Vaala
Vaala | |
|---|---|
Municipality | |
| Vaalan kunta Vaala kommun | |
Mist rising from Oulujoki river in Vaala | |
Location of Vaala in Finland | |
| Coordinates: 64°33′N 026°50′E / 64.550°N 26.833°E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Region | North Ostrobothnia |
| Sub-region | Oulunkaari |
| Charter | 1954 |
| Seat | Säräisniemi (1865–1954) Vaala (1954–) |
| Government | |
| • Municipality manager | Tytti Seppänen |
| Area (2018-01-01) | |
• Total | 1,764.04 km2 (681.10 sq mi) |
| • Land | 1,302.37 km2 (502.85 sq mi) |
| • Water | 461.45 km2 (178.17 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 54th largest in Finland |
| Population (2025-03-31) | |
• Total | 2,560 |
| • Rank | 232nd largest in Finland |
| • Density | 1.97/km2 (5.1/sq mi) |
| Population by native language | |
| • Finnish | 97.6% (official) |
| • Others | 2.4% |
| Population by age | |
| • 0 to 14 | 11.1% |
| • 15 to 64 | 51.4% |
| • 65 or older | 37.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
| Website | www |
Vaala (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈʋɑːlɑ]) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia region. Established in 1954 (predecessor municipality Säräisniemi, established in 1867), the municipality has a population of 2,560 (31 March 2025) and covers an area of 1,764.04 square kilometres (681.10 sq mi) of which 461.45 km2 (178.17 sq mi) is water. The population density is 1.97 inhabitants per square kilometre (5.1/sq mi). Previously Vaala was part of the Kainuu region but was transferred to Northern Ostrobothnia on 1 January 2016.
Half of Oulujärvi, the fifth largest lake of Finland is located in Vaala.
The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Vaala is also an old Finnish word, which means the phase in a river just before rapids.