Fort Towson

Pirkanmaa (Finnish: [ˈpirkɑˌmːɑː]; Swedish: Birkaland; Latin: Birkaria), also known as Tampere Region in government documents,[2] is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Satakunta, South Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Päijät-Häme, Kanta-Häme and Southwest Finland. Most of the water area in the Kokemäki River watershed is located in the Pirkanmaa region, although Lake Vanajavesi is partly in the Kanta-Häme region. The region got its name from Pirkkala, which in the Middle Ages comprised most of present-day Pirkanmaa.[3] Tampere is the regional center and capital of Pirkanmaa, and at the same time the largest city in the region.

The total population of Pirkanmaa was 529,100 on 30 June 2022,[4] which makes it the second largest among Finland's regions after Uusimaa. The population density is well over twice the Finnish average, and most of its population is largely concentrated in the Tampere metropolitan area.

Economy

The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the region was 18.3 billion € in 2016, accounting for 8.5% of Finnish economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power was €36,040 or 92% of the EU27 average in the same year. Pirkanmaa's GDP was the second highest among the regions and the seventh highest among the nineteen regions per capita.[5]

The economic structure of Pirkanmaa typically focuses on services for post-industrial society. A nationally significant ICT concentration has grown in Tampere. Thanks to its population base, the city is also a major trading center. Industry's share of value added and jobs in Pirkanmaa is higher than the Finnish average. The region is one of Finland's main centers of manufacturing, has a long tradition of industrial activity and a good education network. The industry is largely concentrated in Tampere and its surroundings, such as towns of Nokia and Valkeakoski. Mänttä-Vilppula is also a major industrial center. Agriculture accounts for a small share of economic activity. In the western part of the region, agricultural production is dominated by dairy cattle, in the south by cereals, and in the north by forestry.[6][7][8]

Language

Languages in Pirkanmaa (2018)[9]
Languages percent
Finnish
 
 94.8%
Russian
 
 0.83%
Arabic
 
 0.48%
Estonian
 
 0.43%
Swedish
 
 0.38%
Persian
 
 0.35%
English
 
 0.30%

Pirkanmaa is a rather linguistically homogeneous region: in 2018, almost 490,000 people, or about 95 per cent of the county's population, spoke Finnish as their mother tongue. For Finno-speakers, the national population share of Pirkanmaa was 10,1 per cent.[9] In the 2010s, the number of Finnish-speakers has increased only in Uusimaa, Pirkanmaa and Northern Ostrobothnia, and slightly in Southwest Finland and Åland.[10]

The Swedish-speaking settlement settled in Finland in the Middle Ages did not extend to the area of present-day Pirkanmaa, so the number and share of Finno-Swedes in the province is small. In 2018, about two thousand people spoke Swedish as their mother tongue in Pirkanmaa.[9] In 2017, 27 people spoke Sámi as their mother tongue in Pirkanmaa. The second most spoken language in Pirkanmaa is Russian, in 2018 it was used by four thousand people as their mother tongue.[9]

Regional council

The regional council is the main governing body for region and focuses primarily on urban planning. Like all regional councils, it is mandated by law.

Regional division

Historical provinces

For history, geography and culture, see Tavastia (historical province) and Satakunta (historical province).

Municipalities

Main article: Municipalities of Pirkanmaa

The region of Pirkanmaa is made up of 23 municipalities, of which 12 have city or town status (marked in bold).

Map of municipalities

A map of the Pirkanmaa region. The red color municipalities represents the Tampere sub-region, the orange color the Southern Pirkanmaa, the yellow the South Western Pirkanmaa, the green the North Western Pirkanmaa, and the blue the Upper Pirkanmaa.

