[4][5] The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based.

Vestland is one of two counties in Norway that have Nynorsk as their official written language form.

[6] Vestland was created on 1 January 2020, when the former counties of Hordaland and Sogn og Fjordane were merged.

The Bergenhus len was headquartered in Bergen and encompassed much of western and northern Norway including Firdafylke, Sygnafylke, Hordafylke, and Sunnmørafylke (in the present day Møre og Romsdal county).

On 1 January 1919, Nordre Bergenhus amt was renamed Sogn og Fjordane fylke and Søndre Bergenhus amt was renamed Hordaland fylke during a period of time when many location names in Norway were changed.

In 1972, the neighbouring municipalities of Arna, Fana, Laksevåg and Åsane were annexed into the city of Bergen.

Cruise ships visit Vestland all summer because of the unique vistas of high mountains and deep blue fjords.

Because of the steep rise in elevation and fjords cutting through the terrain, the amount of precipitation is very high.

Low pressure systems come in from the west and meet the mountains (a phenomenon known as orographic lifting) and cause rain and snowfall.

Lars Sponheim is the current County Governor of Vestland and this office is based in Hermansverk.