Southwest Finland

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
CountryFinland
Historical provinceFinland Proper
CapitalTurku
Other townsKaarina, Laitila, Loimaa, Naantali, Paimio, Pargas, Raisio, Salo, Somero and Uusikaupunki
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 zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 codeFI-19
NUTS183
Regional animalRed fox
Regional birdWestern jackdaw
Regional fishBaltic herring
Regional flowerOak
Regional stoneRed granite
Regional lakePyhäjärvi
Websitevarsinais-suomi.fi

Southwest Finland is since 2019[2] the official name in English for the region in the southwest of Finland hitherto known as Finland Proper. In Finnish and Swedish, the region still retains the previous name (Finnish: Varsinais-Suomi, IPA: [ˈʋɑrs̠inɑi̯s̠ˌs̠uo̞̯mi]; Swedish: Egentliga 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 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.

  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.