List of metropolitan areas in Sweden

Sweden has three metropolitan areas consisting of the areas surrounding the three largest cities, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö.^[1] The statistics have been retrieved from Statistics Sweden and the statistics released November 10, 2014.^[2] The official land area for each municipality have also been retrieved from Statistics Sweden, the agency that defines these areas.^[3]

Metropolitan Stockholm

Central Stockholm and Old Town

Metropolitan Stockholm (also known as Greater Stockholm or, in Swedish, Storstockholm), is a metropolitan area surrounding the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Since 2005, Metropolitan Stockholm is defined by official Swedish Statistics as all of Stockholm County.^[4] It is the largest of the three metropolitan areas in Sweden.

Metropolitan Stockholm is divided into 5 areas: Stockholm City Centre, Söderort, Västerort of Stockholm Municipality; and the northern suburbs and southern suburbs, which consists of several municipalities.

Statistics

¹ km²
² Population per km²

Metropolitan Gothenburg

Central Gothenburg and the harbor, the largest in the Nordic Region

Metropolitan Gothenburg (Storgöteborg or literally Greater Gothenburg), is a metropolitan area surrounding the city of Gothenburg in Sweden. The metropolitan region is located in Västra Götaland County, except for the municipality of Kungsbacka, which is located to the south in Halland County. As of 2005, the municipalities of Alingsås and Lilla Edet were added to the region. The region is often used for statistical measures, and estimates in the 1960s predicted that the region would have about one million inhabitants in the year 2000. The region is the second largest metropolitan area in Sweden after Metropolitan Stockholm.

Statistics

¹ km²
² Population per km²

Metropolitan Malmö

The Øresund strait between Malmö and Copenhagen with Malmö in the foreground and the island of Amager and part of southern Copenhagen in the background

Metropolitan Malmö (Stormalmö or literally Greater Malmö) is the metropolitan area that includes Malmö in Sweden and much of its surroundings. The area encompasses the south-eastern part of the Scandinavian Öresund Region. The metropolitan area surrounding the cities of Malmö and Lund in the southernmost part of Sweden are usually denoted as Southwestern Scania (Sydvästra Skåne) or more seldom Metropolitan Malmö.

Since the 1970s, improved highways and Regional train and InterRegio connections have meant that commuting area has grown to include Ystad, Skurup, Sjöbo, Eslöv, Höör, Landskrona and Helsingborg. Commuting across the Øresund has become more common, both through the Oresund Bridge and the HH Ferry route, at which car ferries departs every 12 minutes (every 15 minutes during winter time).

It is not uncommon to live in Malmö and work either in Ystad or Helsingborg, or vice versa. Mentally, however, these towns have kept their allegiance with older divisions of Scania.

Statistics

In 2006 the municipalities of Eslöv, Höör and Skurup were added to the area of Metropolitan Malmö.

¹ km²
² Population per km²

See also

• Largest metropolitan areas in the Nordic countries
• List of the most populated municipalities in the Nordic countries
• List of metropolitan areas in Europe
• Stockholm urban area
• Largest urban areas of the European Union

References

1. ↑ SCB Statistics Sweden – Definition of Metropolitan Areas in Sweden published in 2005
2. ↑ SCB Statistics Sweden - Population Statistics published November 10, 2014 (only available in Swedish)
3. ↑ SCB Statistics Sweden - Official Land Area per Municipality, retrieved February 24, 2014 (only available in Swedish)
4. ↑ SCB Statistics Sweden – Regional Divisions in Sweden published in 2005