List of municipalities

Coat of
arms 		Municipality Population Land area
(km2) 		Density
(/km2) 		Finnish
speakers 		Swedish
speakers 		Other
speakers
coat of arms of Akaa Akaa 16,408 293 56 97 % 0.2 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Hämeenkyrö Hämeenkyrö 10,316 464 22 97 % 0.2 % 2 %
coat of arms of Ikaalinen Ikaalinen 6,850 750 9 97 % 0.2 % 3 %
coat of arms of Juupajoki Juupajoki 1,708 258 7 102 % 0.2 % 1 %
Coat of arms of Kangasala Kangasala 33,478 658 51 95 % 0.2 % 3 %
coat of arms of Kihniö Kihniö 1,751 357 5 99 % 0 % 2 %
Coat of arms of Kuhmoinen Kuhmoinen 2,099 661 3 99 % 0.3 % 1 %
Coat of arms of Lempäälä Lempäälä 24,703 270 92 96 % 0.3 % 3 %
coat of arms of Mänttä-Vilppula Mänttä-Vilppula 9,270 535 17 98 % 0.2 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Nokia Nokia 35,652 288 124 96 % 0.3 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Orivesi Orivesi 8,842 800 11 99 % 0.2 % 2 %
coat of arms of Parkano Parkano 6,127 853 7 99 % 0.1 % 2 %
Coat of arms of Pirkkala Pirkkala 20,762 81 255 94 % 0.4 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Punkalaidun Punkalaidun 2,645 361 7 98 % 0.1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Pälkäne Pälkäne 6,331 561 11 97 % 0.4 % 3 %
coat of arms of Ruovesi Ruovesi 4,122 777 5 98 % 0.3 % 2 %
Coat of arms of Sastamala Sastamala 23,514 1,429 16 98 % 0.2 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Tampere Tampere 255,066 525 486 88 % 0.5 % 9 %
coat of arms of Urjala Urjala 4,570 476 10 97 % 0.3 % 3 %
coat of arms of Valkeakoski Valkeakoski 20,701 272 76 96 % 0.2 % 4 %
Coat of arms of Vesilahti Vesilahti 4,470 301 15 98 % 0.4 % 2 %
coat of arms of Virrat Virrat 6,274 1,163 5 99 % 0.1 % 3 %
Coat of arms of Ylöjärvi Ylöjärvi 33,680 1,116 30 96 % 0.4 % 3 %
Total 539,339 13,249 41 92 % 0.4 % 6 %

Politics

Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in Pirkanmaa:

See also

References

  1. ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita, OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
  2. ^ "Welcome to the Tampere Region". Council of Tampere Region. Archived from the original on 2015-11-25. Retrieved 2013-06-20.
  3. ^ Viljo Rasila (1985). Pirkanmaan synty (in Finnish). Tampereen historiallinen seura. pp. 6–25.
  4. ^ "Preliminary population structure by Month, Area, Sex, Age and Information". Statistics Finland. 2022-07-21. Retrieved 2022-07-22.
  5. ^ "Tilastokeskuksen PX-Web-tietokannat" (in Finnish). Tilastokeskus. December 5, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "Pirkanmaa – Maakunnan yleisesittely" (PDF) (in Finnish). Pirkanmaan liitto. 2014. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  7. ^ "Pirkanmaan talous 2013" (PDF) (in Finnish). Pirkanmaan liitto. 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  8. ^ "Pirkanmaa – Maakuntakaava 2040" (PDF) (in Finnish). Pirkanmaan liitto. March 3, 2015. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d "Tilastokeskuksen PX-Web-tietokannat / Väestö 31.12. muuttujina Maakunta, Kieli, Ikä, Sukupuoli, Vuosi ja Tiedot". Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestörakenne [verkkojulkaisu] (in Finnish). Helsinki: Tilastokeskus. March 29, 2019. ISSN 1797-5379. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  10. ^ "Tilastokeskuksen PX-Web-tietokannat / Väestö 31.12. muuttujina Kieli, Maakunta, Ikä, Sukupuoli ja Vuosi". Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestörakenne [verkkojulkaisu] (in Finnish). Helsinki: Tilastokeskus. March 29, 2017. ISSN 1797-5379. Retrieved January 10, 2021.

External links

Media related to Pirkanmaa at Wikimedia Commons Pirkanmaa travel guide from Wikivoyage

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirkanmaa