List of urban areas in the Nordic countries

This is a list of urban areas in the Nordic countries by population. The population is measured on a national level, independently by each country's statistical bureau. Statistics Sweden uses the term tätort (urban settlement), Statistics Finland also uses tätort in Swedish and taajama in Finnish, Statistics Denmark uses byområde (city), while Statistics Norway uses tettsted (urban settlement).

The Stockholm urban area (in blue), the largest urban area in the Nordic countries. The area includes land both inside and outside of the municipality of Stockholm.

A uniform statistical definition between the Nordic countries was agreed upon in 1960,[1] which defines an urban area as a continuous built-up area whose population is at least 200 inhabitants and where the maximum distance between residences is 200 metres; discounting roads, parking spaces, parks, sports grounds and cemeteries – without regard to the ward, municipal or county boundaries.[1][2] Despite the uniform definition, the various statistical bureaus have different approaches in conducting these measurements, resulting in slight variation between the different countries.[lower-alpha 1]

Despite belonging to the Nordic countries, Iceland does not follow the same definition of "urban area" for statistical purposes. The Nordic definition is unique to the four other countries, and should not be confused with the international concepts of metropolitan area or urban areas in general. In 2010, Finland changed its definition (stat.fi). This means that according to official statistics, the land area covered by urban areas is three times larger in Finland than in Norway though the total urban population is roughly the same (ssb.no). It also means that while the population of Danish “byområder” is usually less than half of the population of the “functional urban area” defined by Eurostat, the population of a Finnish “tätort” is usually around 80% of the respective “functional urban area” defined by Eurostat. In 2013, the “functional urban area” of Aarhus thus had a population of 845,971 while the “functional urban area” of Tampere had a population of 364,992. According to official statistics, however, the “tätort” Tampere is larger than the “byområde” Aarhus (eurostat.ec). This suggests that direct comparison between Finland and the other Nordic countries may be problematic.

List
RankCity / urban settlementUrban area Metropolitan / Eurostat Functional Urban AreaNotesImage
1 Stockholm1,583,374 2,269,060[3] Capital of Sweden. Municipality: 932,917. The Stockholm urban area, Urban Stockholm, or Tätorten Stockholm as it is called in Swedish, consists of the municipalities of Stockholm, Solna and Sundbyberg, as well as parts of Botkyrka, Danderyd, Haninge, Huddinge, Järfälla, Nacka, Sollentuna, Tyresö municipalities. The metropolitan area is called Metropolitan Stockholm or Stor-Stockholm. Only "Innerstan", parts of Solna, Liljeholmen and the area around Stockholm Globe Arena can be described as city core, rather than suburb.
2 Copenhagen1,320,629[4] 2,059,453[5] (see notes) Capital of Denmark. Municipality: 623,404 (2019). When including the small enclave municipality of Frederiksberg the population is 727,364 within an area of only 95.1 km2.[6] The Danish Statistical Bureau uses a definition that includes both Frederiksberg, Tårnby, Dragør but this definition is intended more as a way of dividing the country into comparable geographical units, than as a way of defining the "city centre".

The Copenhagen metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million in 2019 if the borders outlined by Eurostat's 2013 definition of Copenhagen's functional urban area is followed.[7][6]. If OECD's 2009 definition is followed the population in 2019 is approximately 2.6 million[8][9]. Both of these definitions only includes Danish territory.

The Greater Copenhagen Committee connects the 85 municipalities in the transnational metropolitan area commonly referred to as the "Øresund Region". The collaboration includes approximately 4.3 million inhabitants.[10] However, this area is quite vast, and is not defined according to any methodology. If a more narrow definition is applied for both the Danish and Swedish side, the population is closer to 3 million.
3 Helsinki1,231,595[11] 1,490,142 Capital of Finland. Municipality: 650,058. The Helsinki urban area, or Helsingin keskustaajama as it is called in Finnish, is defined by Statistics Finland. It includes most of the neighbouring municipalities Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen, among others. The entire Greater Helsinki area has a population of 1,495,271. The city core is located on a peninsula and is slightly larger than that of Oslo.
4 Oslo1,019,513[12] 1,588,457[13][14]1,278,827 (Eurostat, 2013, latest available) Capital of Norway. Municipality: 693,491. The very large area known as the Greater Oslo Region (metropolitan) area has a population of 1,546,706. Conurbation includes the neighbouring municipalities Bærum, Asker, Lillestrøm, Lørenskog, Nordre Follo and Oppegård, as well as parts of Nittedal and Rælingen. It is the fastest growing capital city in Europe.[15]
5 Gothenburg581,822 1,006,548 Municipality: 581,822. For the official statistical entity see Storgöteborg (Gothenburg Metropolitan Area).

