Central Finland

Central Finland
Keski-Suomi (Finnish)
Mellersta Finland (Swedish)
Region
Region of Central Finland
Keski-Suomen maakunta
Landskapet Mellersta Finland
Flag of Central Finland
Flag
Coat of arms of Central Finland
Coat of arms
Central Finland on a map of Finland
Central Finland on a map of Finland
Coordinates: 62°30′N 025°30′E / 62.500°N 25.500°E / 62.500; 25.500
CountryFinland
Historical provinceTavastia, Satakunta
CapitalJyväskylä
Other townsÄänekoski, Jämsä, Keuruu, Saarijärvi and Viitasaari
Area
 • Total
19,950.38 km2 (7,702.88 sq mi)
Population
 (2019)
 • Total
275,104
 • Density13.7894/km2 (35.7144/sq mi)
GDP
[1]
 • Total€8.725 billion (2015)
 • Per capita€31,662 (2015)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 codeFI-08
NUTS193
Regional animalMountain hare (Lepus timidus)
Regional birdCapercaillie (Tetrao urogallus)
Regional fishLake trout (Salmo trutta lacustris)
Regional flowerOxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare)
Regional stoneDiorite
Regional lakeLake Keitele
Websitekeskisuomi.fi

Central Finland (Finnish: Keski-Suomi; Swedish: Mellersta Finland) is a region (maakunta / landskap) in Finland. It borders the regions of Päijät-Häme, Pirkanmaa, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, North Savo, and South Savo. The city of Jyväskylä is the regional centre and by far the largest city in the area. Central Finland lies slightly south of the geographical centre of Finland. The landscape is hilly and a large part of the province belongs to the Finnish Lakeland.[2]

The largest lake in the very water-based region is Lake Päijänne (1,080 km2). Other large lakes are Lake Keitele (490 km2), Lake Konnevesi (190 km2) and Lake Kivijärvi (150 km2). The highest point in the region is Kiiskilänmäki in the municipality of Multia, which reaches an altitude of 269 meters above sea level.[3] Kuokanjoki, Finland's shortest river and one of the world's shortest rivers is in the region.[4][5]

Central Finland has been one of the slowly growing regions in terms of population, but the growth has been based on the Jyväskylä sub-region's position as a significant growth center, and most of the region's municipalities are declining in population.[6][7] Also, of these, Kyyjärvi has landed on the Finnish state's crisis financial management list due to its economic hardship.[8][9] Luhanka, the smallest municipality in the whole Mainland Finland in terms of population, is also located in the region.[10][11]

The western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) is the regional bird of Central Finland that is also depicted in the coat of arms.[12]

History

The idea of a province of Central Finland was born at the end of the 19th century. The concept was developed by the district doctor Wolmar Schildt, whose article for Suometar first appeared in 1856. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the provincial identity of Central Finland was strengthened by associations, organisations and companies that expanded into the provinces. The Central Finland Province was established in 1960, but was abolished in the county reform of 1997.[2]

A province is a common administrative unit based on the autonomous decision-making power of municipalities and embodies local democracy at the regional level vis-à-vis the state, while a county is a regional administrative unit of the state. The Central Finland covers almost the same geographical area as the former Central Finland Province. At that time, the province of Central Finland was merged with the provinces of Turku and Pori and Vaasa and the northern parts of Tavastia to form the Western Finland Province. The current Central Finland is larger than the former province of Central Finland, as Jämsä was joined with Kuorevesi and part of Längelmäki, which previously belonged to Pirkanmaa.[2] Kuhmoinen was also part of Central Finland until 2021, when it joined the region of Pirkanmaa.

Historical provinces

For history, geography and culture see: Tavastia, Savonia, Ostrobothnia

Municipalities

The region of Central Finland consists of 22 municipalities, six of which have city status (marked in bold).

Municipalities on the map

Cities and municipalities of Central Finland.
Jyväskylä
Jämsä
Jämsä
Äänekoski
Laukaa
Laukaa
Muurame
Muurame
Keuruu
Keuruu
Saarijärvi
Viitasaari
Viitasaari
Hankasalmi
Hankasalmi
Joutsa
Joutsa
Karstula
Karstula
Pihtipudas
Pihtipudas
Petäjävesi

Petäjävesi
Uurainen
Uurainen
Konne- vesi
Konne-
vesi
Toivakka
Toivakka
Multia
Kinnula
Kinnula
Kannonkoski
Kannonkoski
Kyyjärvi
Kyyjärvi
Kivijärvi
Kivijärvi
Luhanka
Luhanka
Päijänne
Päijänne
Keitele
North Savo
South Savo
Päijät- Häme
Pirkan- maa
South Ostrobothnia
Central Ostrobothnia
North Ostrobothnia
Municipalities
Municipalities
Over 100 000 inhabitants
Over 100 000 inhabitants
 Over 10 000 inhabitants
 Over 10 000 inhabitants
 Over 3 000 inhabitants
 Over 3 000 inhabitants
 < 3 000 inhabitants
 < 3 000 inhabitants
Cities and municipalities of Central Finland.

