Integration in the Øresund Region experienced a boom last year, with the latest integration index showing an increase of 21 per cent, writes Øresundsbro in its newsletter.

This is the sixth time that the annual integration level has been measured. Compared to the year 2000, when the fixed link across the Øresund was opened, commercial integration across the region has virtually quadrupled.

The integration index is measured as the total volume of car traffic crossing the Øresund Bridge between the hours of 7.00 a.m. and -9.00 a.m. on weekdays in September.

The traffic serves as an indication of the development of activities in the region, which has now picked up speed after two years of moderate development in 2003 and 2004. The growth rate is primarily driven by the growing numbers of people who commute to work from Skåne to Copenhagen.

"It is very positive to see that the establishment of the Øresund Bridge is helping to remedy the structural problems, mainly within the housing and labour markets, in the Øresund Region. Copenhageners can find better and less expensive housing in Skåne. And people from Skåne can find better paid employment in Copenhagen during a time of high unemployment in Malmö," says Karsten Längerich, strategist with the Øresund Bridge Consortium.