North Karelia ( fi, Pohjois-Karjala; sv, Norra Karelen) is a

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 ...

in eastern

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 borders the regions of Kainuu,

North Savo North Savo (or Northern Savonia; fi, Pohjois-Savo; sv, Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the region ...

South Savo South Savo (or Southern Savonia; fi, Etelä-Savo; sv, Södra Savolax) is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total ar ...

and

South Karelia South Karelia ( fi, Etelä-Karjala; sv, Södra Karelen) is a Regions of Finland, region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia, South Savo and North Karelia, as well as Russia (Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Obla ...

, as well as

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Republic of Karelia The Republic of Karelia (russian: Респу́блика Каре́лия, Respublika Kareliya; ; krl, Karjalan tašavalta; ; fi, Karjalan tasavalta; vep, Karjalan Tazovaldkund, Ludic: ''Kard’alan tazavald''), also known as just Karelia (rus ...

. It is the easternmost region of Finland and shares a border with Russia. The city of

Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. Th ...

is the capital and the largest settlement of the region. North Karelia has successfully reduced chronic diseases through public health measures. In the 1960s Finland led industrialized nations in

heart disease Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels. CVD includes coronary artery diseases (CAD) such as angina and myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack). Other CVDs include stroke, hea ...

mortality rates; North Karelia had Finland's highest incidence. In 1972 a long-term project was undertaken which targeted this risk in North Karelia. The resulting improvement in public health is still considered remarkable, a model for the rest of the nation. North Karelia is also known as the most sociable region in Finland. Koli hill view

Historical province

Municipalities

The region of North Karelia is made up of 13

municipalities 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 ...

, of which five have city status (marked in bold).

Joensuu sub-region Joensuu sub-region is a subdivision of North Karelia and one of the Sub-regions of Finland since 2009. Municipalities * Heinävesi * Ilomantsi * Joensuu * Juuka * Kontiolahti * Liperi * Outokumpu * Polvijärvi Politics Results of the 2018 ...

: *

Heinävesi Heinävesi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipalities are Savonlinna, Varka ...

**Population: *

Ilomantsi Ilomantsi ( krl, Il'manči or Ilomančči, sv, Ilomants) is municipality and a village of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population densi ...

(''Ilomants'') **Population: * Joensuu

**Population: * Juuka

Juuka Juuka (; sv, Juga) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...

(''Juga'') **Population: *

Kontiolahti Kontiolahti ( sv, Kontiolax; literally meaning "bear bay") is a municipalities of Finland, municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia regions of Finland, region, about north of Joensuu. The municipality has a population of () and ...

(''Kontiolax'') **Population: * Liperi

Liperi Liperi ( sv, Libelits) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. Liperi is a community of () with the growth rate of 83 newcomers in 11 months in 2007. The population density is . The municipality covers an area of ...

(''Libelits'') **Population: *

Outokumpu Outokumpu Oyj is a group of international companies headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, employing 10,600 employees in more than 30 countries. Outokumpu is the largest producer of stainless steel in Europe and the second largest producer in the A ...

**Population: *

Polvijärvi Polvijärvi (; literally "knee lake") is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . Neighbouring municipaliti ...

**Population: Central Karelia sub-region: * Kitee

Kitee Kitee ( sv, Kides) is a town and a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The populat ...

(''Kides'') **Population: *

Rääkkylä Rääkkylä (; Swedish also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of (), which make it the smallest municipality in North Karelia ...

**Population: *

Tohmajärvi Tohmajärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Neig ...

**Population: Pielinen Karelia sub-region: * Lieksa

Lieksa Lieksa () is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. ...

**Population: * Nurmes

Nurmes Nurmes is a town and municipality of Finland, located in the county of North Karelia. The town has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The

Karelia.

Education

Institutions of higher education in North Karelia include: *

University of Eastern Finland The University of Eastern Finland ( fi, Itä-Suomen yliopisto) is a university in Finland founded in 2010 with campuses in Joensuu and Kuopio. History The Finnish Parliament passed the Universities Act on June 16, 2009, which, among other things ...

* North Karelia University of Applied Sciences * Riveria Vocational Education and Training

Politics

Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in North Karelia: * Centre Party 24.46% *

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

21.41% *

Finns Party The Finns Party, formerly known as the True Finns ( fi, Perussuomalaiset, PS, sv, Sannfinländarna, Sannf.), is a right-wing populist political party in Finland. It was founded in 1995 following the dissolution of the Finnish Rural Party. The ...

18.83% *

Green League The Green League (VIHR, fi, Vihreä liitto , sv, Gröna förbundet), shortened to the Greens ( fi, Vihreät, sv, De Gröna), is a green political party in Finland. Ideologically, the Green League is positioned on the centre-left of the polit ...

9.93% *

National Coalition Party sv, Samlingspartiet , leader1_title = Chairman , leader1_name = Petteri Orpo , leader2_title = Deputy chairs , leader2_name = Antti Häkkänen Elina ValtonenAnna-Kaisa Ikonen , merger = Finnish Party, Young Finnis ...

9.01% *

Christian Democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...

6.68% * Left Alliance 5.26% *

Blue Reform The Finnish Reform Movement ( fi, Korjausliike, korj), is a Finnish conservative political party. It was founded by the 19 MPs who left the Finns Party on 13 June 2017 in protest against Jussi Halla-aho having been elected party leader. The n ...

2.24% *

Movement Now Movement Now ( fi, Liike Nyt , sv, Rörelse nu) is an economically liberal political party in Finland. It was founded by then- National Coalition Party (NCP) member of parliament (MP) Harry "Hjallis" Harkimo and seven other people as a polit ...

0.96% *

Seven Star Movement Seven Star Movement ( fi, Seitsemän tähden liike, sv, Sjustjärnerörelsen) is a Finnish political party founded in 2018. The party was founded by Paavo Väyrynen, its president and only MP, after he was ousted from his previous party, Citize ...

0.21% *Other parties 1.01%

In popular culture

The song "Pohjois-Karjala" ("North Karelia") by the Finnish

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

band

Leevi and the Leavings Leevi and the Leavings was a Finnish rock band that operated from 1978 to 2003. The band consisted of Gösta Sundqvist, Risto Paananen, Juha Karastie and Niklas Nylund. Sundqvist was the leader of the band, he composed and wrote all the band's ...

tells the story of an urban man who dreams of returning to his native region of North Karelia. It has become such a big hit in North Karelia that it is almost perceived as a regional song.

References

External links

North Karelia

Visitkarelia.fi - Information about travel, tourism and other fields in North Karelia

Video about travelling in North Karelia

Pielis.ru – travel information about North Karelia region and City of Joensuu
{{Authority control Eastern Finland Province Karelia North