South Ostrobothnia[2] (Finnish: Etelä-Pohjanmaa; Swedish: Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta. Among the Finnish regions, South Ostrobothnia is the ninth largest in terms of population.[3] Seinäjoki is the regional centre[4] and by far the largest city in the area.[5]
Quick Facts Etelä-Pohjanmaa (Finnish)Södra Österbotten (Swedish), Country ...
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As a cultural area, South Ostrobothnia is larger than its current regional borders and includes the region of Ostrobothnia as well.[4]
The region of South Ostrobothnia is made up of 18 municipalities, of which eight have city status (marked in bold).
More information Year, Pop. ...
Historical populationYear | Pop. | ±% |
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1972 | 200,137 | — |
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1975 | 196,746 | −1.7% |
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1980 | 201,152 | +2.2% |
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1985 | 206,209 | +2.5% |
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1990 | 207,010 | +0.4% |
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1995 | 206,136 | −0.4% |
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2000 | 200,766 | −2.6% |
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2005 | 198,856 | −1.0% |
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2010 | 198,469 | −0.2% |
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2015 | 197,371 | −0.6% |
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2020 | 192,150 | −2.6% |
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2021 | 191,762 | −0.2% |
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Source: Statistics Finland |
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South Ostrobothnia is the most homogenous region in Finland, with the highest share of the population speaking Finnish (97.1%) and the lowest share of people with a foreign-background (2.7%). Swedish is spoken by 637 people (0.3%). The highest shares of Swedish-speakers are in Evijärvi (2%) and Karijoki (1.6%), both of which border majority Swedish-speaking municipalities in the region of Ostrobothnia. The most spoken immigrant languages are Russian (0.5%), Estonian (0.4%), Ukrainian (0.2%), Hungarian (0.2%) and Thai (0.1%).[6]
South Ostrobothnia has the highest proportion of people who belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland out of any region, at 82.8%. It also has the fourth highest dependency ratio at 74.3, higher than the national average of 62.4. The region has a higher proportion of people aged 0-14 and those aged 65 and over than the national average. The proportion of people in the working age (aged 15-64) is one of the lowest in the country.[7] Kauhajoki in South Ostrobothnia is estimated to have the highest proportion of Finnish Kale in Finland, at 5%.[8] In 2019, the city of Seinäjoki became one of the first in the country to fly the Romani flag during International Romani Day.[9]
Population by background country as of 31 December 2021:[10]
- Finland 186,604 (97.31%)
- Russia 1,026 (0.54%)
- Estonia 636 (0.33%)
- Ukraine 291 (0.15%)
- Hungary 286 (0.15%)
- Turkey 261 (0.14%)
- Thailand 254 (0.13%)
- Sweden 191 (0.10%)
- Poland 135 (0.07%)
- Iraq 130 (0.07%)
- Myanmar 129 (0.07%)
- Romania 110 (0.06%)
Other 1,709 (0.89%)
"Väestö". Etelä-Pohjanmaan liitto (in Finnish). Retrieved 2022-03-25. "Suomen murteet". Kotimaisten kielten keskus (in Finnish). Retrieved 2022-03-22. Etelä-Pohjanmaan liitto (2014): Etelä-Pohjanmaa − Jotakin parempaa – Etelä-Pohjanmaan kulttuuristrategia vuosille 2015–2020, pp. 5–9.
Luutonen, Marketta (2008): Harrin Jussin muisto: Jussipaita suomalaismiehen rooliasuna Oppimista, opetusta, monitieteisyyttä - Kirjoituksia Kuninkaankartanonmäeltä. Joensuun yliopisto, Savonlinnan opettajankoulutuslaitos.
Riukulehto, Sulevi; Mäkelä, Matti; Orhanen, Outi & Lehtimäki, Anni: Pohjalaistalot – yhteistä kulttuuriperintöämme. Helsingin yliopisto, Ruralia-instituutti, 2014.