Perho
Perho | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Perhon kunta Perho kommun | |
The municipal office of Perho | |
Location of Perho in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 63°13′N 024°25′E / 63.217°N 24.417°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | Central Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Kaustinen sub-region |
| Charter | 1868 |
| Government | |
| • Municipal manager | Lauri Laajala |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
• Total | 775.19 km2 (299.30 sq mi) |
| • Land | 747.87 km2 (288.75 sq mi) |
| • Water | 27.25 km2 (10.52 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 114th largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-03-31) | |
• Total | 2,583 |
| • Rank | 231st largest in Finland |
| • Density | 3.45/km2 (8.9/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 98.4% (official) |
| • Swedish | 0.4% |
| • Others | 1.2% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 25.5% |
| • 15 to 64 | 50% |
| • 65 or older | 24.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www.perho.com |
Perho is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Central Ostrobothnia region. The distance between Perho and the regional center Kokkola is about 100 kilometres (62 mi). The municipality has a population of 2,583 (31 March 2025) and covers an area of 775.19 square kilometres (299.30 sq mi) of which 27.25 km2 (10.52 sq mi) is water. The population density is 3.45 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.9/sq mi).
The municipality is unilingually Finnish. It neighbourhood municipalities are Alajärvi, Halsua, Kinnula, Kivijärvi, Kyyjärvi, Lestijärvi, Veteli and Vimpeli.
The name of Perho refers to the word perhonen, which means butterfly in Finnish; due to this, the golden butterfly appears in the coat of arms of the municipality. In the same coat of arms, the silver "nail cross" above the butterfly refers to J. L. Runeberg's poem The Tomb in Perho. The coat of arms was designed by Gustaf von Numers and was confirmed for use on March 6, 1953.