Cities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area have surveyed the well-being of their residents

The results (In Finnish language) show that of the residents of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area:

• 84% are satisfied with the conditions in their neighbourhood. On average, women are slightly more satisfied than men. Kauniainen had the highest proportion of satisfied people (91%), and Vantaa had a slightly lower proportion (77%) than the Metropolitan Area average.
• 59% feel that their quality of life is good on average. Among people aged 75 and over, the proportion is lower than in younger age groups. Between cities, the proportion varied from 73% in Kauniainen to 52% in Vantaa.
• 16% are experiencing psychological stress. Among those aged under 55, the proportion is clearly higher than in older age groups. Kauniainen had the lowest proportion of people experiencing psychological stress.
• 8% smoke daily. Smoking is more common among people aged 55–74 than in younger or older age groups. In Vantaa, the proportion is higher than in neighbouring municipalities (12%).
• 42% engage in enough physical activity to meet physical activity recommendations for health. Men are more likely than women to engage in enough physical activity to meet physical activity recommendations for health, and young people more likely than older people. For 43% of respondents, daily physical activity has decreased as a result of the coronavirus epidemic. The decrease in physical activity is highest among those aged 20–54. For one in five, however, daily physical activity has increased. Kauniainen has the highest number of respondents who have increased their physical activity and Vantaa the lowest.
• 47% said that the coronavirus epidemic has increased their feelings of loneliness. The proportion is higher for women (52%) than men (41%). In addition, the proportion is slightly higher among those aged under 55 than in older age groups.
• 19% of those who have needed or used services of a doctor in the past 12 months rate the service as inadequate. The corresponding proportion for dental services was 23%.

The cities in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area will also work together to produce a wider publication on the results of the well-being survey, which will look in more depth at the well-being and health of residents. The report will be published at the end of the year.

The Wellbeing Survey for the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is a survey on the living conditions, health and well-being of residents conducted by Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen in spring 2021 Around 25,000 residents aged 20 and over in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area were randomly selected from the Population Information System for the survey. Almost 12,000 responses were received, of which 4,800 were from Helsinki, 3,300 from Espoo, 2,600 from Vantaa and 1,100 from Kauniainen. The response rate was 47%.