Alavieska () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. It is located in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Oulu Oulu ( , ; sv, Uleåborg ) is a city, municipality and a seaside resort of about 210,000 inhabitants in the region of North Ostrobothnia, Finland. It is the most populous city in northern Finland and the fifth most populous in the country after: ...

and is part of the

Northern Ostrobothnia North Ostrobothnia ( fi, Pohjois-Pohjanmaa; sv, Norra Österbotten) is a region of Finland. It borders the Finnish regions of Lapland, Kainuu, North Savo, Central Finland and Central Ostrobothnia, as well as the Russian Republic of Karelia. T ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

is . The municipality is unilingually

Finnish Finnish may refer to: * Something or someone from, or related to Finland * Culture of Finland * Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland * Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people * Finnish cuisine See also ...

. The word ''Ala'' means "lower", while the word ''Vieska'' is supposed to mean a "shallow

ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

". The

scythe A scythe ( ) is an agricultural hand tool for mowing grass or harvesting crops. It is historically used to cut down or reap edible grains, before the process of threshing. The scythe has been largely replaced by horse-drawn and then tractor m ...

theme of Alavieska's

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...

refers to the extensive

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

s in the municipality's territory. The coat of arms was designed by Kaj Kajander, and the Alavieska municipal council approved it at its meeting on September 20, 1960. The

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

approved the coat of arms for use on November 25 of the same year.

Geography

Neighbouring municipalities are

Kalajoki Kalajoki (; literally translated the "fish river") is a coastal town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the immediate vicinity of the Gulf of Bothnia in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has ...

Merijärvi Merijärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The m ...

Oulainen Oulainen ( sv, Oulainen, also ) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Northern Ostrobothnia region, south of the city of Oulu. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populat ...

and

Ylivieska Ylivieska () is a town and municipality of Northern Ostrobothnia region, Finland. It has a population of (), and it serves as the administrative centre for Kalajokilaakso and Pyhäjokilaakso, an area with a population of about 90,000 inhabitant ...

Villages

In 1967, Alavieska had six legally recognized villages ''(henkikirjakylät)'': *

Alavieska Alavieska () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The m ...

* Eteläranta * Kähtävä * Somero * Taluskylä * Käännänkylä

Demographics

In 2020, 19.3% of the population of Alavieska was under the age of 15, 55.8% were aged 15 to 64, and 24.9% were over the age of 64. The average age was 43.8, above the national average of 43.4 and regional average of 40.8. Speakers of

made up 99.0% of the population and speakers of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

made up 0.2%, while the share of speakers of foreign languages was 0.8%. Foreign nationals made up 0.6% of the total population. The chart below, describing the development of the total population of Alavieska from 1975-2020, encompasses the municipality's area as of 2021.

Urban areas

In 2019, out of the total population of 2,519, 1,281 people lived in the sole

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

, the Alavieska parish village, while lived 1,220 in sparsely populated areas and the coordinates of 18 people were unknown. This made Alavieska's degree of urbanization 51.2%.

Economy

In 2018, 23.1% of the workforce of Alavieska worked in primary production (

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. Th ...

and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

), 22.4% in secondary production (e.g.

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a r ...

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

and

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

), and 52.9% in

services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a pu ...

. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 8.8%, and the share of pensioners in the population was 29.5%. (2018 and 2019)

Notable people

Pentti Kahma Pentti Aatos Kahma (December 3, 1943 Alavieska) is a retired discus thrower from Finland, who is best known for winning the title at the 1974 European Championships in Rome, Italy. He represented his native country at the 1976 Summer Olympics ...

, discus thrower *

Teemu Kattilakoski Teemu Kattilakoski (December 16, 1977 in Kannus) is a Finnish cross-country skier who has been competing since 1996. His best finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was sixth in the 4 × 10 km relay in 2007 while his best individua ...

, skier *

Rauli Pudas Rauli Antero Pudas (September 13, 1954 Alavieska) is a retired male pole vaulter from Finland. His personal best jump was 5.60 metres, achieved in July 1980 in Raahe Raahe (; sv, Brahestad; ) is a town and municipality of Finland. Founded by Swe ...

, pole vaulter

References

External links

*
Municipality of Alavieska
– Official website {{authority control Municipalities of North Ostrobothnia Populated places established in 1879