The city's core is located along the left side of Göta Älv, over a rather long, but not very, wide distance. To this comes the block areas from the city's commercial centre and a bit towards the south (Örgyte).
6 Malmö339,313 707,120[3] Approximately 1 million for all municipalities bordering Öresund's Swedish shores, and municipalities bordering to such a shore-municipality.

Eurostat: 658,050, 2017.

Municipality: 328,494. For the official statistical entity Stormalmö (Malmö Metropolitan Area): 707,120 and for the Öresund Region circa 3,900,000[16]The statistical area isn't decided locally nor regionally. The population along the Swedish side of Öresund, in principle Malmö+Helsingborg metropolitan areas, counts around to a million people (from Trelleborg to Ängelholm North to South, and Eastwards to Åstorp, Eslöv and Svedala) and 120 km size. Malmö's city core is close to equal the municipality, though a bit smaller.
7 Tampere334,112[11] 440,372 Municipality: 217,767. Eurostats population size for Tampere is 369,525.[17] Tampere is the most populous inland city in the Nordic countries.
8 Aarhus273,077[18] 845,971 Municipality: 340,421.[19] Which is a part of the East Jylland region with a population of 1,279,492. Eurostats population size for Aarhus is 845,971.[17]
9 Turku272,230[11] 315,751[20] Municipality: 180,546.
10 Bergen255,464[12] 420,000395,338 (2013, Eurostat) Municipality: 283,929. Metropolitan area: 377,116.
11 Reykjavík

228,231[lower-alpha 2][21]

 Capital of Iceland. Municipality: 128,793. The Greater Reykjavík area includes the neighbouring municipalities Kópavogur, Hafnarfjörður, Garðabær, Mosfellsbær, Seltjarnarnes and Kjósarhreppur.[21] Note, no urban area is defined.
12 Stavanger/Sandnes222,697[12] 319,822
Municipality: 128,830. Metropolitan area: 297,569.

Conurbation includes the neighbouring municipalities Sandnes, Randaberg and Sola.
13 Oulu200,400[11] 258,241 Municipality: 191,237
14 Trondheim183,378[12] 264,396 Municipality: 180,280. Metropolitan area: 274,958.
15 Odense178,210[22] 485,672 Municipality: 213,558
16 Uppsala168,096 253,704[23]288,203 Municipality: 225,164
17 Aalborg134,672[22] 580,272 Includes Nørresundby; Municipality: 205,809
18 Jyväskylä123,241[11] 185,067 Municipality: 140,812
19 Lahti119,068[11] 191,460 Municipality: 103,187
20 Västerås110,877 173,322[23]195,675 Municipality: 137,207
21 Drammen117,510[12] Includes the neighbouring municipality Nedre Eiker in its entirety, as well as parts of Øvre Eiker, Lier and Røyken.
22 Fredrikstad/Sarpsborg111,267[24] Fredrikstad with 61,264 inhabitants and Sarpsborg with 44,281 have grown together, to form an urban area known as "Nedre Glommaregionen" (the Lower Glomma Region – The cities are placed along the outlet of the river Glomma, hence the name).
23 Örebro107,038 208,241[23] Municipality: 135,460
24 Linköping104,232 177,308[23] Municipality: 146,416
25 Helsingborg97,122 272,873[23] Municipality: 129,177
26 Porsgrunn/Skien92,753[24] Includes the neighbouring municipalities of Porsgrunn and Skien in its entirety, as well as a part of Bamble.
27 Jönköping89,396 Municipality: 127,382
28 Kuopio88,520[11] 167,753[23] Municipality: 105,229
29 Norrköping87,247 183,100[23]Municipality: 130,050
30 Pori84,190[11] Municipality: 83,473
31 Lund82,800 Municipality: 110,488

No metro area, part of Malmö/Lund/Trelleborg metro region[23]
32 Umeå79,594 Municipality: 115,473
33 Esbjerg72,398 Municipality: 116,032
34 Gävle71,033 184,346[23] Municipality: 95,055

Metropolitan area together with Sandviken[23]
35 Joensuu67,811[11] Municipality: 74,457
36 Vaasa67,690[11] Municipality: 66,401
37 Borås66,273 Municipality: 103,294
38 Eskilstuna64,679 209,028[23] Municipality: 96,311
39 Södertälje64,619 - Municipality: 86,246

No independent area, part of Greater Stockholm[23]
40 Randers62,687 Municipality: 98,265
41 Karlstad61,685 179,486[23]Municipality: 85,753
42 Kristiansand61,536[24] Municipality: 88,320
43 Växjö60,887 156.629[23] Municipality: 83,005
44 Täby61,272 - Municipality: 63,789

