Two countries - one location

The Øresund region – consisting of Greater Copenhagen and Southern Sweden – is the new regional centre of Northern Europe.

The Øresund region – encompassing Greater Copenhagen and Southern Sweden – is the new regional centre of Northern Europe. With Copenhagen as the pivotal point, this is where Central and Northern Europe meet. The Øresund region has developed into a regional centre due to a variety of reasons:

• The largest metropolitan area in Scandinavia
• Good access to the Scandinavian and Baltic markets
• Well developed infrastructure
• Large international presence
• High knowledge intensity
• High growth

The Øresund Region

The attractiveness of the region has created the largest metropolitan area in Scandinavia with a population of 3.6 million inhabitants and a high concentration of companies. Approximately 3,400 foreign owned companies have chosen to locate in the region. Furthermore, 142,000 students attend courses at 14 universities with a scientific staff of about 10,000 researchers.

The industry and research environment of the region have proven to be particularly strong in three different sectors: food technologies, IT and life science. These three competence areas have developed through intensive collaboration between companies, research institutions, and universities. In order to sustain and accelerate the knowledge and industrial growth, several organisations have been established in the areas of food, IT and life science.

Basic figures and characteristics of the Øresund region

The structure of the labour market

The region is a highly developed society due to a variety of supplementary reasons:

• The best infrastructure
• The largest airport in Northern Europe
• High language proficiency
• High penetration of ICT services
• Lowest crime rate
• High quality of life

As a result of the agglomeration of people, companies, education and research institutions in the region are experiencing a higher growth than the two nations of which it consists. Furthermore, the region also has one of the highest GDP per capita in the world.

GDP per capita (PPP), 2002

Source: OECD, 2005

More information on the Øresund region

Visit the official Øresund regional web portal here

Last updated on: 07-03-2006	<< Back   Top