Ristijärvi

Ristijärvi is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of 1,164 (31 March 2025),^[2] which makes it the smallest municipality in Kainuu in terms of population. It covers an area of 897.93 square kilometres (346.69 sq mi) of which 62.31 km² (24.06 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 1.39 inhabitants per square kilometre (3.6/sq mi). The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Ristijärvi
Municipality
Ristijärven kunta Ristijärvi kommun
Coat of arms
Location of Ristijärvi in Finland
Coordinates: 64°30.3′N 028°13′E
Country	Finland
Region	Kainuu
Sub-region	Kajaani
Charter	1867
Government
• Municipal manager	Petteri Seppänen
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	897.93 km2 (346.69 sq mi)
• Land	835.83 km2 (322.72 sq mi)
• Water	62.31 km2 (24.06 sq mi)
• Rank	94th largest in Finland
Population  (2025-03-31)[2]
• Total	1,164
• Rank	286th largest in Finland
• Density	1.39/km2 (3.6/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	96.3% (official)
• Others	3.7%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	10.2%
• 15 to 64	51.3%
• 65 or older	38.5%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.ristijarvi.fi

The municipality was named after the Ristijärvi lake, Ristijärvi meaning "Cross Lake", referring to the shape of the lake.^[5]

Politics

Results of the 2023 Finnish parliamentary election in Ristijärvi:^[6]

• Centre Party 41.5%
• Finns Party 25.7%
• Left Alliance 7.9%
• Social Democratic Party 7.6%
• National Coalition Party 7.3%
• Christian Democrats 5.8%
• Green League 2.3%

As of 2021 Finnish municipal elections, Ristijärvi municipal council is made up of: Centre Party (10 seats), Finns Party (2), National Coalition Party (1), Left Alliance (1), and Green League (1).^[7]

People born in Ristijärvi

• Salomo Pulkkinen, Member of Parliament
• Kari Härkönen, cross country skier
• Hannu Takkula, Member of the European Parliament
• Kaisa Mäkäräinen, biathlete