About 85,000 people reside in the town itself. For many years Helsingborg was just a small town, but thanks to the railways and a new harbour a strong expansion took place around the middle of the 19th century. Helsingborg is situated at the narrowest part of resund and the distance across the water to Helsing r in Denmark is not more than 4km. In Helsingborg there are more than fifty compulsory schools. One of them is The International School of Helsingborg , where all education is carried out in English.
Many schools have a unique profile.
Some have chosen to generally devote extra time to cultural or environmental questions while others have established special classes for students who are interested in the environment or music. One fourth of the inhabitants of the town are living in their own houses. Mariastaden is now being built - a completely new section of the town containing both houses and flats. Mariastaden and other new housing areas have been sited at local train stations so that it will be easier to commute to work and schools. Another newly built and widely recognised residential complex is Norra Hamnen, built on the site of an old commercial harbour, right in the centre of the town.