tätort

Tätort is a Swedish statistical term for an urban area. It denotes a densely built-up locality defined for statistics by Statistics Sweden (SCB). An area qualifies as a tätort if it has at least 200 inhabitants and forms a continuous built-up area with no more than 200 metres between neighboring buildings. The boundaries are delineated based on settlement patterns, allowing for gaps of non-built space to separate distinct tätorter.

The term is used primarily in demography, urban planning, and infrastructure statistics. It is not the same as administrative boundaries; a tätort is a statistical construct that may lie within a single municipality or be situated near or across municipal borders. A municipality can contain several tätorter, including its main urban center, as well as other populated areas that meet the threshold.

Examples of tätorter include major cities such as Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö, as well as smaller towns that satisfy the criteria. Localities that do not meet the threshold are not classified as tätorter; in those cases, Statistics Sweden uses other categories to describe settlements, such as småorter for smaller localities.

Statistics Sweden publishes annual data on tätorter, including population, area, and location, to support planning, research, and public administration. The concept provides a standardized basis for comparing urban development across Sweden and is part of a broader Nordic approach to classifying urban settlements.