Helsinki population on increase after three years of negative development

Growth rate may soon reach 1,600 people per year

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According to the latest predictions, after three years of decline Helsinki's population development is expected to turn positive this year.
      The Finnish capital is estimated to record a population gain of around 1,000 individuals this year. In the coming years, the growth rate may reach up to about 1,600-1,700 people per year.
      Though the number of those moving out of Helsinki is showing a slight increase, this development is outdone by the more intense influx of people.
     
Those moving into Helsinki are 20 to 30-year-old individuals actively involved in working life. Employment opportunities are the main reason for their migration.
      "The migrants are young adults who react quickly to changes", explains researcher Pekka Vuori of the Information Centre of the City of Helsinki. The reason for the increased internal migration towards the capital is the area's perking economic development.
      "It seems the demand for workforce continues to grow in the entire capital area", Vuori continues.
     
According to predictions, Helsinki's population will grow by about 16,000 people in the next ten years. In the next twenty years, the capital is expected to increase its population by about 25,000 individuals.
      According to two alternative development scenarios, by the year 2030 Helsinki's total population would be either 620,000 or more conservatively 565,000. In either case, the population as a whole will also be "greying" or growing in years.
      For example, by 2030, the number of those over 75 years of age will have increased by 75 percent from the present figure.
     
The population of the entire capital area is predicted to grow in the next ten years by about 10,000 people per year. After this, the growth rate is forecast to slow down.
      By the year 2030, the total population of the Helsinki region would be around 1.5 million people, which is 220,000 more than today.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Helsinki region falls off list of growing urban areas (8.3.2005)
  Migration from Helsinki to other parts of Finland is slowing down (15.2.2005)
  Finland's internal migration evens out and becomes more balanced (9.2.2005)
  Population increase largest in Espoo and decline fastest in Helsinki (30.12.2004)

Helsingin Sanomat