Pelkosenniemi

Pelkosenniemi (Inari Sami: Pelkosnjargâ) is a municipality of Finland.

Pelkosenniemi
Pelkosnjargâ
Municipality
Pelkosenniemen kunta
Pelkosenniemi kommun
Coat of arms of Pelkosenniemi
Coat of arms
Location of Pelkosenniemi in Finland
Location of Pelkosenniemi in Finland
Coordinates: 67°06.5′N 027°31′E
Country Finland
RegionLapland
Sub-regionEastern Lapland
Charter1916
Government
 • Municipal managerPertti Severinkangas
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total1,881.58 km2 (726.48 sq mi)
 • Land1,836.33 km2 (709.01 sq mi)
 • Water45.4 km2 (17.5 sq mi)
 • Rank32nd largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-10-26)[2]
 • Total916
 • Rank297th largest in Finland
 • Density0.5/km2 (1/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish98.3% (official)
 • Swedish0.3%
 • Others1.4%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 149.5%
 • 15 to 6453.5%
 • 65 or older37.1%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.pelkosenniemi.fi

Pelkosenniemi is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of 916 (26 October 2023),[2] which make it the smallest municipality in Lapland in terms of population. It covers an area of 1,881.58 square kilometres (726.48 sq mi) of which 45.4 km2 (17.5 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 0.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.3/sq mi). Neighbour municipalities are Kemijärvi, Rovaniemi, Salla, Savukoski and Sodankylä.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish and in 2000 was the last remaining municipality in Finland to have its entire population consist of native speakers of Finnish. As of 2010 there were two native speakers of other languages in Pelkosenniemi.

Pelkosenniemi hosts a popular mosquito swatting competition.[5]

History

The area was originally inhabited by Sámi people who spoke the Kemi Sámi language.

The first Finnish settler in the area was Paavali Pelkonen from Lumijoki, who came to the area, then called Kilpimaa, in the 1670s. The area was still property of the Sompio siida. Later it was a part of the Sodankylä parish, under which it acquired its first chapel in 1857. The community was called Alaperä at that time. Pelkosenniemi became a separate parish in 1916, as did Savukoski.[6]

Notable people

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. C.G. (11 October 2017). "Explaining the Finnish love of tango". The Economist.
  6. "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 325. Retrieved December 22, 2022.

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