View source for Alavieska

{{Infobox settlement
|name = Alavieska
| official_name = {{lang|fi|Alavieskan kunta}}<br />{{lang|sv|Alavieska kommun}}
| settlement_type = Municipality
| image_skyline = Alavieska Church 20181229.jpg
| image_caption = The Alavieska Church
| image_shield = Alavieska.vaakuna.svg
| shield_size = 120x80px
| image_map = Alavieska sijainti Suomi.svg
| map_caption = Location of Alavieska in Finland
|coordinates = {{coord|64|10|N|024|18.5|E|display=inline,title}}
|subdivision_type = Country
|subdivision_name = {{flag|Finland}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Finland|Region]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[North Ostrobothnia]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[Sub-regions of Finland|Sub-region]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Ylivieska sub-region|Ylivieska]]
| leader_title = Mayor
| leader_name = Kari Pentti
| established_title = [[Charter]]
| established_date = 1879
|area_footnotes = {{Data Finland municipality|area_footnotes|Alavieska}}
|area_total_km2 = {{Data Finland municipality|area_total_km2|Alavieska}}
|area_land_km2 = {{Data Finland municipality|area_land_km2|Alavieska}}
|area_water_km2 = {{Data Finland municipality|area_water_km2|Alavieska}}
|area_rank = {{Data Finland municipality|area_rank|Alavieska}}
|population_as_of = {{Data Finland municipality|population_as_of|Alavieska}}
|population_footnotes = {{Data Finland municipality|population_footnotes|Alavieska}}
|population_total = {{Data Finland municipality|population_total|Alavieska}}
|population_density_km2 = {{Data Finland municipality|population_density_km2|Alavieska}}
|population_rank = {{Data Finland municipality|population_rank|Alavieska}}
|demographics_type1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics_type1|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_footnotes = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_footnotes|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_title1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_title1|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_info1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_info1|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_title2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_title2|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_info2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_info2|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_title3 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_title3|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_info3 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_info3|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_title4 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_title4|Alavieska}}
|demographics1_info4 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics1_info4|Alavieska}}
|demographics_type2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics_type2|Alavieska}}
|demographics2_footnotes = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_footnotes|Alavieska}}
|demographics2_title1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_title1|Alavieska}}
|demographics2_info1 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_info1|Alavieska}}
|demographics2_title2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_title2|Alavieska}}
|demographics2_info2 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_info2|Alavieska}}
|demographics2_title3 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_title3|Alavieska}}
|demographics2_info3 = {{Data Finland municipality|demographics2_info3|Alavieska}}
|blank_name = {{Data Finland municipality|blank_name|Alavieska}}
|blank_info = {{Data Finland municipality|blank_info|Alavieska}}
|timezone = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
|utc_offset = +02:00
|timezone_DST = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
|utc_offset_DST = +03:00
| website = [http://www.alavieska.fi/ www.alavieska.fi]
}}
'''Alavieska''' ({{IPA|fi|ˈɑlɑˌʋie̯skɑ}}) is a [[municipalities of Finland|municipality]] of [[Finland]]. It is located in the [[provinces of Finland|province]] of [[Oulu (province)|Oulu]] and is part of the [[Northern Ostrobothnia]] [[regions of Finland|region]]. The municipality has a population of {{formatnum: {{Data Finland municipality/population count|Alavieska}}}} ({{#time: j F Y|{{Data Finland municipality/population count|sourcedate}}
}})<ref name="population_count" /> and covers an area of {{convert|{{Data Finland municipality/total area|Alavieska}}|km2}} of which {{convert|{{Data Finland municipality/waters area|Alavieska}}|km2|abbr=on}} is water.<ref name="total_area" /> The [[population density]] is {{convert|{{Data Finland municipality/population density|Alavieska|round=2}}|PD/km2}}.

The municipality is unilingually [[Finnish language|Finnish]]. The word ''Ala'' means "lower", while the word ''Vieska'' is supposed to mean a "shallow [[Ford (crossing)|ford]]".<ref>{{cite magazine | last = Rahkonen | first = Pauli | title = Suomen etymologisesti läpinäkymätöntä vesistönimistöä | year = 2013 | work = Virittäjä | number = 1 | page = 21 | language = fi}}</ref>

The [[scythe]] theme of Alavieska's [[coat of arms]] refers to the extensive [[meadow]]s in the municipality's territory. The coat of arms was designed by Kaj Kajander, and the Alavieska municipal council approved it at its meeting on September 20, 1960. The [[Ministry of the Interior (Finland)|Ministry of the Interior]] approved the coat of arms for use on November 25 of the same year.<ref>{{cite book | title = Suomen kunnallisvaakunat | publisher = Suomen Kunnallisliitto | year = 1982 | page = 126 | isbn = 951-773-085-3 | language = fi}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Sisäasiainministeriön vahvistamat kaupunkien, kauppaloiden ja kuntien vaakunat 1949-1995 I:8 Alavieska | url = http://digi.narc.fi/digi/fullpic.ka?kuid=1527528 | publisher = Kansallisarkiston digitaaliarkisto | access-date = July 28, 2022 | language = fi }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

==Geography==
Neighbouring municipalities are [[Kalajoki]], [[Merijärvi]], [[Oulainen]] and [[Ylivieska]].

