 The municipality had a population of 132,011 on January 1, 2013, and the population is increasing with roughly 1500 people annually.Between 1912 and 1971 the name of the town was officially spelled Hälsingborg (rather like the region of Hälsingland but unlike neighbouring Danish Helsingør and the Finnish capital Helsingfors (Helsinki)).The spelling was changed back to the older version when the present municipality was created in 1971 through the amalgamation of the "Town of Hälsingborg" with four surrounding rural municipalities.