Laihia
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Laihia
Laihela | |
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Municipality | |
| Laihian kunta Laihela kommun | |
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 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Laihia in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 62°58.5′N 022°00.5′E / 62.9750°N 22.0083°E | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Vaasa sub-region |
| Charter | 1576 |
| Government | |
| • Municipal manager | Jari Rantala |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 508.44 km2 (196.31 sq mi) |
| • Land | 505.16 km2 (195.04 sq mi) |
| • Water | 4.14 km2 (1.60 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 172nd largest in Finland |
| Population (2024-10-31)[2] | |
• Total | 8,020 |
| • Rank | 123rd largest in Finland |
| • Density | 15.15/km2 (39.2/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 97.1% (official) |
| • Swedish | 1.1% |
| • Others | 1.8% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 19.8% |
| • 15 to 64 | 56.7% |
| • 65 or older | 23.5% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | laihia |
Laihia (Swedish: Laihela) is a municipality of Finland, founded in 1576 through a separation from Isokyrö and Korsholm.
It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 8,020 (Jul 31, 2020) and covers an area of 508.44 square kilometres (196.31 sq mi) of which 4.14 km2 (1.60 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 15.15 inhabitants per square kilometre (39.2/sq mi). Laihia consists of 37 villages.
Laihia is within the economical region of the neighbouring city Vaasa. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Only 84 people speak Swedish as a native language. Most inhabitants speak Finnish or a dialect typical of this region.[6] The municipal manager is Juha Rikala. There are a total of 469 farms in the municipality.[citation needed].
Laihia is located along the international tourist route Blue Highway, which goes from Norway to Russia via Sweden and Finland.
People
[edit]In Finland, Laihians are renowned for their stinginess (Finnish: nuukuus, saituus, itaruus, piheys or kitsaus) and there are hundreds of jokes told about them. However, Laihians are not usually offended by it. To the contrary, they are proud of their frugality and even have a Museum of Stinginess (Nuukuuren museo).[7] In any case, Laihia has high-level public services for education, health, sports, seniors etc.
Notable people
[edit]- Santeri Alkio, politician and journalist
- Mark Hoppus (born 1972), American singer and musician, of Finnish descent through great-grandparents who emigrated from Laihia[8]
- Toivo Kärki, musician
- Matti Vanhala, Bank of Finland Governor 1998–2004
- Keijo Suila, former CEO of Finnair
- Johan Laibecchius (born in Laihia on 19 March 1658), vicar
- Kristian Chyraeus (died in Laihia in 1687), vicar
- Samuel Backman (died in Laihia 3 April 1712), vicar
- Jonas Lagus (died in Laihia 22 April 1798), vicar and dean
- Sara Siipola (born in Laihia 1997), singer
Surnames
[edit]The most common surnames in Laihia and their frequencies as of 2014:[9]
- 1. Kallio (1:112)
- 2. Puska (1:121)
- 3. Kinnari (1:135)
- 4. Koskela (1:137)
- 5. Luoma (1:142)
- 5. Niemelä (1:142)
- 7. Kauppi (1:145)
- 8. Mäkinen (1:156)
- 9. Mäkelä (1:159)
- 10. Kankaanpää (1:163)
Transport
[edit]The private coach company OnniBus route Helsinki—Seinäjoki—Vaasa has a stop at Laihia.
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- ^ "Finland's preliminary population figure was 5,635,560 at the end of October 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 19 November 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
- ^ "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 26 April 2024. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
- ^ "Laihia Municipality in Finland / Further information about the population structure". citypopulation.de. 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- ^ "Laihian kunta". Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
- ^ Jokelainen, Jarkko (6 July 2016). "Amerikkalaisyhtye Blink-182:n riveissä on pohjalaisverta – "Toivon todella, että esiinnymme Suomessa ensi kesänä"". Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish). Sanoma. Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ Most common surnames in Laihia
External links
[edit]
Media related to Laihia at Wikimedia Commons
- Municipality of Laihia – Official website (in Finnish)
- Sunrise, sunset, dawn and dusk times
- Laihia Energy-saving Village, publication of European Commission
Places adjacent to Laihia | |
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| Former municipalities | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
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