===Villages===
In 1967, Alavieska had six legally recognized villages ''(henkikirjakylät)'':<ref name="suomenmaa">{{Cite book |last=Maijala |first=Veikko |last2=Papunen |first2=Pentti |title=Suomenmaa: maantieteellis-yhteiskunnallinen tieto- ja hakuteos. 1: Ahlainen–Hausjärvi|publisher=[[Werner Söderström Osakeyhtiö|WSOY]]|year=1967|location=[[Helsinki]]|chapter=Alavieska}}</ref>

* [[Alavieska (village)|Alavieska]]
* Eteläranta
* [[Kähtävä]]
* Somero
* [[Taluskylä]]
* Käännänkylä

== Demographics ==
=== Population ===
On the {{#time: j F Y|{{Data Finland municipality/population count|sourcedate}} }}, the municipality has a population of {{formatnum: {{Data Finland municipality/population count|{{PAGENAME}}}}}} ({{DFINM|population_rank|{{PAGENAME}}}}).<ref name="population_count"/> The population density was {{DFINM|population_density_km2|{{PAGENAME}}}}/km<sup>2</sup>.<ref name="population_count"/> In 2020, the age structure of a population was: children (under 15 years old) — {{DFINM|demographics2_info1|{{PAGENAME}}}}; the working-age residents (15–64 years) — {{DFINM|demographics2_info2|{{PAGENAME}}}}; the elderly (65 years and older) — {{DFINM|demographics2_info3|{{PAGENAME}}}}.<ref name="demography"/> The average age was 43.8, above the national average of 43.4 and regional average of 40.8. 

{{Bar chart
| title   = Population size of in 1980—2020<ref name="Stat-fin-pops">{{cite web |url= http://pxdata.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/fi/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_011.px |title= Väestö kielen mukaan sekä ulkomaan kansalaisten määrä ja maa-pinta-ala alueittain 1980 - 2016 |date= 29 March 2017 |website= |publisher= Tilastokeskus (Statistics Finland) |access-date= 11 January 2018 |language= fi |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180617142223/http://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/fi/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_011.px |archive-date= 17 June 2018}}</ref>
| label_type  = Year
| data_type   = Residents
| bar_width = 47
| width_units = em
| label1  = 1975
| label2  = 1980
| label3  = 1985
| label4  = 1990
| label5  = 1995
| label6  = 2000
| label7  = 2005
| label8  = 2010
| label9  = 2015
| label10  = 2020 
| data_max = 3500
| data1 = 3056
| data2 = 2990
| data3 = 3040
| data4 = 3072
| data5 = 3051
| data6 = 2940
| data7 = 2854
| data8 = 2770
| data9 = 2687
| data10 = 2514
| comment1 =
| comment2 = −0.44%
| comment3 = +0.33%
| comment4 = +0.21%
| comment5 = −0.14%
| comment6 = −0.74%
| comment7 = −0.59%
| comment8 = −0.60%
| comment9 = −0.61%
| comment10 = −1.30%
| caption = <small>The data refers to the conditions on 31 December of the current year according to the territorial division on 1 January 2022.</small>
}}

=== Languages ===
The population by language ([[First language|mother tongue]]) on 31 December 2022. [[Finnish language|Finnish]] (suomi), [[Swedish language|Swedish]] (ruotsi) and [[Sami language|Sami]] (saame) count as indigenous languages as they have official status in the country. The rest of the languages are counted as foreign. For languages with fewer than 10 speakers, the figure is hidden by [[Statistics Finland|Tilastokeskus]] due to confidentiality reasons.<ref name="statfin1">{{cite web |url= https://statfin.stat.fi/PxWeb/pxweb/fi/StatFin/StatFin__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11rm.px/ |title= 11rm — Kieli sukupuolen mukaan kunnittain, 1990-2023 |last= |first= |date= 2023 |website= |publisher= [[Statistics Finland|Tilastokeskus]] |access-date= 27 April 2023 |language = fi |quote=}}</ref><ref name="statfin2">{{cite web |url= https://statfin.stat.fi/PxWeb/pxweb/fi/StatFin/StatFin__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11ra.px/ |title= 11ra — Tunnuslukuja väestöstä alueittain, 1990-2023 |last= |first= |date= 2023 |website= |publisher= [[Statistics Finland|Tilastokeskus]] |access-date= 27 April 2023 |language = fi |quote=}}</ref> Speakers of Finnish made up 99.0% of the population and speakers of Swedish made up 0.2%, while the share of speakers of foreign languages was 0.8%. Foreign nationals made up 0.6% of the total population.<ref name="population key figures">{{Cite web |title= Key figures on population by region, 1990-2020 |url= https://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11ra.px/ |url-status= live |access-date=28 April 2021 |website= StatFin |publisher= [[Statistics Finland]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406192005/http://pxnet2.stat.fi:80/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11ra.px/ |archive-date= 2019-04-06 }}</ref> 

