The Helsinki Metropolitan Area, with 1.2 million inhabitants, is home to a quarter of the total population of Finland and provides almost 29% of all jobs. Key decisions on the Finnish economy in both the public and private sectors are made in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area. Migration to the region has been considerable over the last few years, and economically it is one of the fastest growing areas in Europe.

Finland's population totals approximately 5.2 million and is growing gradually.Calculated on the basis of GDP per capita, Finland is one of the wealthiest and most modern economies in the world. In 2003, Finland's GDP per capita amounted to EUR 143.3 billion.

The basic underlying factors in the Finnish economy are sound, and the competitiveness of Finnish business has been rated among the best in the world in a number of studies.

The Helsinki Metropolitan Area is in the top ten among European regions in terms of investment in research. Over 40 per cent of investment in research and product development by Finnish companies is invested in the Helsinki area. Knowledge-intensive business services are also strongly centred around Helsinki.

There are proportionally more experts in science and technology per number of inhabitants in Finland than in any other country in the world.

Helsinki Region Trends, Statistic Report

For further information
Statistics Finland, Finland in figures
Research institute of the Finnish economy
Finnish Economy - Structural Indicators 2006
Helsinki in the European Urban Network 2006 (pdf)