Central Ostrobothnia (; ) is a region in Finland. Central Ostrobothnia borders the Bothnian Bay and the regions of Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Central Finland and South Ostrobothnia. The regional bird of Central Ostrobothnia is the Eurasian skylark, the regional stone is Gneiss, the regional lake is Lake Lestijärvi, the regional fish is European whitefish. The capital and largest city of the region is Kokkola.

Central Ostrobothnia has an area of 6,462.93 km, of which 5,019.98 km² is land area. Central Ostrobothnia, including the sea areas, is the smallest province in mainland Finland in terms of population and total area, and the second smallest province in Finland after Åland. However, if you count the land area alone, Kymenlaakso is smaller than Central Ostrobothnia.

Historical provinces

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Regional council

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Municipalities

The region of Central Ostrobothnia consists of two sub-regions and eight municipalities, two of which have city status (marked in bold).

Sub-regions

Kaustinen sub-region:

  • 23px Halsua
  • 23px Kaustinen
  • 23px Lestijärvi
  • 23px Perho
  • 23px Toholampi
  • 23px Veteli

Kokkola sub-region:

  • 23px Kannus
  • 23px Kokkola

List of municipalities

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 90%; text-align: right; line-height: normal;"

|-

! class="unsortable" |Coat of<br/>arms

! Municipality

! Population

! Land area<br/>(km<sup>2</sup>)

! Density<br/>(/km<sup>2</sup>)

! Finnish<br/>speakers

! Swedish<br/>speakers

! Other<br/>speakers

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Halsua|| Halsua || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Kannus|| Kannus || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Kaustinen|| Kaustinen || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Kokkola|| Kokkola || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Lestijärvi|| Lestijärvi || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Perho|| Perho || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Toholampi|| Toholampi || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

|50px|border|Coat of arms of Veteli|| Veteli || || ||

|| &nbsp;% || &nbsp;% || &nbsp;%

|-

!!!+ style=text-align:right | Total !!+ style=text-align:right | !!+ style=text-align:right | !!+ style=text-align:right |

!!+ style=text-align:right | &nbsp;%

!!+ style=text-align:right | &nbsp;%

!!+ style=text-align:right | &nbsp;%

|}

Demographics

Politics

For parliamentary elections, Central Ostrobothnia, together with the regions of Ostrobothnia and South Ostrobothnia, is part of the Vaasa constituency. As of 2023, the constituency elects 16 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland.

References

  • Central Ostrobothnia Regional Council website