Oulu
Oulu
Uleåborg (Swedish) | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Oulun kaupunki Uleåborgs stad City of Oulu | |
From top, left to right: Rantakatu in downtown Oulu; Oulu City Hall; Lyseo Upper Secondary School and the Oulu Cathedral; Shops along Kirkkokatu; Radisson Blu Hotel along Ojakatu | |
|
Flag Coat of arms | |
| Nicknames: Capital of Northern Finland; Capital of Northern Scandinavia | |
Location of Oulu in Finland | |
Interactive map of Oulu | |
| Coordinates: 65°00′51″N 25°28′19″E / 65.01417°N 25.47194°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | North Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Oulu sub-region |
| Charter | April 8, 1605 |
| Government | |
| • City manager | Ari Alatossava |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
• City | 3,817.52 km2 (1,473.95 sq mi) |
| • Land | 2,972.44 km2 (1,147.67 sq mi) |
| • Water | 103.2 km2 (39.8 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 187.1 km2 (72.2 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 17th largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-06-30) | |
• City | 216,066 |
| • Rank | 5th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 72.69/km2 (188.3/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 208 939 |
| • Urban density | 915.8/km2 (2,372/sq mi) |
| Demonym | oululainen (Finnish) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 93.3% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.2% |
| • Sami | 0.1% |
| • Others | 6.5% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 17.4% |
| • 15 to 64 | 66% |
| • 65 or older | 16.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
Oulu (/ˈoʊluː/ OH-loo, Finnish: [ˈou̯lu] ⓘ; Swedish: Uleåborg [ʉːlɛɔˈbɔrj] ⓘ) is a major port city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the north-western coast of the country at the mouth of the River Oulu. The population of Oulu is approximately 216,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 264,000. It is the 5th most populous municipality in Finland, and the fourth most populous urban area in the country. Oulu is also the most populous city in Northern Finland.
Oulu's neighbouring municipalities are: Hailuoto, Ii, Kempele, Liminka, Lumijoki, Muhos, Pudasjärvi, Tyrnävä and Utajärvi. Oulu is the third northernmost city in the world with a population of over 100,000, after Murmansk and Norilsk in Russia.
Due to its large population and geopolitical, economic and cultural-historical position, Oulu has been called the "capital of Northern Finland". Oulu is also considered one of Europe's "living labs", where residents experiment with new technologies (such as NFC tags and ubi-screens) on a community-wide scale. Although only in the top 2% of universities, the University of Oulu is regionally renowned in the field of information technology. Oulu has also been very successful in recent city image surveys; in a study published by the Finnish Economic Survey in 2008, Oulu received the best image rating among large cities in the country, including ratings from respondents in all provinces. In the 2023 T-Media survey, Oulu was tied with Kuopio as the second most attractive city in Finland, while Tampere was ranked first. In 2025, Oulu had the cleanest air quality among all European cities according to European Environment Agency (EEA).
Once known for wood tar and salmon, Oulu has become a major high-tech centre, particularly in IT and wellness technology. In 2024, Oulu placed third in the European Commission’s Capital of Innovation Awards (iCapital) in the Rising Innovative Cities category. Other important industries include wood processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paper and steel.
Oulu has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2026 together with Trenčín, Slovakia.