Maps

The map shows the geographical delimitation of cross-border regions and committees financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers as of December 2021.

The map shows the share of cross border commuters in the total employees with residence in a NUTS2 Nordic Region in 2015. The darker the blue, the higher the share. For the most NUTS2 regions in the Nordic, the percent is lower than 0,5%, indicating the commuting workers are the absolute minority in the total employed people. Åland (2,6%) and the South Sweden region (2,7%) stand out with more than 2% of employees in the region commuting cross-border for work. The destination country for Åland workers is Sweden, while for Swedish workers living in the south is Denmark. The commuting pattern is also apparent for the Swedish NUTS2 regions along the border line with Norway, with relatively higher percent of cross border workers commuting to Norway compared with other Nordic NUTS2 regions. At a finer scale (e.g., NUTS3) would show higher percentages in a number of regions, e.g., by taking only the NUTS 3 region – Skåne instead of the NUTS 2 region South Sweden (Skåne+Blekinge) or the border regions between NO and SE.

The map builds on statistics of cross-border commuters with residence in a NUTS2 Nordic region commute for work in 2015. For each NUTS2 region, the map shows the total number of commuters who commute to other Nordic countries for work. The number of commuters is categorised into three groups visualised in different shades: the darker, the higher the number of commuters. In addition, the most common country these commuters commute to from each region is identified by specific colours. For example, the darkest red indicates a region with at least 2,000 commuters working in another Nordic country, of which the largest group number of commuters works in Denmark. The most commuters were from the region of South Sweden (16 543) in 2015, and the majority of them commuted to Denmark for work. Norway is the most popular destination for work commuters in the Nordic Region, e.g., all Swedish regions except for the South Sweden region, all the regions in Denmark except for the Copenhagen region, and Iceland. Sweden is more attractive for work commuters living in Finland, Copenhagen region, and bordering regions in Norway.

The map shows the geographical delimitation of cross-border regions and committees financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers.

The map illustrates the accessibility of out-patient drop-in care during non-office hours and in-patient care in South Karelia in Finland. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. Both drop-in care during non-office hours (24/7) and in-patient care are available in two health care facilities in the region. These are located in Lappeenranta and Imatra respectively, making the service more accessible in these two municipalities. Our accessibility analysis suggests that in-patient care is accessible to 63.5% of the population within a 10-minute car ride. The vast majority of the inhabitants (98.6%) can reach a hospital for in-patient care within a one-hour car ride. As the largest municipality in South Karelia, Lappeenranta is equipped with adequate health care resources. Most of these health care services are easily accessible for the inhabitants in the municipality, other than for highly specialised in-patient care. None of the 19 health care facilities in South Karelia offers highly specialised in-patient care.

The map illustrates the accessibility of out-patient drop-in care during office hours in South Karelia in Finland. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. In South Karelia, 10 out of the 19 health care facilities provide out-patient drop-in care services during office hours. Over three-in-four (77.7%) inhabitants in the region are able to access drop-in health care during office hours within a ten-minute car ride, and a half-hour car ride covers the vast majority (98.4%) of the regional population

The map illustrates the accessibility of primary care during office hours in South Karelia in Finland. The colours represent car ride times in minutes from the place of residency to the nearest health care facility within a certain service type, with a travel range of 10 minutes to two hours. The health care facilities are also located on the map. The population in South Karelia is one-fifth of that in Nordjylland, and the region has 12 health care facilities in total, of which 11 provide primary out-patient care. A 10-minute car ride covers 89.7% of the regional population, while 99.0% of the population can reach a doctor within a halfhour car ride. In terms of primary care, Lappeenranta is one of the municipalities with the most extensive accessibility across the region.

