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Espoo

Espoo
Esbo
City and municipality
City of Espoo
Espoon kaupunki
Esbo stad
Matinkylä
High-rise Reimantorni, Kivenlahti
Aalto University Auditorium
Accountor Tower, Keilaniemi
Espoo Cathedral
Tapiola and Espoo Cultural Centre
From top, left to right: Downtown Matinkylä; street in Espoonlahti; Aalto University Auditorium; Accountor Tower; Espoo Cathedral; Tapiola with Espoo Cultural Centre
Coat of arms of Espoo
Coat of arms
Location within Finland
Location within Finland
OpenStreetMap
Map
Interactive map outlining Espoo.[a]
Coordinates: 60°12′20″N 024°39′20″E / 60.20556°N 24.65556°E / 60.20556; 24.65556
Country Finland
Region Uusimaa
Sub-regionHelsinki sub-region
Metropolitan areaHelsinki metropolitan area
Founded (parish)1458[b]
Market town1963
Incorporated (city)1 January 1972
Government
 • City managerJukka Mäkelä
Area
 (2018-01-01)[3]
 • Total
528.03 km2 (203.87 sq mi)
 • Land312.35 km2 (120.60 sq mi)
 • Water215.88 km2 (83.35 sq mi)
 • Rank230th largest in Finland
Population
 (2024-10-31)[4]
 • Total
319,811
 • Rank2nd largest in Finland
 • Density1,023.89/km2 (2,651.9/sq mi)
Population by native language
[5]
 • Finnish69.9% (official)
 • Swedish6.4% (official)
 • Others23.6%
Population by age
[6]
 • 0 to 1418.7%
 • 15 to 6466.2%
 • 65 or older15%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
ClimateDfb
Websitewww.espoo.fi/en

Espoo (/ˈɛspoʊ/,[8] Finnish: [ˈespoː]; Swedish: Esbo)[c] is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately 320,000. It is the 2nd most populous municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants. Espoo is on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland and borders Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi. The city includes the enclave of Kauniainen. Espoo covers an area of 528 square kilometres (204 sq mi).[9] Espoo is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 70% Finnish speakers, 6% Swedish speakers, and 24% speakers of other languages, well above the national average.

Espoo was settled in the Prehistoric Era, with evidence of human settlements dating back 8,000 years.[2] However, the population disappeared during the early Iron Age.[10] During the Early Middle Ages, the region was populated by Tavastians and Southwestern Finns.[11] Following the Northern Crusades, Swedish settlers began to emigrate to the coastal regions of modern-day Finland. Espoo was founded as an autonomous Catholic parish in the 15th century. Following the conclusion of the Finnish War, the decision to make Helsinki the new capital of the Russian-controlled Grand Duchy of Finland in 1812 had a significant positive impact on the municipality's growth and development. Nevertheless, the territory continued to be mainly agrarian until the 20th century. After World War II, Espoo underwent swift urbanization and significant demographic shifts, with Finnish becoming the majority language around 1950, replacing Swedish. The municipality attained market town status in 1963 and was granted city status in 1972.[2]

The city is characterized by a suburban landscape dominated by detached housing.[9] It is recognized for its expansive natural surroundings such as a 58-kilometre shoreline, an archipelago, forests, lakes, and a national park.[12] Espoo is divided into seven major districts, with each being further divided into smaller districts and neighbourhoods.[13] Unlike traditional cities, Espoo does not have a central city area. Instead, it has five distinct city centres: Leppävaara, Tapiola, Matinkylä, Espoon keskus and Espoonlahti. Espoo has numerous local centres formed around historical manors.[9][14] Because of its structure, Espoo is generally considered even "the most American suburban city of Finland".[15][16]

Aalto University is situated in Otaniemi, Espoo, alongside a thriving scientific community that comprises startups and associations such as VTT – the Technical Research Centre of Finland. Espoo is home to leading enterprises like Nokia, HMD Global, Tieto, KONE, Neste, Fortum, Orion Corporation, Outokumpu, and Foreca, in addition to game developers Rovio and Remedy Entertainment. In 2015, Espoo became a member of the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.


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  1. ^ a b "Espoon tuomiokirkon historia". Kirkko Espoossa. Archived from the original on 9 April 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "History of Espoo". City of Espoo. Archived from the original on 20 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  3. ^ "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,635,560 at the end of October 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 19 November 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  5. ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 26 April 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  6. ^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Espoo" Lexico UK Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Information about Espoo". City of Espoo. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  10. ^ Hakanpää, Päivi (2005). "Espoon eteläosien historiallisen ajan kylänpaikkojen yleiskaavainventointi". Museovirasto. Finnish Heritage Agency. p. 6. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Education in Espoo". Finnish Education Unit, City of Espoo. February 2018. p. 5. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 10 March 2021. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  13. ^ "Espoon aluejaot". City of Espoo. Archived from the original on 30 July 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  14. ^ "Neighbourhoods of Espoo". My Helsinki. City of Helsinki. Retrieved 4 March 2021.
  15. ^ Berner, Anna-Sofia (27 October 2024). "Suomen amerikkalaisin kaupunki". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  16. ^ Salusjärvi, Aleksis (29 March 2017). "Aleksis Salusjärven kolumni: "Espoolaiset eivät ole mistään kotoisin"". Yle (in Finnish). Retrieved 11 November 2024.

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