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Oulu ( , ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of North Ostrobothnia. It is located on the northwestern coast of the country at the mouth of the Oulujoki. The population of Oulu is approximately , while the Oulu sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the 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.
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Oulu Innovation Alliance Tietotekniikka, Tietotekniikan tutkinto-ohjelma, tekniikan kandidaatti ja diplomi-insinööri (3v + 2v) – Opintopolku 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 tar and salmon, Oulu has become a major high-tech centre, particularly in IT and wellness technology. Other important industries include wood processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, paper and Steel industry.
Oulu has been selected as the European Capital of Culture for 2026. YLE: Oulu on Euroopan kulttuuripääkaupunki 2026 Oulu in Northern Finland selected as European Capital of Culture for 2026 – High North News
The most probable theory is that the name derives from the Finnish dialectal word oulu, meaning "floodwater", which is related to e.g. Southern Sami åulo, meaning "melted snow", åulot meaning "thaw" (of unknown ultimate origin). Two other word families have also been speculated to be related. The first is seen in the Northern Savo dialectal word uula and its Sami counterpart oalli, both meaning "river channel". The second is the Uralic root reconstructed as * uwa, meaning "river bed" (reflected as vuo in modern Finnish, also in derivatives such as vuolas "heavy-flowing"). To either of these roots, some Sami variety would have to be assumed having added further derivational suffixes.
Following the Treaty of Nöteborg in 1323, the status of Oulu was disputed in its ownership, as both the Novgorod Republic and the Kingdom of Sweden held much influence. In 1345, the Kingdom of Sweden annexed territory up to the Kemi River for the Diocese of Turku. In 1375, the Novgorod Republic built a defensive castle which was later captured by the Kingdom of Sweden in 1377.
The 1400s were characterized by Russian raids in the region, during these raids captured people would be killed and/or taken back to the region of Russia. In 1531, the city was granted permission to act as a trading post. In 1590, the Oulu Castle was built by the Swedes and in 1595, the Treaty of Teusina firmly established Sweden's control over Oulu.
The city was founded on 8 April 1605 by King Charles IX of Sweden, and granted city privileges in 1610. In 1765, Oulu received township rights granting them to trade outside of Sweden. Oulu was the capital of the Province of Oulu from 1776 to 2009.
In 1822, a major fire destroyed much of the city, especially the city centre as most of the city was made from wood. The architect Carl Ludvig Engel, chiefly known for the neoclassical (empire style) buildings around Helsinki Senate Square, was enlisted to provide the plan for its rebuilding. With minor changes, this plan remains the basis for the layout of Oulu's town center. The Oulu Cathedral was built in 1832 to his designs, with the spire being finished in 1844. During the Åland War, part of the Crimean War, Oulu's harbour was raided by the British fleet, who destroyed ships and burned tar houses, leading to international criticism.
The city was the site of the Battle of Oulu on 3 February 1918 between the White Finland and the Red Finland during the Finnish Civil War.
The municipality of Ylikiiminki was merged with the city of Oulu on 1 January 2009. Oulu and the municipalities of Haukipudas, Kiiminki, Oulunsalo, and Yli-Ii were merged on 1 January 2013.
Due to Oulu's far northern location, and its frequent overcast skies, it only sees on average 15 minutes of sunshine per day in December. During the winter solstice days only last 3 hours and 34 minutes with the sun rising 1.9 degrees over the horizon. On the other hand, during the summer solstice days last 22 hours and 3 minutes, with the sun dipping 1 degree below the horizon. This gives Oulu white nights during the summer.
At least 100 different languages are spoken in Oulu. The most common foreign languages are Russian language (0.6%), Arabic (0.5%), English language (0.5%), Chinese language (0.4%) and Persian language (0.3%).
| Population by country of birth (2024) | ||
| 93.1 | ||
| 0.9 | ||
| 0.5 | ||
| 0.4 | ||
| 0.3 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 0.2 | ||
| 2.7 | ||
The relative share of immigrants in Oulu's population is below the national average. Nevertheless, the city's new residents are increasingly of foreign origin. This will increase the proportion of foreign residents in the coming years.
Oulu, as well as other parts of North Ostrobothnia, is well known as a strong support area of the Conservative Laestadianism revival movement. Lestadiolaiset pitävät Pohjois-Pohjanmaan väkiluvun kasvussa – MTVuutiset (in Finnish) A Laestadianism has been estimated to be common in construction sector management. Lestadiolaisyrittäjä hyötyy uskonyhteisön verkostoista – Taloushyödyt houkuttavat jäämään, vaikka vakaumus olisi jo mennyt – YLE (in Finnish) Oulu was the site of the 2018 Oulu child sexual exploitation scandal. Prime Minister Juha Sipilä declared that "Sex crimes against children are inhumane acts of incomprehensible evil."
| 43,049 |
| 11,111 |
| 10,848 |
| 5,449 |
| 3,698 |
| 582 |
| 431 |
| 16.3% (2016) |
In 2011, the most important employers were:
| 9,709 |
| 6,144 |
| 3,045 |
| 2,100 |
| 2,000 |
| 1,955 |
| 1,426 |
| 1,107 |
| 1,155 |
| 780 |
| 730 |
| 653 |
Many artists, writers, and musicians live in the city. A variety of concerts – rock, classical, and jazz – as well as other cultural events take place each year. Examples include the Oulu Music Video Festival, the Air Guitar World Championships, and the Musixine Music Film Competition, all in August. In July, the annual rock festival Qstock takes place. The Oulu Music Festival is held in winter and the Oulunsalo Music Festival in summer. The Irish Festival of Oulu takes place each October, and the International Children's Film Festival each November.