Sub-regions

Joutsa sub-region:

  • Joutsa
  • Luhanka (Luhango)

Jyväskylä sub-region:

  • Hankasalmi
  • Jyväskylä
  • Laukaa (Laukas)
  • Muurame
  • Petäjävesi
  • Toivakka
  • Uurainen (Urais)

Jämsä sub-region:

  • Jämsä

Keuruu sub-region:

Saarijärvi-Viitasaari sub-region:

  • Kannonkoski
  • Karstula
  • Kinnula
  • Kivijärvi
  • Kyyjärvi
  • Pihtipudas
  • Saarijärvi
  • Viitasaari

Äänekoski sub-region:

List of municipalities

Lohikeitto
Coat of
arms 		Municipality Population Land area
(km2) 		Density
(/km2) 		Finnish
speakers 		Swedish
speakers 		Other
speakers
coat of arms of Hankasalmi Hankasalmi 4,436 572 8 97 % 0.2 % 3 %
coat of arms of Joutsa Joutsa 4,079 867 5 93 % 0.2 % 6 %
coat of arms of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä 149,895 1,171 128 92 % 0.2 % 8 %
coat of arms of Jämsä Jämsä 19,020 1,571 12 95 % 0.1 % 5 %
coat of arms of Kannonkoski Kannonkoski 1,137 445 3 98 % 0 % 2 %
coat of arms of Karstula Karstula 3,514 887 4 97 % 0 % 3 %
coat of arms of Keuruu Keuruu 9,014 1,258 7 95 % 0.1 % 5 %
coat of arms of Kinnula Kinnula 1,472 460 3 98 % 0 % 2 %
coat of arms of Kivijärvi Kivijärvi 1,001 484 2 99 % 0 % 1 %
coat of arms of Konnevesi Konnevesi 2,404 513 5 98 % 0 % 2 %
coat of arms of Kyyjärvi Kyyjärvi 1,129 448 3 97 % 0 % 3 %
coat of arms of Laukaa Laukaa 18,808 649 29 97 % 0.1 % 2 %
coat of arms of Luhanka Luhanka 695 215 3 99 % 0 % 1 %
coat of arms Multia Multia 1,386 733 2 98 % 0 % 2 %
coat of arms of Muurame Muurame 10,646 144 74 98 % 0.2 % 2 %
coat of arms of Petäjävesi Petäjävesi 3,511 456 8 98 % 0 % 2 %
coat of arms of Pihtipudas Pihtipudas 3,676 1,075 3 98 % 0 % 2 %
coat of arms of Saarijärvi Saarijärvi 8,763 1,252 7 97 % 0.1 % 3 %
coat of arms of Toivakka Toivakka 2,307 361 6 98 % 0 % 2 %
coat of arms of Uurainen Uurainen 3,651 348 10 98 % 0 % 2 %
coat of arms of Viitasaari Viitasaari 5,695 1,249 5 97 % 0 % 3 %
coat of arms of Äänekoski Äänekoski 17,492 885 20 96 % 0.1 % 3 %
Total 273,731 15,309 18 93 % 0.1 % 6 %

Former municipalities

  • Äänekosken maalaiskunta (to Äänekoski in 1969)
  • Koskenpää (to Jämsänkoski in 1969)
  • Pihlajavesi (to Keuruu in 1969)
  • Konginkangas (to Äänekoski in 1993)
  • Säynätsalo (to Jyväskylä in 1993)
  • Sumiainen (to Äänekoski in 2007)
  • Suolahti (to Äänekoski in 2007)
  • Leivonmäki (to Joutsa in 2008)
  • Jämsänkoski (to Jämsä in 2009)
  • Jyväskylän maalaiskunta (to Jyväskylä in 2009)
  • Korpilahti (to Jyväskylä in 2009)
  • Pylkönmäki (to Saarijärvi in 2009)

Kuhmoinen was moved to the Pirkanmaa region in 2021.

The following municipalities were not in Central Finland, but were merged into Central Finnish municipalities:

  • Kuorevesi (to Jämsä in 2001)
  • Längelmäki (partially to Jämsä in 2007)

Demographics

Population size 1990–2025[14]
Year Population
1990
254,539
1995
259,778
2000
262,710
2005
266,770
2010
271,083
2015
273,446
2020
272,617
2025
273,731

References

  1. ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita, OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Yleistä tietoa - Perustietoa Keski-Suomen maakunnasta". Keski-Suomi – elämänlaadun maakunta (in Finnish). Mosaiikki ry. Retrieved 2024-04-22.
  3. ^ "Jollei Haltille niin ainakin Kinttumäelle" (in Finnish). Tilastokeskus. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "Shortest river | Revolvy". 2019-03-02. Archived from the original on 2019-03-02. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  5. ^ "River Facts. | Clean Rivers Trust". 2020-10-10. Retrieved 2022-04-11.
  6. ^ Väkiluku. Tilasto- ja ennakointitietoa Keski-Suomesta 2019. (in Finnish)
  7. ^ Tilastokeskukselta jäätävä väestöennuste: Keski-Suomessa vain kolme kuntaa kasvaa – Keskisuomalainen (in Finnish)
  8. ^ "Four municipalities in financial crisis, state steps in". Yle News. May 31, 2019. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Mustikkamaa, Jussi (June 2, 2019). "IL-reportaasi: Kyyjärvi ajautui kiinteistösijoituksilla kriisikunnaksi – "Kuntaliitoksessa kaikki palvelut häviävät täältä"". Iltalehti (in Finnish). Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  10. ^ Municipalities of the Jyväskylä Region – Visit Jyväskylä Region
  11. ^ 7 Villages in Finnish Lakeland You Need to Know About – Megan & Aram
  12. ^ Maakuntatunnukset – Keski-Suomen Liitto (in Finnish)
  13. ^ a b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Population growth slowed down in 2025". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2026-04-01. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2026-04-06.

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