South Ostrobothnia

South Ostrobothnia Etelä-Pohjanmaan maakunta landskapet Södra Österbotten
Region
Flag Coat of arms
South Ostrobothnia on a map of Finland
Coordinates: 62°45′N 22°30′E
Country	Finland
Historical province	Ostrobothnia, Satakunta
Capital	Seinäjoki
Area
• Total	13,999.63 km2 (5,405.29 sq mi)
Population  (2019)
• Total	188,685
• Density	13/km2 (35/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	FI-03
NUTS	194
Regional bird	Eurasian curlew (Numenius arquata)
Regional flower	Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)
Website	etelapohjanmaa.fi

South Ostrobothnia (Finnish: Etelä-Pohjanmaa; Swedish: Södra Österbotten) is one of the 19 regions of Finland. It borders the regions of Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Central Finland, Pirkanmaa, and Satakunta.

Seinäjoki is the regional centre and by far the largest city in the area.

Historical provinces

For history, geography and culture, see Ostrobothnia (historical province).

Municipalities

Main article: Municipalities of South Ostrobothnia

The region of South Ostrobothnia is made up of 17 municipalities, of which eight have city status (marked in bold).

Järviseutu sub-region:

• Alajärvi (10,277)
• Evijärvi (2,686)
• Lappajärvi (3,394)
• Vimpeli (3,212)

Kuusiokunnat sub-region:

• Alavus (12,354)
• Kuortane (3,870)
• Soini (2,367)
• Ähtäri (6,394)

Seinäjoki sub-region:

• Ilmajoki (12,165)
• Kauhava (17,206)
• Kurikka (21,734)
• Lapua (14,698)
• Seinäjoki (62,457)

Suupohja sub-region:

• Isojoki (2,299)
• Karijoki (1,503)
• Kauhajoki (14,176)
• Teuva (5,800)

Culture

Some people have made this region better known to the world. For example, The Dudesons and the traditional Finnish sweater Jussishirt are something people would remember when asked about South Ostrobothnia.

One of the biggest rock festivals in Finland, Provinssirock and world's oldest tango festival Tangomarkkinat are both held in Seinäjoki.

Politics

Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in South Ostrobothnia:

• Centre Party 31.66%
• Finns Party 22.02%
• National Coalition Party 17.64%
• Social Democratic Party 10.79%
• Christian Democrats 6.39%
• Green League 4.22%
• Left Alliance 2.81%
• Blue Reform 1.82%
• Swedish People's Party 0.41%
• Seven Star Movement 0.37%
• Other parties 1.87%

Gallery

• 
  Seinäjoki Town Hall and Lakeuden Risti Church tower by Alvar Aalto
• 
  Yli-Laurosela, a museum for Ostrobothnian peasant culture in Ilmajoki
• 
  Typical Ostrobothnian plains in Töysä
• 
  Lapua Cathedral, the only wooden cathedral in Finland
• 
  Lake Lappajärvi, Lappajärvi
• 
  Kuortane Church
• 
  Marshland in Kauhaneva-Pohjakangas National Park, Kauhajoki
• 
  A street view in Seinäjoki
• 
  A poor man statue at Lappajärvi Church
• 
  Alavus Church
• 
  Typical barns of two different ages in Lappajärvi
• 
  Lehtimäki Church
• 
  The Ostrobothian horizont in Jalasjärvi
• 
  Bears in Ähtäri Zoo
• 
  A village landscape in Kuortane
• 
  The limestome quarry in Vimpeli
• 
  Kauhajoki town centre
• 
  A building of Veljekset Keskinen, a shopping mall in rural area in Töysä
• 
  Pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) in Vimpeli
• 
  Koskenkorva distillery in Koskenkorva, Ilmajoki

External links

• Official South Ostrobothnia website