Largest metropolitan areas in the Nordic countries

The largest metropolitan areas in the Nordic countries are difficult to rank in size because the definition patterns are different from country to country.

By any definition, the metropolitan area

Metropolitan area

The term metropolitan area refers to a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories, sharing industry, infrastructure, and housing. A metropolitan area usually encompasses multiple jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships,...

s of Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

and Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

will rank in top, but it is debatable which one is bigger. For example, Metropolitan Stockholm includes vast rural areas, whereas the Stockholm urban area

Stockholm urban area

The Stockholm urban area is the largest and most populous of the statistical localities or urban areas in Sweden. It has no administrative function of its own, but constitutes a continuous multimunicipal built-up area, which extends into 11 municipalities in Stockholm County. It contains the...

covers only the continuously built-up area. There are various common definitions of Metropolitan Copenhagen

Metropolitan Copenhagen

The term Metropolitan Copenhagen consist of Copenhagen and Frederiksberg municipalities and the former Copenhagen County, except for the municipalities Høje-Taastrup, Ledøje-Smørum, in all, 18 municipalities, and except parts of Ballerup, Greve , Ishøj, former Søllerød and former Værløse, ...

: the former Danish Capital Region

Danish Capital Region

Hovedstadsregionen was the name of the greater metropolitan region around and including Copenhagen , Denmark. It included the counties of Copenhagen, Frederiksborg and Roskilde....

/Copenhagen metropolitan area

Copenhagen metropolitan area

The Copenhagen metropolitan area around the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, has a population of 1,834,492 and an area of 2,861.41 km²-Composition:The area consists of:...

(defunct), followed by the smaller Capital Region of Denmark

Region Hovedstaden

The Capital Region of Denmark is an administrative region of Denmark established on January 1, 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish Municipal Reform, which replaced the traditional counties with five larger regions. At the same time, smaller municipalities were merged into larger units, cutting the...

, or the yet smaller Metropolitan Copenhagen

Metropolitan Copenhagen

.

The East Jutland metropolitan area

East Jutland metropolitan area

East Jutland metropolitan area is a geographic term for an area in Jutland, Denmark.The term denotes a functional coherent urban area linked by both infrastructure and labour across municipal boundaries...

was in 2006 defined in reports from the Danish government as one coherent urban area. the biggest reason for this is the growth that municipalities along the E45

European route E45

The European route E 45 goes between Sweden and Italy, through Denmark, Germany and Austria. With a length of about , it is the longest north-south European route...

motorway are experiencing.

Similarly, some other metropolitan areas are not defined by any fixed guidelines but rather by an estimate of economical and commuter ties between one or several cities and the surrounding region. In some cases, towns have coined names for new metropolitan regions for PR purposes.

Contrarily, the largest urban areas in the Nordic countries can be ranked by more general criteria.

Largest metropolitan areas

Rank	Metropolitan Area	Country	Main city	Population	Area (km²)	Population density
1.	Metropolitan Stockholm	Sweden	Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...	2,084,526	6,519 km²	319.8/km²
2.	Copenhagen metropolitan area Copenhagen metropolitan area The Copenhagen metropolitan area around the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, has a population of 1,834,492 and an area of 2,861.41 km²-Composition:The area consists of:...	Denmark	Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...	1,901,789	3,030 km²	627.7/km²
3.	Greater Oslo Region Greater Oslo Region Greater Oslo Region is a statistical metropolitan region surrounding the Norwegian capital of Oslo. The region includes the city of Oslo , the entire county of Akershus and several municipalities in the counties of Buskerud , Oppland , Vestfold and Østfold .It is divided into...	Norway	Oslo Oslo Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...	1,422,443	8,900 km²	160/km²
4.	Greater Helsinki Greater Helsinki Greater Helsinki and the smaller Helsinki Metropolitan Area or Capital Region refer to two regions of different size surrounding Helsinki, the capital of Finland...	Finland	Helsinki Helsinki Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...	1,325,501	3 563.6 km²	368.5/km²
5.	East Jutland metropolitan area East Jutland metropolitan area East Jutland metropolitan area is a geographic term for an area in Jutland, Denmark.The term denotes a functional coherent urban area linked by both infrastructure and labour across municipal boundaries...	Denmark	Aarhus Aarhus Aarhus or Århus is the second-largest city in Denmark. The principal port of Denmark, Aarhus is on the east side of the peninsula of Jutland in the geographical center of Denmark...	1,245,046	9,997 km²	124/km²
6.	Metropolitan Gothenburg	Sweden	Gothenburg Gothenburg Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...	937,015	3,718 km²	252.0/km²
7.	Metropolitan Malmö	Sweden	Malmö Malmö Malmö , in the southernmost province of Scania, is the third most populous city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg.Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County...	661,695	2,536 km²	261.0/km²
8.	Greater Bergen Region	Norway	Bergen Bergen Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....	375,489	2,755 km²	136/km²
9.	Tampere sub-region Tampere sub-region Tampere sub-region is a subdivision of Pirkanmaa and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009....	Finland	Tampere Tampere Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...	341,131	3,776.16 km²	90.4/km²
10.	Turku sub-region Turku sub-region The Turku Region , The City Region of Turku and Greater Turku all refer to regions of different size surrounding Turku, the capital city of the region of Finland Proper. The Turku Region is one of the Sub-regions of Finland. It is located in the southwest of Finland and the area has around...	Finland	Turku Turku Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...	303,492	2,331 km²	130.2/km²
11.	Stavanger Region Stavanger Region Greater Stavanger Region is a statistical metropolitan region in the county of Rogaland in southwestern Norway. It is centered around the metro's economical and cultural centre Stavanger. The metropolitan area is the third most populous in Norway....	Norway	Stavanger Stavanger Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...	275,814	2,598 km²	106/km²
12.	Trondheim Region Trondheim Region The Trondheim Region is a statistical metropolitan region in the counties of Sør-Trøndelag and Nord-Trøndelag in Norway...	Norway	Trondheim Trondheim Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...	260,364	7,295 km²	35/km²
13.	Oulu sub-region Oulu sub-region Oulu sub-region is a subdivision of Northern Ostrobothnia and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009....	Finland	Oulu Oulu Oulu is a city and municipality of inhabitants in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world....	212,045	5,451 km²	39/km²
14.	Greater Reykjavík Area Greater Reykjavík Area The Greater Reykjavík Area is a name used collectively for Reykjavík and seven municipalities around it.. The area is the largest urban area in Iceland. Each municipality has its independent elected council. With a population of 200,852, the Greater Reykjavík Area comprises over 60% of the...	Iceland	Reykjavik Reykjavík Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...	198,782	1,042 km²	187.4/km²
15.	Mjøsa Cities Mjøsa Cities Mjøsa Cities is the name of a metropolitan region around the lake Mjøsa in the counties of Oppland and Hedmark , Norway. Usually the name Mjøsbyene refers to Gjøvik, Hamar and Lillehammer but it is also used as a reference to the area in general. The largest of those cities is Hamar.1/ km²2/...	Norway	Ringsaker Ringsaker is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Hedmarken. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Brumunddal.The municipality of Ringsaker was established on 1 January 1838...	175,453	6,026 km²	29/km²
16.	Lahti sub-region Lahti sub-region Lahti sub-region is a subdivision of Päijänne Tavastia and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009....	Finland	Lahti Lahti Lahti is a city and municipality in Finland.Lahti is the capital of the Päijänne Tavastia region. It is situated on a bay at the southern end of lake Vesijärvi about north-east of the capital Helsinki...	170,403	3,804 km²	44.8/km²

Largest metropolitan areas

See also