Our Region

Southwest Finland in Numbers

Southwest Finland is an international region with a diverse economic structure, a fertile, rural landscape, and a unique environment, located by the Archipelago Sea. The region is constantly looking towards the future. The technological competence, the broad and high-quality education, the diverse population, culture, history, and traditions create a strong foundation for success.

Southwest Finland is one of the four regions in the country that are expected to experience population growth in the coming years. While the natives of Southwest Finland are eager to stay in their home region, the region also attracts new inhabitants from elsewhere in Finland as well as internationally, to live, study, and work here. The wide range of employers and the pleasant living environment with a reasonable cost of living are attractive to the people.

In a European context, Southwest Finland is a very typical medium-sized region, in which the larger city region is surrounded by a quite densely populated but rural-like area of influence. This is well illustrated by a comparison with other European regions.

Did You Know That in Southwest Finland:

• there are as many inhabitants as in Malta, in the region of Varna in Bulgaria, or in the region of Ciudad Real in Spain,   
• the population density is on the same level as in the province of Uppsala in Sweden or in the region of Toledo in Spain,  
• there are as many employed persons as in the region of Algarve in Portugal, in the province of Östergötland in Sweden, or in the region of Ancona in Italy, and   
• GDP is on the same level as in the region of Leuven in Belgium, in the region of Vilnius in Lithuania, or in the region of Reggio Emilia in Italy.  

Southwest Finland:

• is located by the world’s largest archipelago in terms of the number of islands,  
• has reduced climate emissions faster than the rest of Finland,  
• produces the majority of Finland’s pharmaceutical exports,  
• is at the forefront of bioimaging in Europe,  
• is the home region of the largest and most automated factory (Valmet Automotive) in the country,  
• builds the most energy effective cruise ships in the world,  
• produces the majority of agricultural and fishery products in Finland and is the number one region of food production,  
• is the number one choice of summer cottage owners with the largest number of summer cottages in Finland, and   
• has the second largest concentration of artists and culture professionals in Finland.