Business operations in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area

Together with the municipalities of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, HSY (formerly YTV) maintains a geographic dataset of establishments containing details of enterprises, public sector entities, sole traders and their establishments. These materials are used for compiling reports and reviews of business enterprise operations in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

For further details please contact:
Special Adviser Arja Salmi
Planning Officer Vilja Tähtinen
Tel. +358 9 15611 (switchboard)

Basic features of business operations

The Helsinki Metropolitan Area is Finland’s largest centre for business operations, and it plays an important role in the national economy and labour market of the entire country. Nearly 40 per cent of Finland’s total business turnover and 28 per cent of the national workforce are based in the four cities of the region (Espoo, Helsinki, Kauniainen and Vantaa), which is home to one fifth of the country’s population. The business enterprise sector provides three quarters of workplaces in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, and the livelihoods and incomes of the area’s residents crucially depend on the success of business operations.

There were 60,200 enterprises and non-profit corporations operating in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in 2007 and they had a total of 65,800 establishments. The imputed total personnel of these enterprises was 443,024 people, and their aggregate turnover was € 146 billion.

Most of the enterprises operating in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area are small businesses. 77 per cent of enterprise establishments are microbusinesses employing fewer than five people. However, these enterprises employ only 13 per cent of the total workforce. By contrast only six per cent of establishments are operated by large enterprises employing at least 250 people, but these account for 45 per cent of the workforce. Businesses in foreign ownership (foreign stake of at least 50 per cent) employ 21 per cent of the total workforce in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.

Key figures for enterprises operating in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area in 2007

Enterprises (profit and non-profit) Total in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Espoo Helsinki Kauniainen Vantaa
Establishments 65,784 13,151 42,265 505 9,863
Total employees 443,024 84,083 275,544 1,272 82,125
Employees/establishment 6.7 6.4 6.5 2.5 8.3
Total turnover (€ mill.) 146,017 54,411 66,222 122 25,263

Turnover/establishment 
(€ 1000)

 2,220 4,137 1,567 242 2,561
Turnover/employee (€ 1000) 330 647 240 96 308


Map: Personnel densities at establishments of enterprises and non-profit corporations in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area