This map shows the expected population change in Nordic municipalities by looking at the change between 2017 and 2040. The colours on the main map indicates the percentage of population change at municipal level between 2017 and 2040. Shades of red indicate a population decline, whereas shades of blue indicate a population increase. The colours on the regional map (bottom-right corner) indicates the type of region according to the Eurostat’s urban-rural typology (see: http://nordregio.org/maps/urban-rural-typology-of-nordic-regions/): shades of red indicate predominantly urban regions, yellow for intermediate regions and shades of green for predominantly rural regions. In the two types of regions classified as predominantly rural (“light green” and „dark green“ regions), population growth largely remains concentrated in larger towns and their suburbs. This is particularly the case in Sweden and Finland. For instance, the regional capitals Östersund in Jämtland (SE) and Seinäjoki in South Ostrobothnia (FI) are expected to have larger populations in 2040 than today, while most other municipalities in these regions will decline. In Norway and Iceland, a somewhat more nuanced pattern applies. Here population growth is not only expected in regional capitals and other larger towns, but also in some smaller and more remote municipalities. In Denmark, finally, population growth is expected for large parts of the country until 2040, in more rural and urban areas alike. Population loss is only expected in some of the most remote municipalities at the Northern, Eastern and Southern borders of the country. While the population loss in rural regions is hence expected to continue across the Nordic Region, it appears to be more pronounced in some countries than in others. In the predominantly urban (“red”) regions, the opposite pattern applies: With very few exceptions, municipalities in these regions are expected to experience a growth in population numbers until 2040.

This map shows the projected working age population change at municipal level during the period 2019-2040 While the total population of the Nordic Region is projected to grow by 8% to 29.5 million by 2040, the growth of the working-age population (15–64 years) is expected to be more modest at 1.5%. The working-age population also referred to as the potential labour supply, refers to all people in the population aged 15–64 years. It is a potential supply because it includes all those who fit the age requirement, despite some not actually being available for the labour market (e.g. full-time students, those with long-term illnesses or disabilities that affect their ability to work). The potential labour supply at the local level is constantly shifting due to trends such as ageing, migration and urbanisation. The red areas on the map indicate a projected working-age population decline and blue areas an increase. The yellow areas indicate a stable development. On a national level Greenland (-16.2%), the Faroe Islands (-6.6%), Finland (-3%) and Denmark (-2%) are projected to see a decrease in the working-age population, while increases are projected in Sweden (4%), Norway (4.6%), Åland (9.1%) and Iceland (10.9%). It is worth noting that, even in the parts of the Nordic Region where the working-age population is expected to shrink, the projections are less severe than the EU28 average (-6.5%). Greenland and Faroe Islands are the only exceptions. At the municipal level, the variation is even more striking with the majority (72%) of Nordic municipalities projected to experience a decrease in the size of the working-age population. As Figure 6.2 shows, this trend is most pronounced in Finland (decline of the working-age population in 90% of the municipalities) and Denmark (81%) and less apparent in Sweden (67%), Iceland (64%) and Norway (61%). Most of…

The map shows the share of total population that use the online medical record service Omakanta in Finland. These figures are of particular interest in the context of the urban-rural digital divide. The darkest green shade on the map indicates the highest share of users, while the darkest purple shade indicates the lowest share of users.  As can be seen in the map and the chart, there are urban-rural differences in the platform usage, since population in urban areas seems to have a higher usage. Another observation from the map is that many municipalities with a high share of population with Swedish as a mother tongue have the lowest Omakanta user ratio. All Nordic countries have established national e-health portals through which citizens can access evidence-based health care information, receive advice in case of illness or health worries, and carry out certain actions related to health care. Even though the e-services available on these platforms vary between different Nordic countries, all platforms provide access to electronic health records.

Average annual flows above 1000 people by country of origin Migration flows by country of origin are of growing interest in the Nordic Region due to the recent unprecedented inflows of migrants. There are also interesting differences between the Nordic countries with respect to the dominant countries of origin of migrants and the size of inflows. Finland had only four inflows exceeding annual averages of 1000 people during the measured period. The inflow from Estonia was by far the largest, an annual average of around 5000 people, flowed by inflows from Sweden and Russia (just under 3000), and the United Kingdom (around 1000).

In Finland the reindeer herding area is divided into the Special Reindeer Herding Area and the Reindeer Herding Area

By 1 January 2015