Närpes
Närpes
| |
|---|---|
Town | |
| Närpes stad Närpiön kaupunki | |
Närpes Church | |
Location of Närpes in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 62°28′N 021°20′E / 62.467°N 21.333°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Sydösterbotten |
| Charter | 1867 |
| City rights | 1993 |
| Government | |
| • City manager | Mikaela Björklund |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
• Total | 2,334.14 km2 (901.22 sq mi) |
| • Land | 977.82 km2 (377.54 sq mi) |
| • Water | 1,357 km2 (524 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 80th largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-03-31) | |
• Total | 9,562 |
| • Rank | 101st largest in Finland |
| • Density | 9.78/km2 (25.3/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Swedish | 73.3% (official) |
| • Finnish | 4.9% |
| • Others | 21.8% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 15.8% |
| • 15 to 64 | 55.5% |
| • 65 or older | 28.7% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www.narpes.fi |
Närpes (Finland Swedish: [ˈnærpːes]; Finnish: Närpiö [ˈnærpiø]) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Närpes is situated in Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Närpes is approximately 10,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 17,000. It is the 101st most populous municipality in Finland.
Närpes covers an area of 2,334.14 square kilometres (901.22 sq mi) of which 1,357 km2 (524 sq mi) is water. The population density is 9.78 inhabitants per square kilometre (25.3/sq mi). Economically, the municipality is known for extensive greenhouse farming of tomatoes and manufacture of trailers for trucks.
Närpes is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 5% Finnish speakers, 73% Swedish speakers, and 22% speakers of other languages, which is well above the national average. Närpes has been a bilingual municipality since 2016. Before that, Närpes was the last unilingual Swedish-speaking municipality in mainland Finland. Most residents speak a variant of Ostrobothnian Swedish which is known to be difficult to understand for other Swedish-speakers.
The most significant main roads in Närpes are Highway 8 between Turku and Vaasa, and Highway 67 between Kaskinen and Seinäjoki.