Viitasaari

Viitasaari
Town
Viitasaaren kaupunki Viitasaari stad
Coat of arms
Location of Viitasaari in Finland
Coordinates: 63°04′30″N 025°51′35″E
Country	Finland
Region	Central Finland
Sub-region	Saarijärvi–Viitasaari sub-region
Charter	1635
Town privileges	1996
Government
• Municipal manager	Helena Vuopionperä-Kovanen
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	1,589.13 km^2 (613.57 sq mi)
• Land	1,248.53 km^2 (482.06 sq mi)
• Water	340.43 km^2 (131.44 sq mi)
• Rank	59th largest in Finland
Elevation	140 m (460 ft)
Population  (2024-12-31)[2]
• Total	5,763
• Rank	157th largest in Finland
• Density	4.62/km^2 (12.0/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	97.2% (official)
• Swedish	0.2%
• Others	2.6%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	11.6%
• 15 to 64	51.9%
• 65 or older	36.5%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Postal code	44500
Area code	(+358) 01
Website	viitasaari.fi

Viitasaari is a Finnish town and municipality located in the Central Finland region. It is located between the neighbouring municipalities of Pihtipudas to the north and Äänekoski to the south. The town has a population of 5,763 (31 December 2024)[6] and covers an area of 1,589.13 square kilometres (613.57 sq mi) of which 340.43 km^2 (131.44 sq mi), or 21%, is water.[1] There are all together 230 lakes in Viitasaari. The biggest lakes are Lake Keitele, Lake Kolima and Muuruejärvi.[7] The population density is 4.62 inhabitants per square kilometre (12.0/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Politics

Results of the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election in Viitasaari:[8]

• Social Democratic Party 31.2%
• Centre Party 24.6%
• Finns Party 20.5%
• National Coalition Party 7.9%
• Christian Democrats 6.7%
• Left Alliance 4.2%
• Green League 2.3%

Sister cities

The following cities or municipalities are twinned with Viitasaari:[9][10]

• Nõo Parish, Estonia
• Staffanstorp Municipality, Sweden
• Storuman Municipality, Sweden
• Sør-Odal, Norway
• Schlangen, Germany
• Rokietnica, Poland

See also

• Blue Highway, an international tourist route

References

1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
2. "Population increased most in Uusimaa in 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2025-01-23. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
3. "Population growth biggest in nearly 70 years". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2024-04-26. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
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. "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
6. "Population by municipality as of 31 December 2006". Population Information System (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Register Center of Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2010.^[permanent dead link‍]
7. "Viitasaari". Järviwiki. Finland's Environmental Administration. 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
8. "Viitasaari | Tulospalvelu | Eduskuntavaalit 2023 | yle.fi". vaalit.yle.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2023-10-20.
9. "Ystävyyskunnat" (in Norwegian). City of Viitasaari. Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2012-06-01.
10. "Välissuhted" (in Estonian). Nõo vald. Retrieved 2 May 2012.

External links

Media related to Viitasaari at Wikimedia Commons

• Town of Viitasaari – Official website