Lapland (Finland)
Lapland
Lappi ( | |
---|---|
UTC+3 (EEST) | |
ISO 3166 code | FI-10 |
Website | lapinliitto.fi |
Symbols | |
Bird | Bluethroat |
Fish | Salmon |
Flower | Globe-flower |
Mammal | Reindeer |
Lake | Lake Inari |
Mineral | Gold |
Lapland (
Lapland's cold and wintry climate, coupled with its relative abundance of conifer trees such as pines and spruces, means that it has become associated with Christmas in some countries, most notably the United Kingdom, and holidays to Lapland are common towards the end of the year. However, the Lapland region has developed its infrastructure for year-round tourism. For example, in the 2019 snow-free period tourism grew more than in the winter season.[4] In recent years, Lapland has also become a major tourist destination for world-class celebrities as well as royalty.[5]
Rovaniemi is the main regional centre of Lapland, and the Rovaniemi Airport is the second busiest airport in Finland.[6] Besides tourism, other important sectors are trade, manufacturing and construction.[7][8] Like Rovaniemi, Inari is also one of the most important tourist destinations in Lapland for foreign tourism.[9][10]
Lapland has been connected with the legendary "North Pole" home of Santa Claus (Father Christmas or Saint Nicholas) since 1927, when Finnish radio host Markus Rautio said that Santa Claus lived on Korvatunturi, a fell (mountain) in the region. Later, Rovaniemi staked a claim as Santa's "official hometown" and developed the Santa Claus Village attraction to encourage tourism.[11]
Geography
The area of the Lapland region is 100,367 km², which consists of 92,667 km² of dry land, 6,316 km² fresh water and 1,383 km² of seawater.
The areas of
The landscape of large parts of Lapland is an
The
Climate
The very first snowflakes fall to the ground in late August or early September over the higher peaks. The first ground-covering snow arrives on average in October or late September. Permanent snow cover comes between mid-October and the end of November, significantly earlier than in southern Finland. The winter is long, approximately seven months. The snow cover is usually thickest in early April. Soon after that the snow cover starts to melt fast.[26] The thickest snow cover ever was measured in Kilpisjärvi on 19 April 1997 and it was 190 cm.[27] The annual mean temperature varies from a couple of degrees below zero in the northwest to a couple of degrees above zero in the southwest (Kemi-Tornio area). Lapland exhibits a trend of increasing precipitation towards the south, with the driest parts being located at the two arms.[28]
In summer months, the average temperature is consistently over 10°C. Heat waves with daily temperatures exceeding 25°C occur on an average of 5-10 days per summer in northern Finland.[29]
History
The area of Lapland was split between two counties of the
During the Interim Peace and beginning of the Continuation War the government of Finland allowed the Nazi German Army to station itself in Lapland as a part of Operation Barbarossa. After Finland made a separate peace with the Soviet Union in 1944, the Soviet Union demanded that Finland expel the German army from its soil. The result was the Lapland War, during which almost the whole civilian population of Lapland was evacuated. The Germans used scorched earth tactics in Lapland before they withdrew to Norway. 40 to 47 per cent of the dwellings in Lapland and 417 kilometres (259 mi) of railroads were destroyed, 9,500 kilometres (5,900 mi) of roadways were mined, destroyed or were unusable, and 675 bridges and 3,700 kilometres (2,300 mi) of telephone lines were also destroyed. Ninety per cent of Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, was burned to the ground, with only a few pre-war buildings surviving the destruction.
After the
The provinces of Finland were abolished on 1 January 2010, but Lapland was reorganised as one of the new regions that replaced them.[30]
Economy
Jobs | 68,370 |
GDP (million euros) | 6,940 |
GDP (per capita) | €39,320 |
Private and public offices | 10,400 |
Private sector revenues (million euros) | 15,400 |
Exports (million euros) | 4,000 |
Private and public sector workers | 62,600 |
Unemployment | 9.8% |
Tourism
Country | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|
1. United Kingdom | 233,295 | 273,603 | 285,359 |
2. Germany | 137,440 | 162,035 | 165,993 |
3. France | 124,071 | 141,123 | 159,343 |
4. Netherlands | 59,368 | 83,069 | 95,673 |
5. China (including Hong Kong) | 54,116 | 85,109 | 90,751 |
6. Norway | 67,633 | 68,695 | 67,453 |
7. Switzerland | 57,709 | 62,053 | 65,428 |
8. Russia | 55,278 | 56,395 | 54,963 |
9. Spain | 37,842 | 43,607 | 53,132 |
10. Italy | 35,638 | 42,996 | 40,359 |
Total foreign | 1,213,689 | 1,479,691 | 1,563,495 |
Population
This section needs to be updated.(September 2023) |
Lapland is the home of about 3.4% of Finland's total population and is by far the least densely populated area in the country. The biggest towns in Lapland are
Lapland's population has been in decline since 1990.
