Helsinki | |
---|---|
State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
Helsinki ( HEL-sink-ee or (listen) hel-SINK-ee; Finnish: [ˈhelsiŋki] (listen); Swedish: Helsingfors, Finland Swedish: [helsiŋˈforsː] (listen); Latin: Helsingia) is the capital, primate and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, It's the chair of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of 656,229. The city's urban area has a population of 1,268,296, making it by far the most populous metropolitan area in Finland as well as the nation's most important center for politics, education, finance, culture, and research; while Tampere in the Pirkanmaa region, situated 179 kilometres (111 mi) to the north from Helsinki, is the second largest urban area in Finland. Helsinki is situated 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 kilometers (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 300 km (190 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. It has close historical ties with these 3 cities.
Together with the cities of Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen, and surrounding commuter cities, Helsinki creates the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which has a population of over 1.
Colombo | |
---|---|
State | Western Province |
Country | Sri Lanka |
Capital | |
Population | 100000 |
Colombo (; Sinhala: කොළඹ, romanized: Kolamba, pronunciation [ˈkəlɐmbɞ]; Tamil: கொழும்பு, romanized: Kozhumpu, Tamil pronunciation: [koɻumbu]) is the commercial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo metropolitan area has a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 in the city proper. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is within the urban area of, and a suburb of, Colombo. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments.Due to its large harbour and its strategic position along the East–West sea trade routes, Colombo was known to ancient traders 2,000 years ago.