Alajärvi

Alajärvi is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the South Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of 9,078 (26 October 2023)[2] and covers an area of 1,056.74 square kilometres (408.01 sq mi) of which 47.99 km2 (18.53 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 9 inhabitants per square kilometre (23/sq mi). The town is unilingually Finnish; there are few immigrants.

Alajärvi
Town
Alajärven kaupunki
Alajärvi stad
Alajärvi Church
Alajärvi Church
Coat of arms of Alajärvi
Coat of arms
Location of Alajärvi in Finland
Location of Alajärvi in Finland
Coordinates: 63°00′N 023°49′E
Country Finland
RegionSouth Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionJärviseutu sub-region
Charter1869
Town privileges1986
Government
 • Town managerVesa Koivunen
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total1,056.74 km2 (408.01 sq mi)
 • Land1,008.76 km2 (389.48 sq mi)
 • Water47.99 km2 (18.53 sq mi)
 • Rank78th largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-10-26)[2]
 • Total9,078
 • Rank108th largest in Finland
 • Density9/km2 (20/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish96.5% (official)
 • Swedish0.1%
 • Others3.4%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1417.4%
 • 15 to 6454.3%
 • 65 or older28.3%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.alajarvi.fi

The municipality of Lehtimäki was consolidated with Alajärvi on 1 January 2009.

Geography

The neighboring municipalities of Alajärvi are Alavus, Kuortane, Kyyjärvi, Lappajärvi, Lapua, Perho, Soini, Vimpeli and Ähtäri.

Climate

Alajärvi has a subarctic climate (Dfc).

Climate data for Alajärvi Möksy (1991-2020 normals, records 1959-present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 7.8
(46.0)		 10.0
(50.0)		 14.1
(57.4)		 23.2
(73.8)		 29.8
(85.6)		 32.1
(89.8)		 33.6
(92.5)		 30.8
(87.4)		 27.0
(80.6)		 19.8
(67.6)		 11.2
(52.2)		 8.1
(46.6)		 33.6
(92.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) −7.4
(18.7)		 −7.9
(17.8)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 2.0
(35.6)		 8.3
(46.9)		 13.2
(55.8)		 15.9
(60.6)		 13.8
(56.8)		 8.7
(47.7)		 3.0
(37.4)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 −4.9
(23.2)		 3.3
(37.9)
Record low °C (°F) −42.0
(−43.6)		 −45.5
(−49.9)		 −36.0
(−32.8)		 −22.2
(−8.0)		 −10.0
(14.0)		 −6.6
(20.1)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 −6.8
(19.8)		 −9.5
(14.9)		 −23.4
(−10.1)		 −32.1
(−25.8)		 −37.2
(−35.0)		 −45.5
(−49.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 42
(1.7)		 33
(1.3)		 34
(1.3)		 34
(1.3)		 48
(1.9)		 72
(2.8)		 79
(3.1)		 75
(3.0)		 61
(2.4)		 64
(2.5)		 54
(2.1)		 50
(2.0)		 646
(25.4)
Average precipitation days 11 9 8 8 8 10 11 11 10 12 11 12 121
Source: https://www.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/ilmastollinen-vertailukausi

https://kilotavu.com/fmi-tilastot.php?taulukkomoodi=true

Villages

In 1967, Alajärvi had eight legally recognized villages (henkikirjakylät):[5]

  • Alajärvi
  • Kurejoki
  • Menkijärvi
  • Möksy
  • Savonkylä
  • Tarvolankylä
  • Päällysaho
  • Vimpeli

Demographics

In 2020, 17.4% of the population of Alajärvi was under the age of 15, 54.3% were aged 15 to 64, and 28.3% were over the age of 64. The average age was 46.1, above the national average of 43.4 and regional average of 44.7. Speakers of Finnish made up 96.8% of the population and speakers of Swedish made up 0.1%, while the share of speakers of foreign languages was 3.0%. Foreign nationals made up 2.8% of the total population.[6]

The chart below, describing the development of the total population of Alajärvi from 1975-2020, encompasses the municipality's area as of 2021.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1975 10,771—    
1980 11,089+0.58%
1985 11,683+1.05%
1990 11,963+0.47%
1995 11,890−0.12%
YearPop.±% p.a.
2000 11,503−0.66%
2005 10,910−1.05%
2010 10,487−0.79%
2015 10,006−0.93%
2020 9,419−1.20%
Source: Statistics Finland[7]

Urban areas

In 2019, out of the total population of 9,562, 5,846 people lived in urban areas and 3,641 in sparsely populated areas, while the coordinates of 75 people were unknown. This made Alajärvi's degree of urbanization 61.6%.[8] The urban population in the municipality was divided between three urban areas as follows:[9]

#Urban areaPopulation
1Alajärvi central locality5,029
2Lehtimäki570
3Luoma-aho247

Economy

In 2018, 11.2% of the workforce of Alajärvi worked in primary production (agriculture, forestry and fishing), 29.9% in secondary production (e.g. manufacturing, construction and infrastructure), and 57.1% in services. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 9.3%, and the share of pensioners in the population was 33.0%.[10]

Though a small town, Alajärvi has a few shops, namely Supermarket, Tokmanni, Lidl and a few others. In 2013 a public natatorium was opened, which also includes a weight room.

Culture

The Alajärvi church was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel, and completed in 1836.[11]

The administrative centre and library buildings are based on designs by Alvar Aalto.[12]

The town is home to the Nelimarkka Museum. The museum was built by the painter Eero Nelimarkka. It was designed by his friend, the architect Hilding Ekelund.[13]

Notable people
  • The sun in Alajärvi, Finland.
    The sun in Alajärvi, Finland.
  • Lake Alajärvi, 2017
    Lake Alajärvi, 2017
  • Alajärvi municipal border sign
    Alajärvi municipal border sign
  • Alajärvi plains
    Alajärvi plains
  • field in Alajärvi, 2014
    field in Alajärvi, 2014
  • Market in Alajärvi
    Market in Alajärvi

References
  1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. "Preliminary population statistics 2023, September". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  3. "Demographic Structure by area as of 31 December 2022". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  4. "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. Korpela, Kalevi; Mäkinen, Vesa; Papunen, Pentti (1967). "Alajärvi". Suomenmaa: maantieteellis-yhteiskunnallinen tieto- ja hakuteos. 1: Ahlainen–Hausjärvi. Helsinki: WSOY.
  6. "Key figures on population by region, 1990-2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-04-06. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  7. "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area, 1972-2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-05-25. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  8. "Degree of urbanisation by area, 2019". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-11-26. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  9. "Population in urban settlements and sparsely populated areas by age, sex and municipality, 2019". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2019-11-26. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
  10. "Municipal key figures 1987-2020 (with the 2021 regional division)". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Archived from the original on 2021-04-26. Retrieved 28 April 2021. (2018 and 2019)
  11. "Gabrielin kirkko - Alajärven kirkko". AlajarvenSeurakunta.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  12. "Alvar Aalto in Alajärvi". AlvarAalto.fi. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
  13. "Nelimarkka-Museo". www.nelimarkka-museo.fi. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
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