About Vantaa

Vantaa is a city and municipality in Finland. It is part of the inner core of the Finnish Capital Region along with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen. With its population of 215,813 (31 March 2016), Vantaa is the fourth most populated city of Finland. Vantaa is bordered by Helsinki, the Finnish capital, to the south; Espoo to the southwest; Nurmijärvi to the northwest; Keravaand Tuusula to the north; and Sipoo to the east. The city encompasses 240.34 square kilometres (92.80 sq mi), of which 1.97 km² (0.76 sq mi) is water. The largest airport in Finland, and the main airport and airline hub of Greater Helsinki, the Helsinki Airport, is located in Vantaa. Companies with headquarters in Vantaa include Finnair, Finavia, Air Finland, Blue1, R-kioski, Tikkurila Oyj, Veikkaus Oy, and Metsähallitus. The city also hosts a science center, Heureka. The city of Vantaa is bilingual, both Finnish and Swedish being official languages. 88.6{ca9f92c70a7a11b84130f29e7bb7b08ab6a48ce73d674aac98ec27c91d1efc14} of the population are Finnish speakers, while 3{ca9f92c70a7a11b84130f29e7bb7b08ab6a48ce73d674aac98ec27c91d1efc14} speak Swedish as their first language. 8.4{ca9f92c70a7a11b84130f29e7bb7b08ab6a48ce73d674aac98ec27c91d1efc14} of the population speak a native language other than Finnish or Swedish.

Population: 214,605

Area: 240.5 km²

Currency

The Finnish markka was replaced by the Euro in 2002. As a preparation for this date, the minting of the new euro coins started as early as 1999; this is why the first euro coins from Finland have the year 1999 on them, instead of 2002 like some of the other countries of the Eurozone.

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Economy

Of those employed, two thirds are in the private sector. The most common industries in Vantaa include the food, architectural engineering, and machine industries. In 2007, the unemployment rate was 6.3{ca9f92c70a7a11b84130f29e7bb7b08ab6a48ce73d674aac98ec27c91d1efc14}. Companies that have their headquarters in Vantaa (at the Helsinki Airport, in Aviapolis) include Finnair, Finavia, Air Finland, and Blue1. Companies with headquarters in Vantaa outside of Aviapolis include R-kioski, Tikkurila Oyj, Veikkaus Oy, and Metsähallitus. The City of Vantaa has been in increasing debt since the early 2000's, due to a decrease in state funding and an increase in investments. A contributing factor to its situation is the high concentration of families with children, leading to comparatively larger social expenditure. According to the former mayor Juhani Paajanen, the worst expenditures have ended, and the city's gains are increasing.

Transport

Vantaa infrastructurally serves as the transportational hub of the Helsinki metropolitan area. Several key freeways and highways, such asRing III and Porvoonväylä, originate in or pass through the municipality. Additionally, two of the three railway lines exiting Helsinki pass through Vantaa, connecting the city's nine stations. All long-distance trains exiting Helsinki stop at Tikkurila railway station in Vantaa. Public transport in Vantaa consists of a bus network and commuter rail, provided by HSL/HRT and VR. Since the introduction of the Ring Rail Line in 2015, Vantaa has had a total of 14 stations, which is more than that of any other municipality in Greater Helsinki. Key railway stations also act as central bus stations. The Ring Rail Line is speeding up the development in Western parts of Vantaa. For example, the Vantaankoski area is foreseen to double the amount of jobs in the future. Planning ideas are sought through an ideas competition. The largest airport in Finland, and the primary airport of Greater Helsinki, Helsinki Airport, is located in Vantaa. In 2014, it attracted a total of 15.9 million passengers.

Weather

Vantaa has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb), slightly above the threshold for subarctic classification. Although the city no longer (since 2009) has a coastline along the Baltic Sea, it is close enough to experience the mitigating influence of the sea and the Gulf Stream. The record low temperature in Vantaa is −35.9 °C (−32.6 °F) and the record high is 34.0 °C (93.2 °F).