GREATER HELSINKI

'Greater Helsinki' (, Swedish: ''Storhelsingfors''), 'Capital Region' (''Pääkaupunkiseutu'', ''Huvudstadsregionen''), 'Helsinki Metropolitan Area', and 'Helsinki Region' (''Helsingin seutu'', ''Helsingforsregionen'') all refer to regions of different size surrounding Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is located in the south of Finland, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, which is part of the Baltic Sea. The area has a population of one million when Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen are included.
The Helsinki region is the largest urbanised area in the country, and is by far the most important economic, cultural, as well as scientific region of Finland. Eight out of Finland's 20 universities and most of the headquarters of notable companies and governmental institutions are located in Greater Helsinki, as is Finland's main aviation hub, Helsinki-Vantaa airport, which is located in Vantaa.

Contents

Definitions of Greater Helsinki

Statistics

See also

External links

Definitions of Greater Helsinki

In the strictest sense, the Finnish Capital Region consists of four municipalities with city status, Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen, whose total population is about one million (2007). This area is most often called the ''Helsinki Metropolitan Area'' or ''Capital region'' in English, and ''Pääkaupunkiseutu'' in Finnish, although the use of the terms is not especially consistent. Sometimes it is called the ''"YTV area"'', referring to YTV, or the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council, which serves as a co-operation agency for the four central municipalities, mainly providing for public transport and waste management services. The vast majority of the inhabitants live in the conurbation of the cities, but within the boundaries of these cities there are also non-urban and suburban areas.
Commonly about eight more municipalities are considered to be part of Greater Helsinki. When Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Kerava, Kirkkonummi, Nurmijärvi, Sipoo, Tuusula, and Vihti are included, the number of inhabitants rises to 1.2 million. All of the municipalities belong to the region of Uusimaa, with the exception of Sipoo, located on the coast east of Vantaa, which belongs to Eastern Uusimaa.
In the broadest sense, the Helsinki Region encompasses some 25 municipalities, with a total population of more than 1.3 million. The commuter belt of Helsinki, however, stretches even further with many people from as far as Lahti and even Tampere commuting to Helsinki daily.

Statistics

The table below lists population, area, and population density for the most central municipalities of the Greater Helsinki area. (Note that "Metropolitan Area" and the other terms used are not completely established, and may vary in different contexts.)

Municipality	Area	Population (2007)	Population density
Espoo (Esbo)	312 km²	235 125	753.6/km²
Helsinki (Helsingfors)	184.4 km²	564 908	3 063.5/km²
Kauniainen (Grankulla)	5.9 km²	8 444	1 431.2/km²
Vantaa (Vanda)	241 km²	190 058	788.6/km²
'Capital Region'	743.3 km²	'1 000 000'	1 343.4/km²
Hyvinkää (Hyvinge)	323.2 km²	44 310	137.1/km²
Järvenpää (Träskända)	37.4 km²	37 627	1 006.1/km²
Kerava (Kervo)	30.7 km²	32 415	1 055.9/km²
Kirkkonummi (Kyrkslätt)	365 km²	34 497	94.5/km²
Nurmijärvi	362 km²	38 086	105.2/km²
Sipoo (Sibbo)	364 km²	19 126	52.5/km²
Tuusula (Tusby)	220 km²	35 422	161.0/km²
Vihti (Vichtis)	522.0 km²	26 449	50.7/km²
'Outer suburbs'	2 224.3 km²	'267 932'	120.5/km²
'Metropolitan Area, Total'	2 967.6 km²	'1 266 467'	426.8/km²

See also

★ Metropolitan area

★ Largest European metropolitan areas

★ Largest urban areas of the European Union

External links

★ Guide map of the Helsinki Region

★ Satellite image of the Helsinki region

★ Virtual Finland: Helsinki Metropolitan Area

★ YTV, the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council

★ Marketing site for the Helsinki Region

★ Helsinki region portal