From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Finland Proper)

Southwest Finland
Varsinais-Suomi ( Finnish)
Egentliga Finland ( Swedish)
Finland Proper
Region of Finland Proper
Varsinais-Suomen maakunta
Landskapet Egentliga Finland
Coat of arms of Southwest Finland
Finland Proper on a map of Finland
Finland Proper on a map of Finland
Country Finland
Historical province Finland Proper
Capital Turku
Area
 • Total10,910.05 km2 (4,212.39 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)
 • Total485,567
 • Density45/km2 (120/sq mi)
GDP
 • Total€16.219 billion (2015)
 • Per capita€34,252 (2015)
Time zone UTC+2 ( EET)
 • Summer ( DST) UTC+3 ( EEST)
ISO 3166 codeFI-19
NUTS183
Regional animal Red fox
Regional bird Western jackdaw
Regional fishBaltic herring
Regional flower Oak
Regional stone Red granite
Regional lake Pyhäjärvi
Website varsinais-suomi.fi

Southwest Finland, [2] calqued as Finland Proper ( Finnish: Varsinais-Suomi, IPA: [ˈʋɑrs̠inɑi̯s̠ˌs̠uo̞̯mi]; Swedish: Egentliga Finland), is a region in the southwest of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Tavastia Proper (Kanta-Häme), Uusimaa, and Åland. The region's capital and most populous city is Turku, which was the capital city of Finland before Helsinki.

The area comprising the Southwest is largely the same as the historical province of Finland Proper, so named because it is the original home of the tribe known as the Finns proper.

Origin of the name Finland Proper

The seal of Finland Proper from 1326

The name of Finland Proper has a historical function. In historic times, in the area of the present Southern Finland lived three tribes, which were the Finns proper, the Tavastians and the Karelians. The southwestern part of the country, the province where the Finns proper lived, was simply called Finland (Finnish: Suomi). In the 17th century the name began to be used to refer to the whole land and a specified name for the lesser Finland was required. The first notes Fennigia specialiter dicta and Fennigia presse dicta were recorded in Latin in the 1650s, and the Swedish Finland för sig sielft and Egenteliga Finland later in the 18th century. The modern form Egentliga Finland was in official use at the end of the century, and the Finnish term Varsinais-Suomi became established only around the 1850s. [3]

Geography

Southwest Finland's nature differs from other regions. The most notable biotopes are the Archipelago Sea and groves. 80% of Finland's insect species can be found in Southwest Finland. [4] There are around 20,000 islands near the coast. [5]

The southernmost point of Southwest Finland and the southernmost inhabited island is Utö. [6] Its highest point is 164 meters in Kiikala. [7]

Historical provinces

Heraldry

The region uses the coat of arms of the historical province of Finland Proper.

Municipalities

The region of Southwest Finland consists of 27 municipalities, 11 of which have city status (marked in bold).

Municipalities on the map

Cities and municipalities of Southwest Finland.
Municipalties
Municipalties
  Over 100 000 inhabitants
  Over 100 000 inhabitants
  Over 30 000 inhabitants
  Over 30 000 inhabitants
  Over 10 000 inhabitants
  Over 10 000 inhabitants
  Over 3 000 inhabitants
  Over 3 000 inhabitants
 < 3 000 inhabitants
 < 3 000 inhabitants
Cities and municipalities of Southwest Finland.

