Helsinki metropolitan area

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Helsinki metropolitan area
Helsingin seutu Helsingforsregionen
Metropolitan area
Helsingin ydinkeskustaa ja Mannerheimintien alkupaata Erottajan paloaseman tornista (cropped).jpg
Helsinki skyline
A map of the Capital region and Greater Helsinki in Finland.svg
CountryFinland
Region Uusimaa
Sub-region Helsinki sub-region
Capital area Helsinki capital region
Seat Helsinki
Area
  Land3,698.99 km2 (1,428.19 sq mi)
Population
 (2024-08-31)
  Total1,598,667
  Density432.2/km2 (1,119/sq mi)
GDP
[1]
  Metro€105.831 billion (2022)
Website Helsinki Region Trends

Helsinki metropolitan area (Finnish : Helsingin seutu, Swedish : Helsingforsregionen) or Greater Helsinki (Finnish : Suur-Helsinki, Swedish : Storhelsingfors) is the metropolitan area around Helsinki, the capital city of Finland. It also includes the smaller capital region. The terms Helsinki metropolitan area, Greater Helsinki, Capital region and the other terms used are not fixed and may vary in different contexts.

Contents

The metropolitan region is the largest urbanised area in the country with a population of approximately 1.6 million (2024) [2] and is by far the most important economic, cultural, and scientific region of Finland. Five of Finland's 14 universities, [note 1] and six universities of applied sciences are located in the metropolitan area, as are most of the headquarters of major companies and government institutions. Finland's main airline hub and airport, Helsinki Airport, is located in the city of Vantaa. [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

These regions are located in the south of Finland, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, which is part of the Baltic Sea. They are part of the region of Uusimaa.

Terminology

Capital Region

In the strictest sense, the Finnish capital region consists of four municipalities with city title, Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen. It has a population of about 1.26 million. This area is most often called the Capital region in English, Pääkaupunkiseutu in Finnish, and Huvudstadsregionen in Swedish, although the use of the terms is not especially consistent. The vast majority of the inhabitants live in the urban areas of the cities, but within the boundaries of these cities there are also suburban and rural areas.

Helsinki metropolitan area

The Helsinki metropolitan area includes around ten additional municipalities that can be considered commuter towns and exurbs of Helsinki. These municipalities are Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Nurmijärvi, Sipoo, Tuusula, Mäntsälä, Pornainen and Vihti, bringing the total population to about 1.6 million. All of the municipalities belong to the region of Uusimaa. Of these, Järvenpää, Kerava, Tuusula, Nurmijärvi, Sipoo, Kirkkonummi, Mäntsälä and Vihti have parts of the urban area within them. Additionally, the cities of Porvoo, Lohja, Karkkila and to some extent Riihimäki, which have very close ties, motorway and, in the case of Riihimäki, commuter train accesses, and are fairly close to the capital, are nowadays often included in regional planning, which raises the total population to about 1.73 million.

Helsinki sub-region

Helsinki metropolitan area differs from the Helsinki sub-region (Finnish : Helsingin seutukunta), which also includes the municipalities of Karkkila, Lohja and Siuntio. The Helsinki sub-region is used for statistical purposes. It is based on cooperation between municipalities and the commuting area. The sub-region has a population of about 1.66 million.

Helsinki Region Cooperation Assembly

The Helsinki Region Cooperation Assembly is a cooperative body of the municipalities of the Helsinki Region, whose members are the leading elected representatives of the municipalities. Seventeen municipalities participate in cooperation in the Helsinki Region: [9]

The common goal of the participating municipalities is to develop cooperation and advocacy. The cooperation is based on the common vision of the municipalities in the Helsinki region regarding the challenges facing the region and the common will to contribute to the development of the region. [9]

Other definitions

As a part of the "Urban audit" project, Eurostat has attempted to standardise the concept of a 'metropolitan area'. According to this study the Metropolitan area of Helsinki consists of the kernel of Helsinki: Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. The Helsinki Larger Urban Area (Helsingin seutu in Finnish) consists of 12 cities and municipalities: the kernel of Helsinki and the aforementioned eight municipalities. [10]

Statistics Finland define the commuter belt of Helsinki (Helsingin työssäkäyntialue, Helsingfors pendlingsområde) to include a total of 27 municipalities and a population of 1.79 million. [11] [12] In addition to that, there are people from as far as Lahti and even Tampere commuting to Helsinki daily.

