Oulu

Oulu (pronounced [ˈoulu] ( listen), old Northern Ostrobothnian dialect meaning literally “Flood”; Swedish: Uleåborg [ˈʉːleɔˌbɔrj], literally “Ule River Fort”) is a city and municipality of 141,742 inhabitants (31 January 2011) in the region of Northern Ostrobothnia, in Finland. It is the most populous city in Northern Finland and the sixth most populous city in the country. It is one of the northernmost larger cities in the world.

Oulu is served by Oulu Airport, the second biggest airport in Finland by passenger volume. Oulu Airport is located in the neighbouring county of Oulunsalo, 15 kilometres (9 mi) from the city centre.

Port of Oulu is one of the busiest harbours within the Bothnian Bay. Port of Oulu includes four separate harbour areas: Vihreäsaari oil and bulk docks, Nuottasaari docks, Oritkari docks and the Toppila docks.

The shortest travel time from Oulu Railway Station to Helsinki Central Railway Station is 5 h 44 mins, operated by VR. Other destinations include, for instance, 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.

Employment

As of December 31, 2005, the active working population was employed as follows:
Industries Working population
Services 36,616
Industry 11,439
Commerce 9,394
Construction 4,659
Transport 4,469
Farming and forestry 471
Unknown 1,200
Total 68,248