Ii, Finland

For other uses, see Ii (disambiguation).

Ii
Ijo
Municipality
Iin kunta
Ijo kommun
Roadsign marking the entrance to Ii (in uppercase)
Roadsign marking the entrance to Ii (in uppercase)
Coat of arms of Ii
Coat of arms
Location of Ii in Finland
Location of Ii in Finland
Coordinates: 65°19′N 025°22′E / 65.317°N 25.367°E / 65.317; 25.367
Country Finland
RegionNorth Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionOulunkaari
Charter1445
Government
 • Municipal managerAri Alatossava
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total
2,872.44 km2 (1,109.06 sq mi)
 • Land1,615.71 km2 (623.83 sq mi)
 • Water1,256.69 km2 (485.21 sq mi)
 • Rank42nd largest in Finland
Population
 (2024-10-31)[2]
 • Total
9,784
 • Rank98th largest in Finland
 • Density6.06/km2 (15.7/sq mi)
Population by native language
[2]
 • Finnish98.9% (official)
 • Swedish0.2%
 • Others0.9%
Population by age
[3]
 • 0 to 1422.5%
 • 15 to 6456.2%
 • 65 or older21.3%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.ii.fi/en

Ii (Finnish pronunciation: [iː]; Swedish: Ijo) is a municipality of Finland. It is situated by the Bothnian Bay, at the mouth of river Iijoki, and it is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 9,784 (31 October 2024)[2] and covers an area of 2,872.44 km2 (1,109.06 sq mi) of which 1,256.69 km2 (485.21 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 6.06/km2 (15.7/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Ii merged with Kuivaniemi on 1 January 2007. The new municipality retained the name Ii, but adopted the coat of arms of Kuivaniemi.

Beginning in 2008, Ii is home to the ART Ii Biennale of Northern Environmental and Sculpture Art, an international art fair.

The city has ambition to become the first zero waste town in the world, and its municipal manager claims that it does not use fossil fuels for energy.[5]

Etymology

Ii is notable for having the shortest place name in Finland, and also one of the shortest ones in the world. The etymology is not definitively established; options are either Germanic origin or Sami origin. In the latter, it would mean "a place to stay overnight in"; cf. Northern Sami idja "night".[6]

History

Ii is named after the river Iijoki. The original name of the settlement was Iijoen kylä, first mentioned in 1374 as Yioki when it was a chapel community within the Pedersöre parish. The marketplace Iin Hamina has existed since the 14th century. Ii became a separate parish sometime before 1445.

The parish of Ii was originally larger than the modern municipality: it included Pudasjärvi and Taivalkoski until 1639, Kiiminki, Ylikiiminki and Haukipudas until 1858. The municipality of Kuivaniemi was split off in 1919 and Yli-Ii was split off in 1924.[7]

Kuivaniemi became a part of Ii again in 2007. When Yli-Ii was merged into Oulu, a part of it was given to Ii as an exclave. This exclave contains the Pahkakoski hydroelectric power plant.

The Jakkukylä area, transferred from Oulu to Ii in 2018.

The village of Jakkukylä and its surroundings, originally part of Yli-Ii and a part of Oulu from 2013, decided to join Ii in 2018.[8]

Demographics

Population

The municipality has a population of 9,784 (31 October 2024).[2]

Population development 1980–2020
Year Residents
1980
 
 7,651
1985
 
 7,925
1990
 
 8,246
1995
 
 8,540
2000
 
 8,439
2005
 
 8,868
2010
 
 9,382
2015
 
 9,663
2020
 
 9,834
Source: Statistics Finland.[9] The data refers to the conditions on 31 December of the current year according to the territorial division on 1 January 2022.

Languages

The population by language (mother tongue) on 31 December 2022. Finnish (suomi), Swedish (ruotsi) and Sami (saame) count as indigenous languages as they have official status in the country. The rest of the languages are counted as foreign. For languages with fewer than 10 speakers, the figure is hidden by Statistics Finland due to confidentiality reasons.[10][11]

Language Speakers in 2022
Quantity Part (%)
Total population 9,853 100.0
Official languages 9,774 99.2
Finnish 9,757 99.0
Swedish 16 0.2
Sami 1 0.0
Foreign languages 79 0.8
Russian 27 0.3
Other 52 0.5
Population by native language
  Finnish (99.0%)
  Swedish (0.2%)
  Sami (0.0%)
  other (0.8%)


Politics

Municipal council

Distribution of mandates in Ii municipality, elections of 1976–2021 years.

Economy

Culture

Notable people

References

  1. ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "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.
  3. ^ "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.
  4. ^ a b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  5. ^ "New generation of climate heroes". BBC News. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  6. ^ Hyyryläinen, Toivo: Kahden kirjaimen pitäjä, Iin perinnekirja. Saarijärven Offset, 2006.
  7. ^ "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 96. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  8. ^ "Tietoa meistä :: Jakkukylä". jakkukyla.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  9. ^ "Väestö kielen mukaan sekä ulkomaan kansalaisten määrä ja maa-pinta-ala alueittain 1980–2016" (in Finnish). Tilastokeskus. 29 March 2017. Archived from the original on 17 June 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  10. ^ "11rm — Kieli sukupuolen mukaan kunnittain, 1990–2023" (in Finnish). Tilastokeskus. 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  11. ^ "11ra — Tunnuslukuja väestöstä alueittain, 1990–2023" (in Finnish). Tilastokeskus. 2023. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  12. ^ Kangosjärvi, Jaakko (5 July 2008). "Tuhansien julkkisten maa". Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  • Ii travel guide from Wikivoyage
  • Media related to Ii at Wikimedia Commons
  • Municipality of Ii – Official website