Statistics Finland also defines the Helsinki urban area according to the official Finnish definion of an urban area (taajama in Finnish). Urban areas in Finland are defined as inhabited areas of at least 200 people with a maximum distance of 200 metres (660 ft) between buildings. [13] [14] The Helsinki urban area is the largest of its kind in Finland, and encompasses land throughout metropolitan area, with notable gaps around forests and other less-densely populated areas.

The commuter towns of Lohja and Porvoo are not usually included to the Helsinki metropolitan area, though, if they were (considering their proximity to Helsinki and their high commuting rate), they would raise the overall population almost two million people. Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Nurmijärvi, Tuusula, Mäntsälä and Pornainen, which have been designated as municipalities in Central Uusimaa in recent decades, have shown clear population growth due to their urban but also loose rural environment. These are also known as "Kuuma-kunnat" (literally means "hot municipalities"). [15]

Municipalities

Coat of
arms
MunicipalityPopulationLand area
(km2)
Density
(/km2)
Finnish
speakers
Swedish
speakers
Other
speakers
Espoo.vaakuna.svg Espoo 318,5073121,02069 %6 %23 %
Helsinki.vaakuna.svg Helsinki 681,8022143,18074 %5 %19 %
Hyvinkaa.vaakuna.svg Hyvinkää 47,03532314691 %1 %8 %
Jarvenpaa.vaakuna.svg Järvenpää 46,804381,24790 %1 %8 %
Kauniainen.vaakuna.svg Kauniainen 10,23861,73859 %31 %11 %
Kerava.vaakuna.svg Kerava 38,355311,25282 %1 %16 %
Kirkkonummi.vaakuna.svg Kirkkonummi 41,49836711373 %15 %12 %
Mantsala.vaakuna.svg Mäntsälä 20,8925813694 %1 %5 %
Nurmijarvi.vaakuna.svg Nurmijärvi 44,91736212491 %1 %8 %
Pornainen.vaakuna.svg Pornainen 4,9591473494 %2 %4 %
Sipoo.vaakuna.svg Sipoo 22,8403406764 %28 %7 %
Tuusula.vaakuna.svg Tuusula 42,00022019189 %1 %8 %
Vantaa.vaakuna.svg Vantaa 250,0732381,04970 %2 %27 %
Vihti.vaakuna.svg Vihti 28,7475225592 %2 %7 %
Total1,598,6673,699432.276 %5 %19 %

Economy

In 2020 Helsinki's gross metropolitan product was €94.2 billion (US$100 billion). This puts Helsinki in 23rd place among cities in European Union. [16]

See also

Notes

  1. These are Aalto University, the University of Helsinki, the University of the Arts Helsinki, the Hanken School of Economics, and the National Defence University.
  2. The official Finnish and Swedish conventions use the term "capital" (Finnish : pääkaupunkiseudun kaupungit, Swedish : huvudstadsregionens städer), although the unofficial English translation uses the term "metropolitan".

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council</span>

The Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council was a co-operation agency operating in the Helsinki metropolitan area, now replaced by HSL and HSY. The organisation had a few responsibilities, most notably regional public transport and waste management. It was subordinated to the city councils of the four participating cities. Furthermore, transport cooperation also included neighboring municipalities of Kerava and Kirkkonummi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Finland Province</span> Place in Finland

Southern Finland was a province of Finland from 1997 to 2009. It bordered the provinces of Western Finland and Eastern Finland. It also bordered the Gulf of Finland and Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nurmijärvi</span> Municipality in Uusimaa, Finland

Nurmijärvi is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Nurmijärvi is situated in the Uusimaa region. The population of Nurmijärvi is approximately 45,000. It is the 26th most populous municipality in Finland and the most populous municipality without city status. Nurmijärvi is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area, which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sipoo</span> Municipality in Uusimaa, Finland

Sipoo is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. The municipality has a population of 22,840 (31 August 2024) and covers an area of 698.60 square kilometres (269.73 sq mi) of which 358.97 km2 (138.60 sq mi) is water. The population density is 67.24 inhabitants per square kilometre (174.2/sq mi). The administrative center of the municipality is Nikkilä, which is located 34 kilometres (21 mi) northeast of the center of Helsinki. Another significant urban area is Söderkulla, located in the southern part of the municipality.

