Pelkosenniemi Pelkosnjargâ | |
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Municipality | |
| Pelkosenniemen kunta Pelkosenniemi kommun | |
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 Coat of arms | |
 Location of Pelkosenniemi in Finland | |
OpenStreetMap  Interactive map outlining Pelkosenniemi. | |
| Coordinates:67°06.5′N027°31′E / 67.1083°N 27.517°E /67.1083; 27.517 | |
| Country |  Finland |
| Region | Lapland |
| Sub-region | Eastern Lapland |
| Charter | 1916 |
| Government | |
| • Municipal manager | Pertti Severinkangas |
| Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 1,881.58 km2 (726.48 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,836.38 km2 (709.03 sq mi) |
| • Water | 45.4 km2 (17.5 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 32nd largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-06-30)[2] | |
• Total | 922 |
| • Rank | 298th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 0.5/km2 (1.3/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 98% (official) |
| • Others | 2% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 9.5% |
| • 15 to 64 | 53.5% |
| • 65 or older | 37.1% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www.pelkosenniemi.fi |
Pelkosenniemi (Inari Sami:Pelkosnjargâ) is amunicipality ofFinland. It is located in theprovince ofLapland. The municipality has a population of 922(30 June 2025),[2] which make it the smallest municipality in Lapland in terms of population. It covers an area of 1,881.58 square kilometres (726.48 sq mi) ofwhich 45.4 km2 (17.5 sq mi)is water.[1] Thepopulation density is0.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (1.3/sq mi). Neighbour municipalities areKemijärvi,Rovaniemi,Salla,Savukoski andSodankylä.
The municipality is unilinguallyFinnish and in 2000 was the last remaining municipality in Finland to have its entire population consist of native speakers of Finnish. As of 2010 there were two native speakers of other languages in Pelkosenniemi.
Pelkosenniemi hosts a popular mosquito swatting competition.[5]
The area was originally inhabited bySámi people who spoke theKemi Sámi language.
The first Finnish settler in the area was Paavali Pelkonen fromLumijoki, who came to the area, then calledKilpimaa, in the 1670s. The area was still property of theSompiosiida. Later it was a part of theSodankylä parish, under which it acquired its first chapel in 1857. The community was calledAlaperä at that time. Pelkosenniemi became a separate parish in 1916, as didSavukoski.[6]
Media related toPelkosenniemi at Wikimedia Commons
Pelkosenniemi travel guide from Wikivoyage
| Municipalities |  | |
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The smallest municipalities ofFinland by region in terms of population | |
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