Kurikka
Kurikka is a town and municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The population of Kurikka is 20,540 (31 July 2020)[2] and the municipality covers an area of 905.66 km2 (349.68 sq mi) of which 7.79 km2 (3.01 sq mi) is inland water (1 January 2018).[1] The population density is 22.68/km2 (58.7/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.
Kurikka | |
---|---|
Town and municipality | |
Kurikan kaupunki Kurikka stad | |
Church | |
Coat of arms | |
Location of Kurikka in Finland | |
Coordinates: 62°37′N 022°24′E | |
Country | Finland |
Region | Southern Ostrobothnia |
Sub-region | Seinäjoki sub-region |
Founded | 1868 |
Market town | 1966 |
City rights | 1977 |
Government | |
• Town manager | Anna-Kaisa Pusa |
Area (2018-01-01)[1] | |
• Total | 1,743.86 km2 (673.31 sq mi) |
• Land | 905.66 km2 (349.68 sq mi) |
• Water | 7.79 km2 (3.01 sq mi) |
Area rank | 36th largest in Finland |
Population (2020-07-31)[2] | |
• Total | 20,540 |
• Rank | 52nd largest in Finland |
• Density | 22.68/km2 (58.7/sq mi) |
• Demonym | Kurikkalainen (Finnish) From Kurikka (English) Kurikkalaanen (Local dialect) |
Population by native language | |
• Finnish | 98.8% (official) |
• Swedish | 0.3% |
• Others | 0.9% |
Population by age | |
• 0 to 14 | 15.8% |
• 15 to 64 | 64.1% |
• 65 or older | 20.1% |
Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) |
Municipal tax rate[5] | 18% |
Website | www.kurikka.fi |
Kurikka is recognized not only as a dynamic town of trade and business activities but also as an important hub of agriculture. Tens of small to medium-sized furniture manufacturers create design furniture to the Northern European market. Kurikka is at the same time comfortably small and big enough, with excellent services nearby, and a very nice nature surrounding the whole town.
Residents of Kurikka can live in a modern fashion in the town centre or in a peaceful countryside setting. The spirit of the town includes a lot of entrepreneurship and activity, features typical of South Ostrobothnia – and also more and more international elements. Kurikka has a very advanced public school system including elementary, high school and secondary grade education, and high-quality healthcare system provided by the municipality.
The town of Kurikka is financially very stable. Kurikka is one of the biggest shareholders in the Finnish energy giant Fortum as well as in Neste Oil, one of Northern Europe's biggest oil companies. The political scene of the town is dominated by the Finnish Centre because of the agricultural roots and past of the town.
The municipality of Jurva was consolidated to Kurikka on 1 January 2009 and municipality of Jalasjärvi on 1 January 2016.
Notable people
- Juha Mieto (born 1949), former cross country skier
- Jorma Ollila (born 1950), Nokia and Royal Dutch Shell chairman of the board
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Kurikka is twinned with:
- Ockelbo Municipality, Sweden
- Melhus, Norway
- Holmegaard, Denmark
References
- "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
- "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Heinäkuu 2020" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
- "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
- "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.