Malmö is the third most populous city in Sweden, situated in its southernmost province of Scania.
Malmö is the seat of Malmö Municipality and the capital of Skåne County. Malmö is also a bimunicipal locality, as part of it is Burlöv Municipality. The total population of the urban area was 258,020 by the end of 2005, of which 9,108 were in Burlöv.
The administrative entity for most of the city is Malmö Municipality which has 283,000 inhabitants in eight different localities.
Greater Malmö is one of Sweden's three officially recognized Metropolitan areas and since 2005 is defined by the municipality of Malmö and 11 other municipalities in the southwestern corner of Scania. On June 30, 2008 its population was recorded to be 628,388. The region covers an area of 2,535.76 km2. The municipalities included, apart from Malmö, are Burlöv, Eslöv, Höör, Kävlinge, Lomma, Lund, Skurup, Staffanstorp, Svedala, Trelleborg and Vellinge. Lund, with a municipal population of over 100,000 and home to one of Scandinavia's major universities, is together with Malmö the region's economical and educational hub.
Malmö was one of the earliest and most industrialized towns of Scandinavia, but until the turn of the millennium had been struggling with the adaptation to post-industrialism. Since then, Malmö has become a new city, with impressive architectural developments, attracting new biotech and IT companies, and particularly students through Malmö University.
The city contains many historic buildings and parks, and is also a commercial center for the western part of Scania. During the last few years a university college (University College of Malmö) has been established and the city is now trying to focus on education, arts and culture. Malmö was ranked #4 in Grist Magazine's "15 Green Cities" list in 2007. |
