This document provides information about the city of Umeå, Sweden. It discusses Umeå's population size, history, culture, sports, business, education, and leisure activities. Specifically, it notes that Umeå has a population of around 119,000, was founded in 1622, was named the European Capital of Culture in 2014, has a strong sports culture led by top women's football and indoor bandy teams, and is a center for education and research with two universities and focus on fields like forestry, IT, and health sciences.

1. Photo: Fredrik Larsson
Umeå

2. Photo: Hilda Arneback
Umeå
Culture
Sports
Business
Growth
Education
Leisure

3. Roadtrip to Umeå?
The distance from Umeå
to some other cities in the
world.
Moscow: 1540 kilometers
Paris: 2510 kilometers
London: 2530 kilometers
Rome: 3190 kilometers
Madrid: 3770 kilometers
Athens: 4060 kilometers
New York: 6230 kilometers

4. Flight, train,
car and ferry
Flight Umeå – Stockholm, 60 min.
Nightly trains to Stockholm and
Gothenburg.
The Bothnia Line.
European Routes 4 and 12 go via
Umeå.
Ferry to Vasa in Finland.
UMEÅ–STOCKHOLM
60 minutes

5. Umeå in figures
Umeå becomes a city: 1622
Population: 119,000
Average age: 38
Students: 36,700
Birch trees in city centre: 3,000
Hours of sunshine per year: 1,800
Sunrise 21 June: 2.21 a.m.
Sunset 21 June: 10.59 p.m.

6. History of Umeå
3000 BC Rock carvings proof of first Umeå
residents
1000 BC Settlements along the sea shores.
1622 Umeå is founded by King Gustav II Adolf.
1888 Fire in the city, 77 percent of Umeå
residents are homeless.
1929 Nyströms Karosseri is founded
(today Volvo Lastvagnar).
1957 Umeå Hospital, Regional Hospital of
Upper Norrland.
1965 Umeå University opens.
1995 100,000 residents, an increase from
50,000 in 1966.
2010 The Bothnia Line opens.
2014 Umeå is the European Capital of Culture

7. Photo: Lotta Olovsson
City Centre
15 parks
2 cinemas
4 shopping centres
200 shops
15 cafés
47 pubs, restaurants
and entertainment venues

8. Photo: Reidar Rova
Everything from
parks to
wilderness
City centre close to forests and the sea
Light summer nights
Fishing in the middle of the city
Footpaths
Forests rich in berries
580 hectares of nature

9. Photo: Fredrik Larsson
Culture

10. Capital of Culture
Umeå was the European
Capital of Culture in 2014, the most
prestigious title a city can be
awarded by the EU. The initiative
extends beyond 2014 and aims to
support and promote the city, its
people and culture but also the
northern region and European
collaborations.
Photo: Hilda Arneback

11. Photo: Ola Hansson
Theatre, dance
and art
Sweden’s largest theatre company
and many established independent
theatre groups.
Celebrated choreographers and
dancers.
Culture for seniors.
Culture for children.

12. Art and
knowledge
Västerbotten Museum is responsible for the
county’s cultural history and with an archive
that is available to everyone.
Bildmuseet (The Image Museum)
A leading museum in Sweden on visual
arts and part of Umeå University.
Umedalen Skulptur is an impressive
collection of works by international artists.
Visiting is free and the park is open around
the clock all year round.
Photo: Maria Westling

13. Norrlandsoperan
– not just opera
Regular events include rock concerts
and festivals. The Opera is also host
to theatre, dance and art exhibitions.
It works together with the children
and young people of Umeå and with
conductors, musicians, dancers and
companies from all over the world.
The annual MADE festival celebrates
the very best of music, art and dance.
Photo: Mats Bäcker

14. A great variety
House of metal
Littfest
MADE Festival
Sami Week
Umeå Blues Festival
Umeå International Jazz Festival
Umeå Open
Umeå Pride
Folk music festival
Photo: Jon Hollström

15. Ubmejen
Biejvieh
Umeå is and has been
grazing land for reindeer
for many centuries.
Umeå Sami Week,
around
20,000 visitors.
Photo: Peter Steggo

16. Sports
Photo: Lars Klefbohm

17. From yoga to
senior hockey
21 artificial turf pitches
12 sports halls
4 ice hockey stadiums
Hippologum, one of Sweden’s most
modern equestrian sports centres.
IKSU, the largest fitness and wellness
club in northern Europe.
4 golf courses
Curling hall with 6 lanes
Centrally located ski slope
Campus Athletics Arena
160 km artificial snow cross-country ski tracks
Photo: Andreas Nilsson

18. Go, Umeå, Go!
Umeå IK Women’s football,
UEFA Champions, Swedish Champions
IKSU Women’s Indoor Bandy, UEFA
Champions, Swedish Champions
IBK Dalen Indoor bandy
IFK Umeå Skiing
IKSU Beach volleyball
Umeå FC Football
Umeå City Indoor bandy
Udominate Basketball
Björklöven Ice hockey
Umeå IK Bowling