Museums in Oulu include the Northern Ostrobothnia museum, the Oulu Museum of Art (OMA), the Tietomaa science center, and the Turkansaari open-air museum.
Notable statues and sculptures in Oulu include a sculpture of Frans Michael Franzén and Toripolliisi statue.
Finlands' Eurovision representatives 2021 rock band Blind Channel are from Oulu. They placed 6th in the competition.
Kalmah is a melodic death metal-band from Oulu that formed in 1998.
Pokkinen Park in Oulu hosts the northern-most Parkrun every Saturday at 9:30.
The Port of Oulu is one of the busiest on the Bothnian Bay. It includes four separate harbour areas: Vihreäsaari oil and bulk docks, Nuottasaari docks and Oritkari docks. There is also a ferry service in Oulu, which is mostly used between Oulunsalo and the Hailuoto Island. IS: Vieraille lauttamatka on osa Hailuodon idylliä (in Finnish)
The shortest travel time from Oulu railway station to Helsinki Central railway station is 5 h 34 min, operated by VR Group. Other destinations include Kolari, Rovaniemi, Seinäjoki and Tampere.
The most important road in Oulu is Highway 4 (E8/E75) that runs from Helsinki to Utsjoki via Lahti, Jyväskylä, Oulu, Kemi and Rovaniemi. Other highways running to and from Oulu are Highway 20 to Kuusamo and Highway 22 to Kajaani.
Even in winter, bicycle commuting remains strong in Oulu, in spite of the cold, dark, and snow. About 12% of winter trips are by bicycle, and about half of trips to school or university are. The city has a robust system for keeping bike paths maintained and clear of snow, and bike paths and lanes are plowed before roadways to encourage such human-scale winter transit in the city where 12% already do so.Laurel Ives. (20 December 2023). "How Oulu became the winter cycling capital of the world". BBC website Retrieved 25 December 2023. The Winter Cycling Federation was founded in Oulu in 2013, and the first Winter Cycling Congress was held there.
In 2015, a large underground parking facility, Kivisydän ( Stone Heart), opened in the city center directly beneath main shopping streets. The network of parallel roads for cars and pedestrians was drilled in the rock at the depth of . The parking facility includes two ramps, 900 visitor parking lots (expandable to 1500), six access points to the ground served by 19 elevators (expandable to nine and 25), a service facility for commercial delivery vehicles, and ubi-screens that guide the driver to the selected ground access point and help locate the parked car by its license number.
Because the sun is quite low in the sky at this latitude, vertical PV installations are popular on the sides of buildings. These solar walls also capture light reflected from snow.
Snow is not necessarily cleared from rooftop solar installations.
The local utility, Oulun Energia, is owned by the city of Oulu. The energy mix it receives from the Nordic-wide grid includes wood pellets, waste incineration, bioenergy, hydro-electric, geothermal, wind, nuclear, peat, natural gas and coal.
In football AC Oulu plays in Veikkausliiga, the premier division of Finnish football. So far OPS has claimed the Finnish football championship only twice by winning Mestaruussarja in 1979 and in 1980. Other notable football clubs include OLS, OTP and JS Hercules.
Oulu has one well-known bandy club, OLS, which plays in Bandyliiga and has become Finnish champions 14 times, most recently in 2014. The other bandy club, Oulun Palloseura, with its 7 championships and a bronze medal as late as in 2009, announced it would be closing down after the 2009–10 season. In 2001 the city was the main venue for the Bandy World Championship.
Oulu is also home to several other sports clubs such as Oulu Northern Lights (American football), Oulun NMKY (Basketball), Oulun Lippo (Pesäpallo), Oulun Pyrintö (Track and field), SK Pohjantähti (Orienteering)), OYUS Rugby (Rugby union), Oulu Irish Elks (Gaelic football) and ETTA (Volleyball).
Oulun Tervahiihto is an annual ski marathon event held since 1889.
Terwa Run & Marathon is an annual running event held since 1989 in late May.
A former motorcycle speedway track known as the Iinat Motor Sports Center was located north of the Pirttilammentie and east of the Iinatintie (). The Center opened in 1979 and hosted many events, including the Finnish Final, as part of the qualifying round of the Speedway World Championship in 1983.
Oulu is home to the most northerly architecture school in the world. The school is best known for its strong regionalistic ideas for developing architecture. This movement is named "the Oulu school" ("Oulun koulu") of architecture.
Oulu Vocational College has over 13 000 students. It houses several different study subjects in different units which are spread over Oulu and neighbouring municipalities. Oulu Vocational College School of Business Studies is one of the few vocational schools which has game programming in its curriculum.
Oulu International School is one of nine schools in Finland offering basic education in English. There's also a Swedish-speaking private school (Swedish Svenska Privatskolan i Uleåborg) for students up until high school. The school is the northernmost Swedish-speaking school in Finland.
Oulu also maintains relationships with cities twinned to former municipalities merged with Oulu in 2013:
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