It was created on 1 January 1999 out of the former Poznań, Kalisz, Konin, Piła and Leszno Voivodeships, pursuant to the Polish local government reforms adopted in 1998. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland or Wielkopolska. The modern province includes most of this historic region, except for some south-western parts.

Greater Poland Voivodeship is second in area and third in population among Poland's sixteen voivodeships, with an area of 29,826 square kilometres (11,516 sq mi) and a population of close to 3.4 million. Its capital city is PoznaÅ„; other important cities include Kalisz, Konin, PiÅ‚a, Ostrów Wielkopolski and Gniezno (an early capital of Poland). It is bordered by seven other voivodeships: West Pomeranian to the north-west, Pomeranian to the north, Kuyavian-Pomeranian to the north-east, Łódź to the south-east, Opole to the south, Lower Silesian to the south-west and Lubusz to the west.

Greater Poland Voivodeship and the city of Poznań have international twinning arrangements with the English county of Nottinghamshire.