Utsjoki

Utsjoki Utsjoki – Ohcejohka
—  Municipality  —
Utsjoen kunta
Utsjoki Church and a log cabin
Coat of arms
Location of Utsjoki in Finland
Coordinates: 69°54′N 027°01′E / 69.9°N 27.017°E / 69.9; 27.017Coordinates: 69°54′N 027°01′E / 69.9°N 27.017°E / 69.9; 27.017
Country	Finland
Region	Lapland
Sub-region	Northern Lapland
Charter	1876
Government
– Municipal manager	Viljo Pesonen
Area(2011-01-01)[1]
– Total	5,371.78 km2 (2,074.1 sq mi)
– Land	5,144.27 km2 (1,986.2 sq mi)
– Water	227.51 km2 (87.8 sq mi)
Area rank	13th largest in Finland
Population (2011-01-31)[2]
– Total	1,300
– Rank	316th largest in Finland
– Density	0.25/km2 (0.6/sq mi)
Population by native language[3]
– Finnish	51.6% (official)
– Swedish	0.2%
– Sami	46.6% (official)
– Others	1.7%
Population by age[4]
– 0 to 14	13.8%
– 15 to 64	65.8%
– 65 or older	20.3%
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
– Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Municipal tax rate[5]	20.75%
Website	www.utsjoki.fi

Utsjoki (Northern Sami: Ohcejohka, Inari Sami: Uccjuuhâ, Skolt Sami: Uccjokk) is a municipality in Finland. It is located in Lapland and borders Norway as well as the municipality of Inari. The municipality was founded in 1876. It has a population of 1,300 (31 January 2011)^[2] and covers an area of 5,371.78 square kilometres (2,074.06 sq mi) of which 227.51 km² (87.84 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 0.25 inhabitants per square kilometre (0.65 /sq mi).

Utsjoki has two official languages: Finnish and Northern Sami. It is the municipality in Finland with the largest portion of Sami speakers; 46.6% of the population.^[3]

The border to Norway follows the river Teno which flows into the Arctic Sea. The river is a popular site for recreational fishing because it is rich in salmon. The most northern village in Finland and in the European Union is Nuorgam which is also the most northern land border crossing in the world.

Utsjoki is the northern end of highway 4, the longest highway in Finland. The European route E75 runs along the Sami Bridge further to Norway.

Between the Teno and the Utsjoki river, there is an old hotel very popular between Norwegians and Finns alike, that was built by the Finnish Tourist Association in 1959. The outside look is still the same, but the rooms have been renovated and the hotel now named Hotel Luossajohka.

The Nature reserve Kevo is located in the municipality. It covers a territory of 712 km² (275 sq mi) and there is a 63 km (39 mi) long hiking trail. The trail partly follows the edge of the Kevo canyon.

Villages in Utsjoki

Nuorgam, Utsjoki centre, Nuvvus, Dalvadas, Outakoski, Rovisuvanto, Karigasniemi and Kaamasmukka.

Politics

Results of the Finnish parliamentary election, 2011 in Utsjoki:

• Centre Party 39.7%
• National Coalition Party 17.0%
• True Finns 16.5%
• Social Democratic Party 9.1%
• Left Alliance 7.0%
• Green League 3.8%
• Swedish People's Party 2.9%
• Christian Democrats 2.6%
• Communist Party of Finland 1.2%
• Other parties 0.3%

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "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. ^ ^{a b} "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. 

External links

Media related to Utsjoki at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Utsjoki (Finnish) (Sami)
• Hotel Luossajohka Utsjoki

• 

  Mantojärvi, near Utsjoki village

• 

  Utsjoki seen from Norway

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  The Sami Bridge connects Utsjoki to Norway