{|
|-
| valign="top"|
{| class="wikitable sortable numbertable" | style="text-align:right;"
|-
! rowspan=2 | Language !! colspan=2 | Speakers in 2022
|-
! Quantity !! Part (%)
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Total population || {{formatnum:2447}} || 100.0
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Official languages || {{formatnum:2425}} || 99.1
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Finnish language|Finnish]] || {{formatnum:2421}} || 98.9
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Swedish language|Swedish]] || 4 || 0.2
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Foreign languages || 22 || 0.9 
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Other || 22 || 0.9
|}
| valign="top" |
{|
|+ '''Population by native language'''
|-
| valign="top" |
{{Pie chart
|value1 = 98.9 | label1 = Finnish  | color1 = lightblue
|value2 = 0.2  | label2 = Swedish | color2 = yellow
|value3 = 0.9  | label3 = other | color3 =  
}}
|}
|}

=== Urban areas ===
In 2019, out of the total population of 2,519, 1,281 people lived in the sole [[Urban areas in Finland|urban area]], the [[Alavieska (village)|Alavieska parish village]], while lived 1,220 in sparsely populated areas and the coordinates of 18 people were unknown. This made Alavieska's degree of urbanization 51.2%.<ref name="urbanization">{{Cite web|title=Degree of urbanisation by area, 2019|url=https://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11s7.px/|url-status=live|access-date=28 April 2021|website=StatFin|publisher=[[Statistics Finland]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191126094642/http://pxnet2.stat.fi:80/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11s7.px/ |archive-date=2019-11-26 }}</ref><ref name="urban population">{{Cite web|title=Population in urban settlements and sparsely populated areas by age, sex and municipality, 2019|url=https://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11s6.px/|url-status=live|access-date=28 April 2021|website=StatFin|publisher=[[Statistics Finland]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191126094635/http://pxnet2.stat.fi:80/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm__vaerak/statfin_vaerak_pxt_11s6.px/ |archive-date=2019-11-26 }}</ref>

== Economy ==
In 2018, 23.1% of the workforce of Alavieska worked in primary production ([[agriculture]], [[forestry]] and [[fishing]]), 22.4% in secondary production (e.g. [[manufacturing]], [[construction]] and [[infrastructure]]), and 52.9% in [[Service (economics)|services]]. In 2019, the unemployment rate was 8.8%, and the share of pensioners in the population was 29.5%.<ref name="municipal key figures">{{Cite web|title=Municipal key figures 1987-2020 (with the 2021 regional division)|url=https://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/Kuntien_avainluvut/Kuntien_avainluvut__2021/kuntien_avainluvut_2021_aikasarja.px|url-status=live|access-date=28 April 2021|website=StatFin|publisher=[[Statistics Finland]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210426165318/https://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/Kuntien_avainluvut/Kuntien_avainluvut__2021/kuntien_avainluvut_2021_aikasarja.px |archive-date=2021-04-26 }} (2018 and 2019)</ref> 

==Notable people==
*[[Pentti Kahma]], discus thrower
*[[Teemu Kattilakoski]], skier
*[[Rauli Pudas]], pole vaulter

==See also==
* [[Ylivieska]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category-inline|Alavieska}}
{{wikivoyage-inline|Alavieska}}
*[http://www.alavieska.fi/ Municipality of Alavieska] – Official website {{in lang|fi}}

{{Geographic location
 | Centre = Alavieska
 | N  = [[Merijärvi]]
 | NE = [[Oulainen]]
 | SE = [[Ylivieska]]
 | S  = [[Sievi]]
 | SW = [[Kalajoki]]
 | NW = [[Kalajoki]]
}}
{{NorthernOstrobothnia}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Municipalities of North Ostrobothnia]]
[[Category:Populated places established in 1879]]