Vörå

Vörå Vörå – Vöyri
—  Municipality  —
Vörå kommun – Vöyrin kunta
Coat of arms
Location of Vörå in Finland
Coordinates: 63°08′N 022°15′E / 63.133°N 22.25°E / 63.133; 22.25Coordinates: 63°08′N 022°15′E / 63.133°N 22.25°E / 63.133; 22.25
Country	Finland
Region	Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Vaasa sub-region
Charter	1868 (Vörå)
Re-established	2007 (Vörå-Maxmo)
Re-established	2011 (Vörå)
Government
– Municipal manager	Christina Öling
Area(2011-01-01)[1]
– Total	1,499.91 km2 (579.1 sq mi)
– Land	781.31 km2 (301.7 sq mi)
– Water	718.6 km2 (277.5 sq mi)
Area rank	68th largest in Finland
Population (2011-01-31)[2]
– Total	6,698
– Rank	154th largest in Finland
– Density	8.57/km2 (22.2/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
– Swedish	84.6% (official)
– Finnish	13.6% (official)
– Others	1.8%
Population by age[4]
– 0 to 14	16.8%
– 15 to 64	61.2%
– 65 or older	22%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5]	19%
Website	www.vora.fi

Vörå (Finnish: Vöyri) is a municipality of Finland. In 2011, it was created from the municipalities of Vörå-Maxmo and Oravais.^[6] Vörå-Maxmo was created in 2007 from the municipalities of (old) Vörå and Maxmo. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Ostrobothnia region.

The municipality is bilingual, with the majority (85%) speaking Swedish and the minority (14%) Finnish.^[3]

Maxmo

Coat of Arms of Maxmo

The former municipality had a population of 1,037 (2003) and covered an area of 148.06 km² of which one fourth is land. The population density was 7.0 inhabitants per km². The majority were speakers of Swedish (90%) and the minority speakers of Finnish (8%).

Finland's first Natural World Heritage

In July 2006 Kvarken Archipelago was added as an extension to the UNESCO World Heritage site of the High Coast. The archipelago is unique in that it features ridged washboard moraines known as De Geer moraines, formed by the melting of the continental ice sheet 10,000 to 24,000 years ago. The Kvarken Archipelago is continuously rising from the sea at a rate among the highest in the world. During the last 600 years, over a third of the land areas in Maxmo has risen from the sea. That means over 20 acres (81,000 m²) of new land every year!

Vörå

Coat of Arms of Vörå

The former municipality had a population of 3,524 (2003) and covered an area of 427.50 km² of which 2.38 km² is water. The population density was 8.3 inhabitants per km². The majority were speakers of Swedish (85%) and the minority speakers of Finnish (14%).

References

1. ^ "Area by municipality as of 1 January 2011" (in Finnish and Swedish) (PDF). Land Survey of Finland. http://www.maanmittauslaitos.fi/sites/default/files/pinta-alat_2011_kunnannimenmukaan.xls. Retrieved 9 March 2011. 
2. ^ "Population by municipality as of 31 January 2011" (in Finnish and Swedish). Population Information System. Population Register Center of Finland. http://vrk.fi/default.aspx?docid=4258&site=3&id=0. Retrieved 18 February 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "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. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=060_vaerak_tau_107_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+kielen+mukaan+sek%E4+ulkomaan+kansalaisten+m%E4%E4r%E4+ja+maa%2Dpinta%2Dala+alueittain++1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 29 March 2009. 
4. ^ "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. http://pxweb2.stat.fi/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=050_vaerak_tau_104_fi&ti=V%E4est%F6+i%E4n+%281%2Dv%2E%29+ja+sukupuolen+mukaan+alueittain+1980+%2D+2008&path=../Database/StatFin/vrm/vaerak/&lang=3&multilang=fi. Retrieved 28 April 2009. 
5. ^ "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. http://www.vero.fi/nc/doc/download.asp?id=7996;193801. Retrieved 13 March 2011. 
6. ^ "1.1.2011 yhdistyvien kuntien uudet nimet" (in Finnish). Kunnat.net. Helsinki: Suomen Kuntaliitto. 2 July 2010. http://www.kunnat.net/k_perussivu.asp?path=1;29;348;4827;50631;137625;163600. Retrieved January 1, 2011. 

External links

Media related to Vörå at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Vörå – Official website (Swedish) (Finnish)