Närpes

Närpes (Finland Swedish: [ˈnærpːes]; Finnish: Närpiö [ˈnærpiø]) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Närpes is situated in Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Närpes is approximately 10,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 17,000. It is the 101st most populous municipality in Finland.

Närpes Närpes (Swedish) Närpiö (Finnish)
Town
Närpes stad Närpiön kaupunki
Närpes Church
Coat of arms
Location of Närpes in Finland
Coordinates: 62°28′N 021°20′E
Country	Finland
Region	Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Sydösterbotten
Charter	1867
City rights	1993
Government
• City manager	Mikaela Björklund
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	2,334.14 km2 (901.22 sq mi)
• Land	977.82 km2 (377.54 sq mi)
• Water	1,357 km2 (524 sq mi)
• Rank	80th largest in Finland
Population  (2025-03-31)[2]
• Total	9,562
• Rank	101st largest in Finland
• Density	9.78/km2 (25.3/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Swedish	73.3% (official)
• Finnish	4.9%
• Others	21.8%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	15.8%
• 15 to 64	55.5%
• 65 or older	28.7%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.narpes.fi

Närpes covers an area of 2,334.14 square kilometres (901.22 sq mi) of which 1,357 km² (524 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 9.78 inhabitants per square kilometre (25.3/sq mi). Economically, the municipality is known for extensive greenhouse farming of tomatoes and manufacture of trailers for trucks.

Närpes is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of 5% Finnish speakers, 73% Swedish speakers, and 22% speakers of other languages, which is well above the national average. Närpes has been a bilingual municipality since 2016. Before that, Närpes was the last unilingual Swedish-speaking municipality in mainland Finland.^[5] Most residents speak a variant of Ostrobothnian Swedish which is known to be difficult to understand for other Swedish-speakers.

The most significant main roads in Närpes are Highway 8 between Turku and Vaasa, and Highway 67 between Kaskinen and Seinäjoki.

History

Närpes has a history that can be dated back to 1331, when Klas Bengtsson in "Nærpes" pawned goods to bishop Bengt in Turku.^[6]

In 1348 king Magnus IV of Sweden declared "all who live in Nerpis socken, Mustasaari socken and Pedersöre socken" the right to buy and sell "all eatables".^[7] Thus creating the first official marketplaces in Ostrobothnia.

Demographics

Population

The town of Närpes has 9,562 inhabitants, making it the 101st most populous municipality in Finland. The subdivision has a population of 16,939.

Population size of Närpes 1990–2020^[8]

Year	Population
1990	10,490
1995	10,234
2000	9,769
2005	9,463
2010	9,435
2015	9,387
2020	9,558

Languages

Population by
mother tongue (2024)^[8]

1. Swedish (73.3%)
2. Vietanamese (10.2%)
3. Finnish (4.9%)
4. Bosnian (3.6%)
5. Ukrainian (1.8%)
6. Thai (1.2%)
7. Serbo-Croatian (0.8%)
8. Other (4.2%)

The town of Närpes is officially bilingual, with both Finnish and Swedish as official languages. As of 2024^[update], the majority of the population, 7,003 persons (73.3%) spoke Swedish as their first language. The number of Finnish speakers was 470 persons (4.9%) of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by 21.8% of the population.^[8]

The most common foreign languages are Vietnamese (10.2%), Bosnian (3.6%) and Ukrainian (1.8%).^[8]

Närpes has the largest relative share of Vietnamese in Finland of any municipality.

Immigration

Population by country of birth (2024)[8]
Nationality	Population	%
Finland	7,433	77.8
Vietnam	866	9.1
Sweden	256	2.7
Bosnia and Herzegovina	194	2.0
Yugoslavia	126	1.3
Ukraine	116	1.2
Thailand	114	1.2
Soviet Union	70	0.7
Other	379	4.0

As of 2024^[update], there were 2,197 persons with a foreign background living in Närpes, or 23% of the population.^{[note 1]} The number of residents who were born abroad was 2,121, or 22% of the population. The number of persons with foreign citizenship living in Närpes was 1,677. Most foreign-born citizens came from Vietnam, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former Yugoslavia.^[8]

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Finland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Närpes is twinned with:

• Akranes, Iceland
• Bamble, Norway
• Tønder, Denmark
• Västervik Municipality, Sweden

See also

• Bothnian Highway
• Kaskinen

Notes

1. Statistics Finland classifies a person as having a "foreign background" if both parents or the only known parent were born abroad.^[9]