The former Province of Southern Finland in Finland was divided into six regions, 16 sub-regions, and 88 municipalities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Municipalities of Uusimaa</span> List of municipalities in Uusimaa-region in Finland

The 26 municipalities of the Uusimaa Region in Finland are divided between four sub-regions:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uusimaa</span> Region of Finland

Uusimaa is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Southwest Finland, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme), and Kymenlaakso. Finland's capital and largest city, Helsinki, along with the surrounding metropolitan area, are both contained in the region, and Uusimaa is Finland's most populous region. The population of Uusimaa is 1,734,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Järvenpää</span> Town in Uusimaa, Finland

Järvenpää is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Järvenpää is situated in the centre of the Uusimaa region. The population of Järvenpää is approximately 47,000. It is the 24th most populous municipality in Finland. Järvenpää is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kerava</span> Town in Uusimaa, Finland

Kerava is a town in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Kerava is situated in the centre of the Uusimaa region. The population of Kerava is approximately 38,000. It is the 30th most populous municipality in Finland. Kerava is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuusula</span> Municipality in Uusimaa, Finland

Tuusula is a municipality in Finland, located in the southern interior of the country. Tuusula is situated in the centre of the Uusimaa region. The population of Tuusula is approximately 42,000. It is the 27th most populous municipality in Finland and the second most populous municipality without city status after Nurmijärvi. Tuusula is part of the Helsinki metropolitan area, which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public transport in Helsinki</span>

Public transport in Helsinki consists of bus, tram, metro, local railway and ferry services. The system is managed by the Helsinki Regional Transport Authority and covers Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa and the outlying Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Sipoo and Tuusula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Päijänne Water Tunnel</span>

The Päijänne Water Tunnel is a water tunnel located in Southern Finland. At 120 kilometers (75 mi), it is the second-longest tunnel in the world, running at a depth of 30–100 metres (100–330 ft) in the bedrock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uusimaa Province</span> Former province of Finland

The Province of Uusimaa was a province of Finland from 1831 to 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki Regional Transport Authority</span> Public transportation authority in Finland

The Helsinki Regional Transport Authority is the inter-municipal authority that maintains the public transportation network of the nine municipalities of Greater Helsinki, Finland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Names of places in Finland in Finnish and in Swedish</span>

Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. Many places in the country have different names in Finnish and Swedish, both being official endonyms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korso</span> City District in Finland

Korso is a district and major region in Helsinki metropolitan area, in northeastern Vantaa, Finland. The district has 7,402 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Finnish national road 25</span> Road in Finland

The Finnish national road 25 is the main route between the major cities of Hanko and Hyvinkää in southern Finland. It runs from Tulliniemi in Hanko to the Maisala in Mäntsälä, where it continues to Porvoo as the 2nd class main road 55. Together with the aforementioned road, it forms the Helsinki Metropolitan Circuit and is often referred to as the outer beltway of the Greater Helsinki or also known as the Ring V.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hyvinkää</span> 1918 battle of the Finnish Civil War

The Battle of Hyvinkää was fought during the Finnish Civil War on 19-21 April 1918, when troops from the German Baltic Sea Division marching from Helsinki conquered the locality from the Reds who had held it for three months. The Germans attacked Hyvinkää from three directions; from the direction of Klaukkala and Nurmijärvi via the Hanko railway line and along the Tuusula highway and mainline. The main defense positions of the Reds were along the Hanko track in Hyvinkäänkylä, after which fierce battles took place in the station area. After the well-taken invasion, a bloody follow-up began, with Whites executing about 150 Reds, actual or suspected, during May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buses in Helsinki</span> Overview of bus services in Helsinki

Local and regional bus services are a large part of public transport in the Helsinki region. HSL bus services include internal services in Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa, Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Sipoo, Siuntio and Tuusula and regional services between them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helsinki capital region</span> Capital region of Finland

The Helsinki capital region is the area formed by the cities of Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen and Vantaa in Finland. The area is limited around Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The area is located in the southern part of Finland on the shores of the Gulf of Finland and is an important growth centre with a population of 1.26 million.

References

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  11. Statistics Finland; The correspondence table between municipalities and travel-to-work areas in 2023
  12. National Land Survey of Finland; pdf-file 'Pinta-alatilasto', downloadable from page. Archived 2011-05-20 at archive.today Areas of municipalities in Finland. Accessed on 2008-09-08.
  13. "Taajamissa asuu 84 prosenttia väestöstä". Statistics Finland (in Finnish). 15 January 2008. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
  14. Facta (encyclopedia) part 16, page 203, finnish
  15. Kuuma.fi
  16. "EU regions by GDP, Eurostat".