Maps

Voting turnout in 2023 (or latest national election). The map illustrates voter turnout as a percentage point relative to national averages, highlighting differences in participation levels between countries. This method removes inter-country differences in participation levels, providing a clearer view of the urban-rural divide. Lower turnout is observed in eastern Finland, northern Sweden, and the more rural parts of Denmark. In Norway, the lowest turnout occurs in the north and in municipalities outside Oslo. Nationally, the highest voter turnouts are in the Faroe Islands (88%), Sweden (84.2%), and Denmark (84.16%). Lower participation rates are found in Iceland (80.1%), Norway (77.2%), Finland (68.5%), and Greenland (65.9%).

A map portrays tertiary education attainment level around the Nordics, based on a grid level data.

A map portrays tertiary education attainment level around the Nordics.

The map shows the proportion of households that had access to fixed-line broadband with download speeds >100 Mbps (superfast broadband) at the municipal level, with darker colours indicating higher coverage. Overall, Denmark has the highest levels of connectivity, with 92% of municipalities providing superfast broadband to at least 85% of households. In over half (59%) of all Danish municipalities, almost all (>95%) of households have access to this connection speed. The lowest levels of connectivity are found in Finland. This is particularly evident in rural municipalities where, on average, less than half of households (48%) have access to superfast broadband. Connectivity levels are also rather low in some parts of Iceland, for example, the Westfjords and several municipalities in the east.  Households in urban municipalities are still more likely to have access to superfast broadband than households in rural or intermediate municipalities, but the gap appears to be closing in most. This is most evident in Norway, where the average household coverage for rural municipalities increased by 31% between 2018 and 2020. By comparison, average household coverage for urban municipalities in Norway increased by only 0.7%. In the archipelago (Åland Islands, Stockholm and Helsinki), general broadband connectivity is good; however, some islands with many second homes still have poor coverage. 

Help Santa! To reduce his transit times and emissions – reindeers burn a lot of (green) fuel – and find an optimal remote workplace from where to deliver gifts to all the children in the Nordic Region! Santa has heard about this new trend “multilocational lifestyle” and he would like to know if this would suit him as well. But where to move? Santa’s little researchers have worked hard this year and done some mapping for him – and discovered places you have never even heard of! If Santa is to serve all children (0-14 years old) throughout the Nordic Region from a single address, the solution lies in Storfors Municipality. WHERE? – you might think. It is a real place, in Central-Southern Sweden. Here Santa has an average distance of 425 km distance to each child from his own backyard. This still sounds like awfully many kilometers. Could he be even more multilocal – with a home in each of the Nordic countries? This would help him to reduce his overall commuting to work significantly. Let’s try it! If he serves all 4.974 children in Åland from a residence (like a luxury hotel with all-inclusive and pets allowed) in Jomala Municipality, he will only have to travel 11 km to work on average. In Greenland, the distances are somewhat larger, and Santa, even with the most optimal location from a residence (a cabin) in Qeqqata Municipality would have to travel 288 km to each of the 11,748 children in the country. Can you guess what the other optimal locations would be in the Nordics? I bet you can’t so I will tell you: it’s the municipalities of Hallsberg in Sweden, Jämsä in Finland, Etnedal in Norway, Kalundborg in Denmark, Kjósarhreppur in Iceland and Tórshavn in Faroe Islands. Well, Santa…

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

This map shows location of algae production by production method in the Nordic Arctic and Baltic Sea Region in 2019 Algae and seaweeds are gaining attention as useful inputs for industries as diverse as energy and human food production. Aquatic vegetation – both in the seas and in freshwater – can grow at several times the pace of terrestrial plants, and the high natural oil content of some algae makes them ideal for producing a variety of products, from cosmetic oils to biofuels. At the same time, algae farming has added value in potential synergies with farming on land, as algae farms utilise nutrient run-off and reduce eutrophication. In addition, aquatic vegetation is a highly versatile feedstock. Algae and seaweed thrive in challenging and varied conditions and can be transformed into products ranging from fuel, feeds, fertiliser, and chemicals, to third-generation sugar and biomass. These benefits are the basis for seaweed and algae emerging as one of the most important bioeconomy trends in the Nordic Arctic and Baltic Sea region. The production of algae for food and industrial uses has hence significant potential, particularly in terms of environmental impact, but it is still at an early stage. The production of algae (both micro- and macroalgae) can take numerous forms, as shown by this map. At least nine different production methods were identified in the region covered in this analysis. A total of 41 production sites were operating in Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, Germany, and Sweden. Germany has by far the most sites for microalgae production, whereas Denmark and Norway have the most macroalgae sites.

