Espoo (, Finnish: [ˈespoː]; Swedish: Esbo) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately 326,000. It is the 2nd most populous municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, which has approximately 1.6 million inhabitants. Espoo is on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland and borders Helsinki, Vantaa, Kirkkonummi, Vihti and Nurmijärvi. The city includes the enclave of Kauniainen. Espoo covers an area of 528 km2 (204 sq mi). Espoo is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 68% Finnish speakers, 6% Swedish speakers, and 26% speakers of other languages, well above the national average.
Espoo was settled in the Prehistoric Era, with evidence of human settlements dating back 8,000 years. However, the population disappeared during the early Iron Age. During the Early Middle Ages, the region was populated by Tavastians and Southwestern Finns. Following the Northern Crusades, Swedish settlers began to emigrate to the coastal regions of modern-day Finland.
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