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The Südwestfalen region between Soest and Siegen encompasses the districts Olpe, Soest, Siegen-Wittgenstein, Hochsauerlandkreis, and Märkischer Kreis. Nearly 1.5 million people live here on an area of approx. 5,600 km² with a population density of 261 inhabitants/km².
Südwestfalen is a center for small and medium-sized industrial enterprises. Approx. 475,000 employees work in over 70,000 companies. The focal areas are metal processing, plastic processing, recycling, sanitary installations, and forestry. A key sector is the automotive industry, which forms an important center of excellence in Südwestfalen. 25 percent of NRW's automotive sales are generated in this region between the Lippe and Sieg rivers.
The industrial core competences also shape the university landscape of the region. The key research areas of the University of Siegen lie in the fields of sensorics/sensor systems, multidisciplinary analyses and applied system optimization, building and material chemistry, and material sciences. The Südwestfalen University of Applied Sciences with sites in Iserlohn, Hagen, Meschede, and Soest has its main focuses in engineering, natural sciences, information and communications technology, business, and agricultural engineering.
Südwestfalen lies centrally between the Ruhr and the Rhineland and is well developed via the A45 and A46 freeways and the important A44 east-west link.