Sub-regions

Loimaa sub-region:

Turku sub-region:

List of municipalities

Coat of
arms
Municipality Population Land area
(km2)
Density
(/km2)
Finnish
speakers
Swedish
speakers
Other
speakers
Coat of arms of Aura, Finland Aura 3,960 95 42 97 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Kaarina Kaarina 36,335 151 241 88 % 5 % 6 %
Coat of arms of Koski Tl Koski Tl 2,208 192 12 96 % 0 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Kimitoön Kimitoön 6,456 687 9 30 % 68 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Kustavi Kustavi 949 166 6 95 % 2 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Laitila Laitila 8,439 532 16 89 % 0 % 10 %
Coat of arms of Lieto Lieto 20,635 301 69 94 % 1 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Loimaa Loimaa 15,423 848 18 95 % 0 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Marttila Marttila 1,931 195 10 98 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Masku Masku 9,616 175 55 96 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Mynämäki Mynämäki 7,513 520 14 96 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Naantali Naantali 19,993 313 64 95 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Nousiainen Nousiainen 4,696 199 24 96 % 1 % 2 %
Coat of arms of Oripää Oripää 1,316 118 11 92 % 0 % 8 %
Coat of arms of Paimio Paimio 11,238 239 47 95 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Pargas Pargas 14,993 884 17 42 % 55 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Pyhäranta Pyhäranta 1,927 144 13 98 % 1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Pöytyä Pöytyä 8,133 750 11 95 % 1 % 5 %
Coat of arms of Raisio Raisio 25,336 49 520 87 % 1 % 10 %
Coat of arms of Rusko Rusko 6,438 127 51 95 % 2 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Salo Salo 51,097 1,987 26 91 % 1 % 7 %
Coat of arms of Sauvo Sauvo 2,973 253 12 92 % 3 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Somero Somero 8,409 668 13 96 % 1 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Taivassalo Taivassalo 1,701 140 12 93 % 1 % 6 %
Coat of arms of Turku Turku 201,889 246 822 79 % 5 % 14 %
Coat of arms of Uusikaupunki Uusikaupunki 14,939 503 30 93 % 0 % 8 %
Coat of arms of Vehmaa Vehmaa 2,247 189 12 95 % 1 % 4 %
Total 490,790 9,097 54

85 %

3 %

9 %

Demographics

Historical population
Year Pop. ±%
1980406,360—    
1985415,899+2.3%
1990425,282+2.3%
1995435,119+2.3%
2000447,103+2.8%
2005455,584+1.9%
2010465,183+2.1%
2015474,323+2.0%
2018478,582+0.9%
2020481,403+0.6%
Source: Statistics Finland

As of 2020, Southwest Finland had a population of 481,403, making it the third most populated Finnish region after Uusimaa and Pirkanmaa. 86.45% speak Finnish, 5.68% Swedish and 7.86% speak other languages, the most common being Russian, Estonian, Arabic, Kurdish and Albanian.

It has the most summer cottages out of any Finnish region, with 49,000 as of 2012. [9]

Significant foreign resident groups [10]
31 December 2020
1   Soviet Union 6,153
2   Estonia 4,092
3   Iraq 3,775
4   Yugoslavia 2,934
5   Iran 1,964
6   Somalia 1,807
7   Vietnam 1,023
8   Romania 960
9   Poland 948
10   Thailand 914
11   Afghanistan 834
12   China 816
13   Russia 757
14   Syria 669
15   Turkey 624
16   Germany 555
17   Ukraine 550
18   Sweden 511
19   United Kingdom 477
20   Latvia 458

Politics

Results of the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election in Southwest Finland:

See also

References

  1. ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita, OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Alueluokitusmuutokset 1.1.2019 | Tilastokeskus" [Changes in regional classification on 1 January 2019] (in Finnish). Stat.fi. 7 January 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  3. ^ Suomalainen paikannimikirja. Jyväskylä: Gummerus. 2007. ISBN  978-951-593-976-0.
  4. ^ "Essay Writing Help at Its Finest".
  5. ^ "Saaristoon – Saaristoon". Archived from the original on 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
  6. ^ Turun Sanomat
  7. ^ "Hyypp r nharju, Kultal hde ja S r m ki - Salon kaupunki". www.salo.fi. Archived from the original on 6 May 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  9. ^ "Tiesitkö tätä kesämökeistä? 10 faktaa".
  10. ^ Statistics Finland

External links

Finland Proper travel guide from Wikivoyage