and 1,400 metres (3,000 and 4,600 ft), with a typically humid continental climate — Dfb, covering the largest part of the province.

Among the best known are the Bletterbach Gorge, a 12 km (7½ mile) long canyon in the municipality of Aldein, and the Ritten Earth Pyramids, which are the largest in Europe with a height of up to 30 metres (98 ft).

The extensive mountain landscapes, about 34% of the total area of South Tyrol, are alpine pastures (including the 57 square kilometres (22 sq mi) of the great Alpe di Siusi).

The most important and populated side valleys are (from west to east) Sulden, Schnals, Ulten, Passeier, Ridnaun, the Sarntal, Pfitsch, Gröden, the Gadertal, the Tauferer Ahrntal and Antholz.

On the valley slopes, sub-Mediterranean mixed deciduous forests are found up to 800 or 900 metres (2,600 or 3,000 ft) altitude, characterized mainly by manna ash, hop hornbeam, hackberry, sweet chestnut and downy oak.

The executive powers are attributed to the government (German: Landesregierung; Italian: Giunta Provinciale) headed by the Landeshauptmann Arno Kompatscher.

A fiscal regime allows the province to retain a large part of most levied taxes, in order to execute and administer its competences.

Residents are employed in a variety of sectors, from agriculture — the province is a large producer of apples, and its South Tyrol wine are also renowned — to industry to services, especially tourism.

[45] South Tyrol is home to numerous mechanical engineering companies, some of which are the global market leaders in their sectors: the Leitner Group that specializes in cable cars and wind energy, TechnoAlpin AG, which is the global market leader in snow-making technology and the snow groomer company Prinoth.

Along with the autonomous Trentino (Tn) and Aosta Valley (Ao), South Tyrol is allowed to surmount its license plates with its coat of arms.

[48] To reach a fair allocation of jobs in public service a system called ethnic proportion (Italian: proporzionale etnica, German: ethnischer Proporz) has been established.

Every ten years, when the general census of population takes place, each Italian citizen has to declare the linguistic group to which they belong or want to be aggregated to.

The Italian-speaking population lives mainly around the provincial capital Bolzano, where they are the majority (74.7% of the inhabitants), and partially a result of Benito Mussolini's policy of Italianisation after he took power in 1922, when he encouraged immigration from the rest of Italy.

The eight comuni with Ladin majorities are: La Val, Badia, Corvara, Mareo, San Martin de Tor, Santa Cristina Gherdëina, Sëlva, Urtijëi.

Alpine Transhumance (from German Almabtrieb), is a farm practice: every year, between September and October, the livestock that stayed on the high pastures is brought back to the valley, with traditional music and dances.

[citation needed] Award-winning electronic music producer Giorgio Moroder was born and raised in South Tyrol in a mixed Italian, German and Ladin-speaking environment.

Other successful South Tyrolese include luger Armin Zöggeler, figure skater Carolina Kostner, skier Isolde Kostner, luge and bobsleigh medallist Gerda Weissensteiner, tennis players Andreas Seppi and Jannik Sinner, and former team principal of Haas F1 Team in the FIA Formula One World Championship Guenther Steiner.

HC Interspar Bolzano-Bozen Foxes are one of Italy's most successful ice hockey teams, while the most important football club in South Tyrol is FC Südtirol, which won its first-ever promotion to Serie B in 2022.

The province is famous worldwide for its mountain climbing opportunities, while in winter it is home to a number of popular ski resorts including Val Gardena, Alta Badia and Seiser Alm.