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 indicator measures the total overnight stays by guests in all types of accommodation, i.e., hotels and holiday resorts, camping sites, youth hostels, marinas, and holiday cottages. The map shows the change in percent from 2009 and 2019 (Faroe Island: 2013-2019 due to limited data availability). The orange colour indicates a shrink, while bluish colours indicate an increase. Bluer the colour is, larger is the increase. The shaded colour in yellow highlights the regions where international guests contributed to more than half of the total overnight stays in 2019. Most Nordic regions and territories have experienced an increase in the number of overnight stays during the last decade. The most dramatic increase can be observed in Iceland, with 5 of its 8 regions witnessing an increase in overnight stays over 100% between 2009-2019. The overnight stays in Suðurnes have increased by 451% during 2009-2019, being the largest increase in the Nordic Region. It’s also worth noting that the nearly all the regions and territories with more international guests have an increase in the total number of overnight stays, indicating that international tourism is playing a more important role in the Nordic tourism industry. The only exception is Åland, whose overnight stays dropped by 5% during 2009-2019. The traditional skiing destinations in Norway and Sweden have also witnessed a decrease in their total overnight stays, i.e., Hedmark, Oppland and Dalarna. Hedmark, among all the Nordic regions and territories, experienced the largest decline of overnight stays of 15% between 2009-2019. The number of overnight stays in some regions in eastern and central Finland also decreased from 2009 to 2019, e.g., Central Ostrobothnia and Satakunta, with domestic guests as the main tourists.

The conditions for a Home Alone Christmas vary greatly across the Nordic Region. The combination of the selected two accessibility indicators is visualised on Nordregio’s Christmas Map 2020. It classifies the Nordic municipalities into nine categories, based on: – The share of households with fixed broadband of at least 30mbps is used to measure the quality and distribution of internet connection. The higher the percentage, the bigger chance you will have an uninterrupted online celebration! – The average distance to grocery stores is used to estimate the time required to get your Christmas food: the closer to a grocery store, the more spontaneous you can be. On one side of the spectrum are about a fourth of the municipalities having a high share of households (>75%) with a decent broadband connection and a short average distance to the closest grocery store (<2,5 km). This enhances last-minute Christmas preparation and high-quality online celebrations. These municipalities are colored in dark purple on the map and are mostly, but not exclusively, located in urban areas in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. On the other side of the spectrum, about 10% of Nordic municipalities have rather weak fixed broadband coverage (<50%) and relatively long travel distances to the closest grocery store (> 5km), requiring more planning for celebrating Christmas. These municipalities are colored in light purple on the map and are mostly found in sparsely population municipalities in Finland and mountainous municipalities in Norway.

The travel times indicate the fastest morning connection outbound from Copenhagen Central Station or Malmö Central Station, departing after 6:30AMand arriving before 9:00AM. The station catchments are calculated by bicycle travel time for any time remaining beyond train travel. For instance, a 35-minute train ride and a 10-minute cycle ride results in a 45-minute total travel time. The shades of green indicate the travel time to other train stations and their surrounding areas in four main classes: up to 15 minutes, 16 to 30 minutes, 31 to 45 minutes and 46 to 60 minutes. The areas not highlighted in green on the map are further than one hour by train from either Copenhagen or Malmö main train stations. The map clearly shows that the vast majority of areas within the Capital Region of Denmark, a number of stations and areas which are part of the region of Zealand, for instance Slagelse and Næstved, as well as areas located along four main train corridors in Skåne (Malmö-Helsingborg, Malmö-Hässleholm, Malmö-Trelleborg and Malmö-Ystad) are within the one-hour travel time by train from/to Copenhagen and/or Malmö, thanks to the different train types (Öresund trains, regional trains and intercity trains). Areas of the GCR which are beyond the one-hour travel condition are the most northern part of the Capital Region of Denmark, the southern and western parts of Zealand (e.g. Kalundborg and Vordingborg) as well as most of the eastern half part of Skåne. In terms of population, the current situation provides this possibility to almost 3 million out of 4.3 million inhabitants, corresponding to 69% of the total population living in the Greater Copenhagen Region in 2020. The proportion of the total population increases to 75% when the region of Halland is excluded (as this was not initially part of the GCR when the…

This map shows the Greater Copenhagen Region, which constists of 85 municipalities and four regional authorities: the Capital Region of Denmark and Region Zealand on the Danish side, and the regions of Skåne and Halland on the Swedish side.

The map shows the proportion of households within each municipality that did not have access to a fixed-line broadband connection with a download speed above 30 Mbps in 2018. Put another way, the map shows the proportion of households which only had access to basic broadband. In Danish, Icelandic and Swedish municipalities, the proportion of households which only have basic broadband is rather small. In contrast, more than half of all households rely on basic broadband in many Norwegian and Finnish municipalities. The situation in Finland is particularly striking, with several municipalities in which over 75% of households have only basic Internet access. The average coverage by municipality type shows a clear digital divide between urban and rural municipalities. On average, fast broadband is available to all but 4% of households in urban municipalities. In contrast, approximately one third of households in rural municipalities do not have access to any faster broadband than 30 Mbps. The largest urban-rural digital divide is to be found in Norway and Finland. However, the pace of fibre development has never been higher. Particularly noteworthy is the strong growth in fibre-based broadband taking place outside of the densely populated areas.

