The following is a 'list of towns in Finland'. In the year 1977 the juridical difference between cities, towns and municipalities were removed. Today only municipalities are recognized, some of which are commonly referred to as towns (kaupunki in Finnish, 'stad' in Swedish). Municipality can decide itself, whether it uses municipality or city / town designation. To date, many decide to use the latter, even though often the places do not even meet the definition of city, made by EU, which is minimum population of 50 000, and minimum population density of 500 inhabitants per square kilometer. Also, even the centre or conurbation of the "city" itself may not be so urban itself. A simple, independent decision in the municipal council is required to change the name of a rural "municipality" (kunta) into a "city" (kaupunki). For towns founded before the 1960s the list includes the year the town was chartered.