19. Business

20. Umeå is growing
A young and well educated workforce.
Excellent communications with the rest of
Sweden and the world.
Billions invested in industry, infrastructure
and new housing.
One of the fastest growing municipalities in
Sweden.
Around 600 new businesses every year.
Around 800 new jobs created every year.
Photo: Anna-Karin Drugge

21. Meeting places
– promoting the development of
entrepreneurship and enterprise in the
region.
Uminova Innovation
Umeå Biotech Incubator
Biotech Umeå
InfoTech Umeå
Entrepreneurship at school
Umeåregionen
Office for External Relations, Umeå
University

22. Successful
products
Truck cabins, Volvo Lastvagnar
Forestry machinery, Komatsu Forest
Conference telephones, Konftel
Laboratory instruments, GE Healthcare
Västerbotten cheese, Norrmejerier
Frontloaders, Ålö AB
Business development, Uminova
Innovation
Biotechnology, BioTech Umeå
Vehicle simulators, Oryx Simulations
IT solutions, Teknikhuset
Photo: Komatsu Forest

23. Growth

24. Competent
work force
Umeå has the most educated work force in
Sweden.
One of the fastest growing regions in the
country with a population of around 150,000.
The population of Umeå has doubled over
the past 40 years.
8,600 new jobs created over the past
10 years.
An expanding university.
Increasing new business creation

25. Green
development
Green Zone
Pelleting plant
Dåva heat and power plant
Dåva 2

26. Profile: Applied IT
180 dedicated IT companies.
One of the most connected cities in the
world.
Sweden’s IT Municipality in 2007.
InfoTech Umeå – a strategic initiative to
promote IT in the region.
ProcessIT Innovations – interactive centre
for IT companies, basic industries and the
university.
Center of Microsoft Excellence –
Microsoft’s centre of competence in Umeå.

27. Education
Photo: David Dahlberg

28. Nursery and
primary
schools
Nursery schools
90 municipal
23 independent
Primary schools
50 municipal
7 independent
Photo: Andreas Nilsson

29. Employees in nursery schools with a
pedagogical higher education:
Compulsory school teachers with a
higher education:
53% 61 %
88 % 93 %
Sweden Umeå

30. Upper
secondary
schools
4 municipal
6 independent
Photo: David Dahlberg

31. Proportion of qualified teachers:
Secondary school students eligible
for a higher education:
Proportion of students graduating
from an upper secondary school
education within four years:
81 %
88 %
87 % 91 %
75 %
77 %
Sweden Umeå

32. Two universities
Umeå University: 34,200 students,
4,400 employees.
Swedish University of Agricultural
Sciences: 400 students, 500
employees.
On campus there are shops, pubs,
cafés, student union club and IKSU,
the largest fitness and wellness club
in Scandinavia.
Photo: Mikael Lundgren

33. Photo: Elin Berge
From aesthetics
to economy
Umeå School of Architecture
Umeå Institute of Design
Umeå School of Business
Umeå Academy of Fine Arts
Umeå University School of Restaurant
and Culinary Arts
Umeå Institute of Technology
Umeå Sport Sciences Centre
Umeå School of Education

34. Photo: Mikael Lundgren
The artistic campus
Part of Umeå University
Today there are
Umeå School of Architecture
Umeå Academy of Fine Arts
Umeå Institute of Design
Within a few years there will also be
The Image Museum
Humlab X, an experimental workshop for
digital culture

35. Photo: Malin Grönborg
14 leading
research areas
Changing ecosystems
Gender studies
Infections
Perception of mathematics
Biochemistry
Cancer research
Nervous systems
Metabolic diseases
Northern studies
Proteins dynamics, structure and function
Sunlight as fuel
Welfare research
Plant and forest biotechnology
Population – aging and living conditions

36. Swedish
University of
Agricultural
Sciences
Research in
forest management
land management
environment
agriculture
bioenergy
Photo: Mårten Svensson

37. Leisure
Photo: Fredrik Larsson

38. Photo: Malin Grönborg
Enjoy it in your
own company or
join a club
750 clubs
13 recreation centres
180 km bike trails
160 km jogging tracks
Seashore walks
Recreation areas
Hiking trails and climbing

39. Visit attractions
Norrbyskär islands
Heated adventure water park
8 seaside swimming beaches
12 lake swimming places
River swimming
Third generation artificial turf
White water rafting
Horse riding
Climbing
Seal safari
Canoeing
Fishing

40. Activities
in the snow
Dog sledging
Snowmobile safari
Artificial snow park
Horse riding
400 km cross-country ski tracks
More than 60 ice rinks
Photo: Jonas Tannfors

41. Clearly a
young city
Skate
Parkour
Hamnmagasinet (Youth Centre)
Graffiti
Music Centre