Northwest Metropolitan Region

Organisation:

The Northwest Metropolitan Region is organised as an association. Members of the association are the federal states of Bremen and Lower Saxony, 16 districts, independent cities and 3 chambers of industry and commerce in the region. The basis for the joint activities is the state treaty of the federal states of Lower Saxony and Bremen as well as the statutes of the association. The metropolitan assembly decides on strategic orientations after recommendations by the executive board. Decisions on funding from the federal states’ development fund are made by the Executive Board after preliminary discussions in the Steering Committee. Three working groups and two advisory councils provide advice and support. The implementing body is the administrative office.

Objectives:

The association combines the forces of politics, administration, science and business to position the region as an innovative European economic region with great growth potential, to strengthen competitiveness, and to use the synergies of existing and emerging cooperations and initiate lighthouse projects. The four-yearly framework for action serves as a guideline for sustainable development with a focus on the region’s own strengths and unique selling points: In the future, too, it will be important to shape climate neutrality and biodiversity, to secure services of general interest and to promote sustainable and intelligent mobility.

Facts:

• Area: 13,749 sq km
• Population: 2.8 million (2021)
• Population density: 202.2 PE/sq km (2021)
• GDP: € 101,322 million (2020)
• GDP/employed person: €68,230 (2020)
• Unemployment rate: 7.2% (2019)
• Students at universities: 103,084 (2021/22)