People with a foreign background[35][36] | |
---|---|
Country of origin | Population (2017) |
Sweden | 3,087 |
Russia | 942 |
Myanmar | 415 |
Iraq | 256 |
Thailand | 245 |
Syria | 244 |
Estonia | 195 |
Norway | 192 |
Germany | 187 |
Afghanistan | 183 |
China | 182 |
Vietnam | 172 |
Somalia | 169 |
Turkey | 122 |
United Kingdom | 107 |
Year | Population |
---|---|
1900 | 51,000 |
1950 | 169,211 |
1955 | 189,176 |
1960 | 208,788 |
1965 | 221,162 |
1970 | 197,429 |
1975 | 195,131 |
1980 | 196,288 |
1985 | 200,571 |
1990 | 201,652 |
1995 | 200,579 |
2000 | 189,288 |
2005 | 184,935 |
2010 | 183,484 |
2015 | 180,858 |
Regional council
The 21
Politics
Lapland has seven seats in the 200-seat parliament of Finland. In the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election, three seats went to Centre Party, and the Finns Party, the Left Alliance, the Social Democratic Party and the National Coalition Party got one seat each.[37]
The votes were distributed as follows:
- Centre Party 29.20%
- Finns Party 17.19%
- Left Alliance 14.16%
- Social Democratic Party 13.51%
- National Coalition Party 11.26%
- Green League 9.72%
- Movement Now 1.99%
- Christian Democrats 1.08%
- Seven Star Movement 0.67%
- Blue Reform0.48%
- Swedish People's Party 0.11%
- Other parties 0.63%
Sámi homeland
The northernmost municipalities of Lapland where the
Municipalities
The region of Lapland is made up of 21 municipalities, of which four have city status (marked in bold).
Municipality | Population (31.12.2018) |
Area (km²) |
Density (pop. per km²) |
Sub-Region | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rovaniemi | 62,963 | 8,016.84 | 7.85 | Rovaniemi | |
Tornio | 21,872 | 1,348.85 | 18.84 | Kemi-Tornio | |
Kemi | 21,024 | 747.51 | 232.23 | Kemi-Tornio | |
Sodankylä | 8,442 | 12,415.48 | 0.76 | Northern Lapland | |
Keminmaa | 8,149 | 647.23 | 13.69 | Kemi-Tornio | |
Kemijärvi | 7,375 | 3,930.91 | 2.29 | Eastern Lapland | |
Inari | 6,911 | 17,333.54 | 0.45 | Northern Lapland | |
Kittilä | 6,423 | 8,262.94 | 0.79 | Fell Lapland | |
Ylitornio | 4,017 | 2,212.38 | 2.22 | Torne Valley | |
Ranua | 3,895 | 3,694.80 | 1.21 | Rovaniemi | |
Kolari | 3,824 | 2,617.77 | 1.51 | Fell Lapland | |
Salla | 3,493 | 5,873.08 | 0.68 | Eastern Lapland | |
Pello | 3,439 | 1,863.68 | 2.17 | Torne Valley | |
Posio | 3,236 | 3,544.81 | 1.20 | Eastern Lapland | |
Tervola | 3,063 | 1,592.04 | 2.12 | Kemi-Tornio | |
Simo | 3,044 | 2,086.39 | 2.34 | Kemi-Tornio | |
Muonio | 2,302 | 2,037.80 | 1.25 | Fell Lapland | |
Enontekiö | 1,856 | 8,391.35 | 0.24 | Fell Lapland | |
Utsjoki | 1,232 | 5,372.01 | 0.25 | Northern Lapland | |
Savukoski | 1,016 | 6,495.95 | 0.17 | Eastern Lapland | |
Pelkosenniemi | 954 | 1,881.57 | 0.53 | Eastern Lapland | |
Total | 178,530 | 100,366.93 | 1.78 |
Transport
Roads
Three European roads pass through Lapland: E8, E63 and E75, the latter of which runs almost 600 kilometres from the southernmost municipality of Simo to the northernmost municipality of Utsjoki.[38]
Airports
Kemi-Tornio, Rovaniemi, Kittilä, Ivalo and Enontekiö airports are located in Lapland. The flight time from Helsinki is about 1,5 hours.[39]
Railways
In the western part, the Laurila–Kelloselkä railway runs from Tornio to Kolari,[40] and the eastern line runs from Keminmaa via Rovaniemi and Kemijärvi to the eastern border of the country at Salla's Kelloselkä.[41]
See also
- Finnish Lakeland
- Lääni
- Laponia (historical province of Finland)
- Lappmarken
- National parks in Lapland
- Sea Lapland
- Southern Lapland
Notes
- drowned by the sea during the Eocene. However, as of 2013, no sedimentary deposit from this time has been found and the marine fossils may have arrived much later by wind transport.[19]
References
- ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita, OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
- ^ "Land of the Midnight Sun". VisitFinland.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