No independent area, part of Greater Stockholm
45 Kolding60,508 Municipality: 92,515
46 Halmstad58,577 134,156[23] Municipality: 91,800
47 Vejle56,567 Municipality: 114,140
48 Horsens55,884 Municipality: 85,662
49 Lappeenranta55,743[11] Municipality: 72,748
50 Rovaniemi52,753[11] Municipality: 61,166
51 Kotka51,704[11] Municipality: 54,845
52 Sundsvall50,712 125,812[23] Municipality: 96,977

Note that the population numbers from the different countries are from different years, as Statistics Finland, Statistics Norway and Statistics Denmark release the statistic yearly (albeit at different times of the year), Statistics Sweden only release the figures every five years. The Norwegian data is from 2013[24] and 2018,[12] the Danish data is from 2014,[25] the Swedish is from 2010[26] and the Finnish is from 2017.[11]

Also note that some of the statistics have been updated since the first note was made, so some statistics may be from 2018, while others from 2013, etc.

See also

Notes
  1. For example, Statistics Finland utilizes a 62,500 square metres (673,000 sq ft) grid system for analyzing population, resulting in slight measurement differences between it and the other Nordic statistical bureaus.
  2. Iceland does not adhere to the common Nordic definition for an urban area, so this figure is inaccurate for comparative purposes.

References
  1. "Nationalencyklopedin - Tätort". Nationalencyklopedin. Retrieved 21 July 2014. Translation: 'a for the Nordic countries shared statistical definition of built-up area with at least 200 residents, not more than 200 m between each other (without regard to the ward, municipal or county boundaries)'
  2. "Localities 2010: Population, age and gender" (PDF) (in Swedish and English). Statistics Sweden. Retrieved 21 July 2014. A densely built area includes any cluster of buildings with at least 200 inhabitants, unless the distance between the houses exceeds 200 metres. However, the distance may exceed 200 metres if the cluster of buildings is situated within the area of influence of a larger locality. [...] Even if the distance between buildings exceeds 200 metres, the locality should not be divided if the area between the buildings is used for public purposes such as roads, parking spaces, parks, sports grounds and cemeteries. The same applies to undeveloped areas such as storage sites, railways and docks.page=21
  3. "Folkmängden efter region, civilstånd, ålder och kön. År 1968 - 201" (in Swedish). Statistikmyndigheten SCB. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
  4. "BY1: Population 1. January by urban, rural areas, age and sex". statbank.dk.
  5. "Statistikbanken". www.statbank.dk. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  6. "Statistikbanken". www.statbank.dk. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  7. Eurostat (9 January 2020). "Population on 1 January by age groups and sex - functional urban areas". Eurostat.
  8. OECD (2009). "Territorial Review Copenhagen" (PDF). KK.dk. p. 34.
  9. "Statistikbanken". www.statbank.dk. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  10. "Greater Copenhagen is a metropolitan region that spans Eastern Denmark and Skåne in Southern Sweden". www.greatercph.com. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
  11. "Urban settlements by population and population density, 31 Dec 2017". Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  12. Population and land area in urban settlements, December 2018
  13. regionaldepartementet, Kommunal- og (2003-05-09). "St.meld. nr. 31 (2002-2003)". Regjeringen.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  14. "Folketalet ved nyttår var 5 258 000". ssb.no (in Norwegian Nynorsk). Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  15. Savage, Maddy (18 July 2018). "Oslo's rapid growth redefines Nordic identity" – via www.bbc.com.
  16. "Befolkning – Øresundsinstituttet". www.oresundsinstituttet.org.
  17. http://appsso.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/nui/show.do?dataset=urb_lpop1&lang=en
  18. "Statistikbanken". www.statbank.dk.
  19. "Statistikbanken". www.statistikbanken.dk.
  20. "Seutukuntien ennakkoväkiluku alueittain, elokuu 2013". Tiedote (in Finnish). Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus). 31 August 2013. Archived from the original on 27 June 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
  21. "Population by municipalities, sex and age 1 January 1998-2019 - Current municipalities". www.hagstofa.is. Statistics Iceland. 1 January 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  22. "Population 1. January by urban, rural areas (DISCONTINUED) - StatBank Denmark - data and statistics". www.statistikbanken.dk.
  23. "table". www.statistikdatabasen.scb.se. Retrieved 2017-12-22.
  24. Citypopulation Norway Archived 2012-11-20 at the Wayback Machine
  25. "Denmark: Regions, Municipalities, Cities and Urban Areas - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 2012-04-08. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  26. "Sweden: Counties, Cities, Municipalities, Settlements and Metropolitan Areas - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". www.citypopulation.de.
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