Helsinki metropolitan area Helsingin seutu –Helsingforsregionen | |
|---|---|
Metropolitan area | |
.jpg) Helsinki skyline | |
 | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Uusimaa |
| Sub-region | Helsinki sub-region |
| Capital area | Helsinki capital region |
| Seat | Helsinki |
| Area | |
| • Land | 3,698.99 km2 (1,428.19 sq mi) |
| Population (2025-06-30) | |
• Total | 1,616,656 |
| • Density | 437.1/km2 (1,132/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Metro | €105.831 billion (2022) |
| Website | Helsinki Region Trends |
Helsinki metropolitan area (Finnish:Helsingin seutu,Swedish:Helsingforsregionen) orGreater Helsinki (Finnish:Suur-Helsinki,Swedish:Storhelsingfors) is themetropolitan area aroundHelsinki, thecapital city ofFinland. It also includes the smallercapital region. The terms Helsinki metropolitan area, Greater Helsinki, Capital region and the other terms used are not fixed and may vary in different contexts.
The metropolitan region is the largesturbanised area in the country with a population of approximately 1.62 million (2025)[2] and is by far the most important economic, cultural, and scientific region of Finland. Five of Finland's 14universities,[note 1] and sixuniversities of applied sciences are located in the metropolitan area, as are most of the headquarters of major companies and government institutions. Finland's mainairline hub and airport,Helsinki Airport, is located in the city ofVantaa.[3][4][5][6][7][8]
These regions are located in the south of Finland, on the coast of theGulf of Finland, which is a part of theBaltic Sea. They are also a part of theregion ofUusimaa in Finland.
In the strictest sense, the Finnish capital region consists of fourmunicipalities with city title,Helsinki,Vantaa,Espoo andKauniainen. It has a population of about 1.28 million. This area is most often called theCapital region in English,Pääkaupunkiseutu in Finnish, andHuvudstadsregionen in Swedish, although the use of the terms is not especially consistent. The vast majority of the inhabitants live in theurban areas of the cities, but within the boundaries of these cities there are alsosuburban andrural areas.
The Helsinki metropolitan area includes around ten additional municipalities that can be consideredcommuter towns andexurbs of Helsinki. These municipalities areHyvinkää,Järvenpää,Kerava,Kirkkonummi,Nurmijärvi,Sipoo,Tuusula,Mäntsälä,Pornainen andVihti, bringing the total population to about 1.62 million. All of the municipalities belong to theregion ofUusimaa. Of these,Järvenpää,Kerava,Tuusula,Nurmijärvi,Sipoo,Kirkkonummi,Mäntsälä andVihti have parts of the urban area within them. Additionally, the cities ofPorvoo,Lohja,Karkkila and to some extentRiihimäki, 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 1.75 million.
Helsinki metropolitan area differs from theHelsinki sub-region (Finnish:Helsingin seutukunta), which also includes the municipalities ofKarkkila,Lohja andSiuntio. The Helsinki sub-region is used forstatistical purposes. It is based on cooperation between municipalities and thecommuting area. The sub-region has a population of about 1.68 million.
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]
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 1.8 million.[11][12] In addition to that, there are people from as far asLahti and evenTampere commuting to Helsinki daily.
Statistics Finland also defines theHelsinki urban area according to the officialFinnish definition 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 ofLohja andPorvoo 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 andPornainen, 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 the "KUUMA municipalities".[15]
| Coat of arms | Municipality | Population | Land area (km2) | Density (/km2) | Finnish speakers | Swedish speakers | Other speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Espoo | 323,910 | 312 | 1,037 | 68 % | 6 % | 25 % |
 | Helsinki | 689,758 | 214 | 3,217 | 74 % | 5 % | 20 % |
 | Hyvinkää | 47,089 | 323 | 146 | 90 % | 1 % | 9 % |
 | Järvenpää | 46,942 | 38 | 1,250 | 89 % | 1 % | 10 % |
 | Kauniainen | 10,200 | 6 | 1,732 | 59 % | 31 % | 11 % |
 | Kerava | 38,535 | 31 | 1,258 | 81 % | 1 % | 17 % |
 | Kirkkonummi | 41,821 | 367 | 114 | 72 % | 15 % | 13 % |
 | Mäntsälä | 20,966 | 581 | 36 | 93 % | 1 % | 6 % |
 | Nurmijärvi | 45,356 | 362 | 125 | 90 % | 1 % | 8 % |
 | Pornainen | 4,964 | 147 | 34 | 94 % | 2 % | 4 % |
 | Sipoo | 22,903 | 340 | 67 | 65 % | 27 % | 8 % |
 | Tuusula | 42,624 | 220 | 194 | 89 % | 1 % | 9 % |
 | Vantaa | 252,724 | 238 | 1,060 | 69 % | 2 % | 29 % |
 | Vihti | 28,864 | 522 | 55 | 91 % | 2 % | 7 % |
| Total | 1,616,656 | 3,699 | 437.1 | 75 % | 5 % | 20 % |
In 2020, Helsinki'sgross metropolitan product was valued at €94.2 billion (US$100 billion). This puts Helsinki in23rd place among metropolitan regions in theEuropean Union.[16]