Umeå

Västerbotten, Sweden · Europe

About Umeå

Umeå sits on the route: 10 minutes from Röbäck.

Umeå is in Västerbotten, Sweden, with about 130,000 people. You drive on the right here. The nearest town is Röbäck, about 4 km away.

Umeå (Swedish: [ˈʉ̌ːmɛɔ] , locally: [ˈʉ̌ːmɛ] ; Finnish and Meänkieli: Uumaja; Ume Sámi: Ubmeje) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest locality in Norrland and the thirteenth largest in Sweden, with a

wider municipal population of 132,235 inhabitants in the beginning of 2023. When Umeå University was established in 1965, growth accelerated, and the amount of housing has doubled in 30 years from 1980 to 2010. As of 2018, Umeå was gaining around 1,000 inhabitants per year and the municipality plans for having 200,000 inhabitants by 2050. The projection of municipality size in 2050 has, however, been questioned as an overestimation in an independent study. Umeå is a university town and centre of education, technical and medical research in northern Sweden. The two universities located in the city, Umeå University and one of the three main branches of SLU, host around 40,000 enrolled students, which corresponds to around 30% of the total population. CRISPR gene editing was developed by researchers, headed by Emmanuelle Charpentier at Umeå University, being awarded the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Umeå was the European Capital of Culture during 2014, along with Riga in Latvia. Umeå is certified by the EarthCheck Sustainable Destinations program. As of 2026, honorary consulates from twelve countries are located in Umeå: Denmark (since 1848), Finland (since 1921), Norway (since 1963), France (since 1989), the Republic of Seychelles (since 2001), Iceland (since 2002), Italy (since 2012), Lithuania (since 2012), Latvia (1939–1940; and again since 2014); and Estonia, the United Kingdom and Spain. Umeås' municipality sees wide international cooperation within its involvement with twin towns and sister cities; which can be defined by its purpose of encouraging the exchange of experience and promote friendship at an international scale. Umeå currently has five twin towns and sister cities; with a foundational core being three Nordic twin cities since 1953: Harstad (town), Norway, Helsingør, Denmark, and Vaasa, Finland. With the remaining two sister cities being Saskatoon, Canada and Würzburg, Germany. Umeå has been a member of International Cities of Refuge Network (ICORN) since 2016, one of 25 safe-cities within Sweden. There are currently 89 sanctuaries worldwide and since 2006 it has allowed more than 350 persecuted cultural practitioners to take safe-heaven in one of them. The city has also been the home of Rally Sweden since 2022, one of the annual World Rally Championship (WRC) stages; and the only WRC stage taking place on snow.