The region consists of 49 cities and municipalities with a population of 1.5 million inhabitants (17 % of Sweden's).

The Västra Götaland Region covers 24 000 square kilometres (6 % of Sweden's area). Approx. 800 000 inhabitants live in the largest metropolitan area (Greater Göteborg). Part of Västra Götaland Region (with approx. 300 000 inhabitants) is an Objective 2 area of the Structural Funds for the period 2000-2006.

The strong internationalisation of Swedish economy has made a great impact on the structural and technical changes in the Region

The number of employees in Western Sweden is roughly 650,000 persons. 40 % of these (260,000) are occupied in the publicly financed service sector while 50 % or approx. 325,000 are dealing with production, private services, trade or transportation. 150,000 are working in the manufacturing industry, which is equal to around 23 % of all employees.

The largest activity areas in the region, with regard to the number of employed in production, company service, trade and transport, are roughly the following:

Automotive 50,000

Food 50,000

Electronics, IT, telecommunication 20,000

Chemistry and petrochemical industry 9,000

Textile and clothing 7,500

Wood and paper 7,500

Pharmaceutical and medic-tech 6,000

Furniture 5,500