- ^ "Polar Night - The most magical time of the year | Only in Lapland". House of Lapland. 2017-12-02. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
- ^ "Infographic: 10 facts about tourism in Lapland 2019". House of Lapland. 2020-02-17. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
- ^ "Kourtney Kardashian, Lionel Messi, Ed Sheeran… 15 international celebrities that have visited Finnish Lapland". Arctic Guesthouse & Igloos. 15 September 2021. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
- ^ "Traffic statistics | Finavia". www.finavia.fi. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "Infographic: Distribution of Lapland's Industry | Business Lapland". House of Lapland. 2019-11-19. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "Statistics and publications". www.lappi.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ Tourism Inari – Saariselkä – Utsjoki – Ivalo - Discovering Finland
- ^ For travellers: Inari-Saariselkä tourism region - Inari.fi
- ^ Geiling, Natasha. "Where Does Santa Live? The North Pole Isn't Always the Answer". smithsonianmag.com. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
- ^ "Suomen pinta-ala kunnittain 1.1.2016" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "Lake Inari". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "Mount Halti". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ a b c d Lindberg, Johan (February 2, 2011). "Lappland". Uppslagsverket Finland (in Swedish). Retrieved November 30, 2017.
- .
- ^ Kaitanen, Veijo (1985). "Problems concerning the origin of inselbergs in Finnish Lapland". Fennia. 163 (2): 359–364.
- .
- .
- .
- ^ .
- hdl:1956/11701.
- ^ ISBN 9780080457598.
- ISBN 9780080457598.
- ISBN 978-952-217-175-7.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ "Snow statistics". Finnish Meteorological Institute. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "Sääennätyksiä" (in Finnish). Finnish Meteorological Institute. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "Present climate – 30 year mean values". Finnish Meteorological Institute. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "Seasons in Finland - Finnish Meteorological Institute". en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi. Retrieved 2020-06-11.
- ^ "New regional administration model abolishes provinces in 2010". Helsingin Sanomat International Edition. Sanoma Corporation. 31 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 December 2011. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ "Lapin suhdannekatsaus 2021" (PDF). Lapin luotsi. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Vuosittaiset yöpymiset ja saapuneet asuinmaittain muuttujina Alue, Maa, Vuosi ja Tiedot". VisitFinland.
- ^ "Statistics Finland – Statistical databases".[dead link]
- ^ Kuntien pinta-alat ja asukastiheydet – Kuntaliitto (in Finnish)
- ^ http://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/fi/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_032.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=726cd24d-d0f1-416a-8eec-7ce9b82fd5a4[permanent dead link]
- ^ "PX-Web - Valitse muuttuja ja arvot". Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
- ^ "Yle - Tulospalvelu - Lapin vaalipiiri - Eduskuntavaalit 2019 - Yle.fi". vaalit.yle.fi.
- ^ Utsjoki–Simo eäisyys – Etaisyys.com (in Finnish)
- ^ "How to get to Lapland". Lapin liitto. Archived from the original on 2015-09-03. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ "Tornio-Kolari -rataosuuden parannustyö" (in Finnish). VR Rata. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ "Tasoristeysten turvallisuus rataosalla Kemijärvi–Kelloselkä" (PDF) (in Finnish). VTT. Retrieved 21 November 2022.}
External links
- Lapland Regional Council – Official site
- House of Lapland
- Lapland Club
- Kemi-Tornio University of Applied Sciences – video portal – Videos about Lapland experiences and lifestyle.
- Levi-Lapland – Information on Lapland, the ski resorts and the Lapland Super Pass.
- Where is Lapland?
- Midnight Sun Film Festival