The map shows the proportion of the population aged 30-34 years old, who had a tertiary education at the European level in 2019. Purple shades indicate higher proportions, and pinkish shades reflect lower proportions. It is common to show the education attainment for the age group 30-34 since it is an age group where most people have finalised their studies. The focus on this age group makes it easier to see recent trends and outcomes of policies. Overall, over 40% of Europeans aged 30-34 years old had a tertiary education in 2019. Young people in the Nordic countries are among the most educated, with approximately half of 30 to 34-year-olds achieving a tertiary education across all Nordic countries. The highest proportions can be found in the capital regions. Stockholm is particularly noteworthy, with over 60% of 30 to 34-year-olds having had a tertiary education. Regions with prominent universities also stand out – for example, Skåne, Uppsala, Västerbotten and Västra Götaland (Sweden), Trøndelag (Norway) and Østjylland (Denmark).

Ambitious broadband connectivity targets have been set across the Nordic Region, with most countries working towards universal access to download speeds of >100 Mbps for all households. The deadline for reaching this target varies between countries, from 2020 (Denmark) to 2023 (Iceland) to 2025 (Finland & Sweden). Norway aims to provide access to download speeds of >100 Mbps for 90% of households by 2020. The map measures progress towards these targets, showing the minimum download speed that was available to at least 50% of households in each municipality through a fixed-line connection in 2018, along with the proportion of households which had access this speed. The blue shading shows municipalities where over 50% of households had access to fixed broadband with download speeds >100 Mbps. The green shading indicates municipalities where less than 50% had access to fixed broadband with download speeds >100 Mbps but where at least 50% of the population had access to fixed broadband with download speeds >30 Mbps. The orange shading shows the percentage of households who have access to fixed broadband with download speeds >10 Mbps for municipalities where less than 50% of households have access to fixed broadband with download speeds >30 Mbps.

These maps highlight the urban-rural divide with respect to household coverage of Next Generation Access (NGA) broadband in the Nordic-Baltic Region in 2018. NGA includes a range of technologies, all of which deliver minimum download speeds of 30 Mbps. The map on the left-hand side shows NGA coverage for “all households”, with darker shading representing higher levels of coverage. Here we see that over 75% of households have access to NGA coverage in most regions for most countries, with the exception of Finland and Lithuania. The highest levels of household coverage can be found in regions in Denmark, Iceland and Latvia. The map on the right-hand side shows the same indicator but includes only rural households. Here we see a quite different picture. In most of Finland and Lithuania, as well as many regions in Sweden, less than 35% of rural households have NGA coverage. Norway performs somewhat better, with NGA access for 35-65% of rural households in most regions. Again, regions in Denmark, Iceland and Latvia have the best coverage. Estonia also performs relatively well, with 65-95% of rural households covered in three of its five regions.

Ambitious broadband connectivity targets have been set across the Nordic Region, with most countries working towards universal access to download speeds of >100 Mbps for all households. The deadline for reaching this target varies between countries, from 2020 (Denmark) to 2023 (Iceland) to 2025 (Finland & Sweden). Norway aims to provide access to download speeds of >100 Mbps for 90% of households by 2020. The map measures progress towards these targets, showing the percentage of households with access to a fixed-line broadband connection with a minimum download speed of 100 Mbps in 2018.* Darker shading represents proportionally higher levels of coverage. According to the map, a substantial proportion of households (>75%) had access to 100 Mbps in most Danish municipalities in 2018. Sweden also has relatively good fixed broadband coverage across most of the country, though there are several municipalities where coverage drops below 60% of households. The most limited coverage can be found in Finland, parts of Norway and the Westfjords and easternmost municipalities of Iceland. *Municipal level data was not available for the Faroe Islands or Greenland. Due to municipal level data availability, Icelandic figures are from 2020. 

This map shows the difference in mobility to workplaces between a weekday (April 23rd, 2020) and the corresponding weekday during the period January 7th to February 6th, 2020 (in percent). The data highlights the percent change in visits to workplaces within each administrative region in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Data is not available for the Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland and Åland. Read more about the data here. The average value of the Nordic regions included in the map is a reduction by 34% of the number of visits to workplaces on April 23rd (in comparison to a baseline). This average value hides large variations within the Nordic Region with the most modest change occurring in Gotland (-12%) and the most severe change in Oslo (-57%). More generally, variations can be identified both between and within countries. The variations between countries reveal differences in recommendations and restrictions from published by the different national governments. Details for each country have been gathered by Info Norden and can be found here. As a result, the change in visits to workplaces decreased by 26% in Sweden, 39% in Denmark, 41% in Norway and 47% in Finland. The variations within countries also reveal differences in government´s decisions (e.g. lockdown of the Helsinki-Uusimaa region reducing the mobility to workplaces by 53%), but not only. There are indeed a number of local characteristics of the labour markets that contribute at explaining that the largest changes in mobility to workplaces are found in capital city regions. These local characteristics are a greater dependency on public transport for commuters, who are adviced to avoid using such means of transportation under the COVID-19 context; and having a higher share of jobs that can be done by teleworking, among others.