Laihia
Laihela
Municipality
Laihian kunta
Laihela kommun
Coat of arms of Laihia
Coat of arms
Location of Laihia in Finland
Location of Laihia in Finland
Coordinates: 62°58.5′N 022°00.5′E / 62.9750°N 22.0083°E / 62.9750; 22.0083
Country Finland
RegionOstrobothnia
Sub-regionVaasa sub-region
Charter1576
Government
 • Municipal managerJuha Rikala
Area
 (2018-01-01)[1]
 • Total508.44 km2 (196.31 sq mi)
 • Land505.16 km2 (195.04 sq mi)
 • Water4.14 km2 (1.60 sq mi)
 • Rank172nd largest in Finland
Population
 (2023-09-30)[2]
 • Total8,020
 • Rank122nd largest in Finland
 • Density15.25/km2 (39.5/sq mi)
Population by native language
[3]
 • Finnish97.1% (official)
 • Swedish1.2%
 • Others1.8%
Population by age
[4]
 • 0 to 1419.8%
 • 15 to 6456.7%
 • 65 or older23.5%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.laihia.fi

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 15.25 inhabitants per square kilometre (39.5/sq mi). Laihia consists of 37 villages.

Laihia is within the economical region of the neighbouring city Vaasa. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Only 90 people speak Swedish as a native language. Most inhabitants speak Finnish or a dialect typical of this region.[5] The municipal manager is Juha Rikala. There are a total of 469 farms in the municipality..

Laihia is located along the international tourist route Blue Highway, which goes from Norway to Russia via Sweden and Finland.

People

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).[6] In any case, Laihia has high-level public services for education, health, sports, seniors etc.

Notable people

Surnames

The most common surnames in Laihia and their frequencies as of 2014:[8]

Transport

The private coach company OnniBus route Helsinki—Seinäjoki—Vaasa has a stop at Laihia.

References

  1. 1 2 "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. ↑ "Laihia Municipality in Finland / Further information about the population structure". citypopulation.de. 2018. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  6. ↑ "Laihian kunta". Archived from the original on 14 September 2010. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. ↑ Most common surnames in Laihia

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