Kautokeino Municipality

Kautokeino Municipality
Kautokeino kommune
Guovdageainnu suohkan
Finnmark within Norway
Kautokeino within Finnmark
Coordinates: 69°00′42″N 23°02′36″E / 69.01167°N 23.04333°E / 69.01167; 23.04333
CountryNorway
CountyFinnmark
Established1851
  Preceded byKistrand Municipality
Administrative centreKautokeino
Government
  Mayor (2023)Anders S. Buljo (LL)
Area
  Total
9,707.35 km2 (3,748.03 sq mi)
  Land8,967.38 km2 (3,462.32 sq mi)
  Water739.97 km2 (285.70 sq mi)  7.6%
  Rank#1 in Norway
Highest elevation
973.9 m (3,195.2 ft)
Population
 (2024)
  Total
2,848
  Rank#236 in Norway
  Density0.3/km2 (0.8/sq mi)
  Change (10 years)
 −2.8%
DemonymKautokeinoværing
Official languages
  Norwegian formBokmål
  Sámi formNorthern Sami
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeNO-5612
WebsiteOfficial website

Kautokeino (Norwegian: Kautokeino; Northern Sami: Guovdageaidnu [ˈkuo̯vːtaˌkea̯jːtnuː]; Kven: Koutokeino; Finnish: Koutokeino) is a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other villages include Láhpoluoppal and Máze.

The 9,707-square-kilometre (3,748 sq mi) municipality is the largest by area out of the 357 municipalities in Norway. Kautokeino is the 236th most populous municipality in Norway with a population of 2,848. The municipality's population density is 0.3 inhabitants per square kilometre (0.78/sq mi) and its population has decreased by 2.8% over the previous 10-year period.

Guovdageainnu Municipality (Kautokeino) is one of two cultural centers of Northern Sápmi today (the other being the neighboring Kárášjoga Municipality). The most significant industries are reindeer herding, theatre/movie industry, and the public education system. Kautokeino is one of the coldest places in the Nordics.