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Southwest Finland Varsinais-Suomi (Finnish) Egentliga Finland (Swedish)Finland Proper
Region
Region of Finland Proper Varsinais-Suomen maakunta Landskapet Egentliga Finland
Coat of arms
Finland Proper on a map of Finland
Country	Finland
Historical province	Finland Proper
Capital	Turku
Other towns	Kaarina, Laitila, Loimaa, Naantali, Paimio, Pargas, Raisio, Salo, Somero and Uusikaupunki
Area
• Total	10,910.05 km (4,212.39 sq mi)
Population
• Total	485,567
• Density	45/km (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 code	FI-19
NUTS	183
Regional animal	Red fox
Regional bird	Western jackdaw
Regional fish	Baltic herring
Regional flower	Oak
Regional stone	Red granite
Regional lake	Pyhäjärvi
Website	varsinais-suomi.fi

Southwest Finland is since 2019 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.

Origin of the name Finland Proper

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.

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. There are around 20,000 islands near the coast.

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

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

Sub-regions

Loimaa sub-region:

• Aura
• Koski Tl (Koskis)
• Loimaa
• Marttila (S:t Mårtens)
• Oripää
• Pöytyä (Pöytis)

Turku sub-region:

• Kaarina (S:t Karins)
• Lieto (Lundo)
• Masku (Masko)
• Mynämäki (Virmo)
• Naantali (Nådendal)
• Nousiainen (Nousis)
• Paimio (Pemar)
• Raisio (Reso)
• Rusko
• Sauvo (Sagu)
• Turku (Åbo)

Åboland–Turunmaa sub-region:

• Kimitoön (Kemiönsaari)
• Pargas (Parainen)

Salo sub-region:

• Salo
• Somero

Vakka-Suomi sub-region:

• Kustavi (Gustavs)
• Laitila (Letala)
• Pyhäranta
• Taivassalo (Tövsala)
• Uusikaupunki (Nystad)
• Vehmaa (Vemo)

List of municipalities

Coat of arms	Municipality	Population	Land area (km)	Density (/km)	Finnish speakers	Swedish speakers	Other speakers
	Aura	3,955	95	42	97 %	1 %	3 %
	Kaarina	36,538	151	243	88 %	5 %	6 %
	Koski Tl	2,186	192	11	96 %	0 %	5 %
	Kimitoön	6,394	687	9	30 %	67 %	4 %
	Kustavi	952	166	6	93 %	2 %	5 %
	Laitila	8,482	532	16	87 %	0 %	12 %
	Lieto	20,633	301	69	94 %	1 %	5 %
	Loimaa	15,333	848	18	95 %	0 %	6 %
	Marttila	1,923	195	10	96 %	1 %	3 %
	Masku	9,590	175	55	96 %	1 %	3 %
	Mynämäki	7,506	520	14	95 %	1 %	4 %
	Naantali	20,107	313	64	94 %	1 %	4 %
	Nousiainen	4,664	199	23	96 %	1 %	3 %
	Oripää	1,297	118	11	92 %	1 %	9 %
	Paimio	11,252	239	47	94 %	1 %	5 %
	Pargas	14,907	884	17	42 %	54 %	5 %
	Pyhäranta	1,929	144	13	96 %	1 %	3 %
	Pöytyä	8,024	750	11	95 %	1 %	5 %
	Raisio	25,595	49	525	86 %	1 %	12 %
	Rusko	6,405	127	50	96 %	2 %	3 %
	Salo	50,890	1,987	26	91 %	1 %	8 %
	Sauvo	2,961	253	12	91 %	2 %	7 %
	Somero	8,439	668	13	94 %	1 %	5 %
	Taivassalo	1,689	140	12	93 %	1 %	7 %
	Turku	205,949	246	838	78 %	5 %	15 %
	Uusikaupunki	14,873	503	30	92 %	0 %	8 %
	Vehmaa	2,255	189	12	94 %	0 %	5 %
	Total	494,728	9,097	54	84 %	6 %	10 %

Demographics

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.

Significant foreign resident groups
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:

• National Coalition Party 23.0%
• Finns Party 20.0%
• Social Democratic Party 18.1%
• Left Alliance 11.6%
• Centre Party 8.4%
• Green League 7.0%
• Swedish People's Party 4.9%
• Christian Democrats 2.8%
• Movement Now 2.3%
• Other parties 1.9%

See also

• Finns proper
• Southwest Finnish dialects

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. ^ "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

• Regional Council of Southwest Finland – official website
• South Finland EU Office

v t e Regions of Finland
Regions	Åland Central Finland Central Ostrobothnia Kainuu Kymenlaakso Lapland North Karelia North Ostrobothnia North Savo Ostrobothnia Päijät-Häme Pirkanmaa Satakunta South Karelia South Ostrobothnia South Savo Southwest Finland Kanta-Häme Uusimaa
Former regions	Eastern Uusimaa (Itä-Uusimaa)

• Southwest Finland
• Western Finland Province