Helsinki (in Finnish), or Helsingfors (in Swedish)
is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in
the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf
of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the
city of Helsinki is 568,146 (31 October 2007), making
it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide
margin.
Helsinki is Finland's administrative center and the
center of Finnish cultural life and business activity.
There is a large and varied collection of museums, galleries,
and performance spaces in the city. Many major company
headquarters are in Helsinki.
Helsinki, along with the neighbouring cities of Vantaa,
Espoo, and Kauniainen, constitutes what is known as
the capital region, with over 1,000,000 inhabitants.
The Greater Helsinki area contains several additional
municipalities and has a population of 1,293,262.
