The County of Uppsala consists of 7 municipalities. It has approximately 300 000 inhabitants and almost two-thirds of them live in the City of Uppsala, the fourth largest city in Sweden. The attractiveness of the county depends partly upon its geographical position and good communications.
Situated only 35 minutes from Stockholm and 20 minutes from Arlanda International Airport, Uppsala has a strategic position, both nationally and internationally. In the county there are also two thoroughfares of national importance, the European motorways E4 and E18, which connects the Stockholm region to the northern and western Sweden.Uppsala County is one of the fastest growing counties in Sweden and together with the Stockholm-Mälar Region it is Sweden's biggest labour market. Important lines of business are the life-science industry, bio techniques, energy development and production industry. Uppsala is also among the nation leading in Information technology.
The access to higher education is wide, considering the two Universities- Uppsala University and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The Universities contribute with an international high-levelled research and education and there are almost 40 research centres and about 7000 researchers.Uppsala County is also famous for its history and culture. The northern part is an area of unique, historic industrial sites, Vallonbruken, which derive their names from skilled workers who, by entrepreneurs, where brought to Sweden from Walloonia (in today's Belgium). The Uppsala Regional Development Council is a coordination body that was created by the 7 municipalities and the Uppsala County Council in January 2003. The object of this new organisation is to strengthen co-operation on the regional level and to work vigorously for the regional development and economic growth of Uppsala County. Since 1th of June 2003, Uppsala Regional Development Council and Uppsala County Administrative Board are cooperating with the Stockholm Region. Through the cooperation agreement, Uppsala County acquires more stable representation in Brussels.
For information about the municipalities go to: Enköping, Håbo, Knivsta, Tierp, Uppsala,Älvkarleby and Östhammar.
