Alavieska
Alavieska | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Alavieskan kunta Alavieska kommun | |
The Alavieska Church | |
Location of Alavieska in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 64°10′N 024°18.5′E / 64.167°N 24.3083°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | North Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Ylivieska |
| Charter | 1879 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Kari Pentti |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
• Total | 253.02 km2 (97.69 sq mi) |
| • Land | 251.5 km2 (97.1 sq mi) |
| • Water | 1.66 km2 (0.64 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 245th largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-03-31) | |
• Total | 2,395 |
| • Rank | 238th largest in Finland |
| • Density | 9.52/km2 (24.7/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 98% (official) |
| • Others | 2% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 19.3% |
| • 15 to 64 | 55.8% |
| • 65 or older | 24.9% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
Alavieska (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈɑlɑˌʋie̯skɑ]) 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 2,395 (31 March 2025) and covers an area of 253.02 square kilometres (97.69 sq mi) of which 1.66 km2 (0.64 sq mi) is water. The population density is 9.52 inhabitants per square kilometre (24.7/sq mi).
The municipality is unilingually Finnish. The word Ala means "lower", while the word Vieska is supposed to mean a "shallow ford".
The scythe theme of Alavieska's coat of arms refers to the extensive meadows 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 approved the coat of arms for use on November 25 of the same year.