Närpes


Närpes 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, while the sub-region has a population of approximately. It is the most populous municipality in Finland.
Närpes covers an area of of which is water. The population density is. 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 Finnish speakers, Swedish speakers, and 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. 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.
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History

Närpes has a history that can be dated back to 1331, when Klas Bengtsson in "Nærpes" pawned goods to bishop Bengt in Turku.
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". Thus creating the first official marketplaces in Ostrobothnia.

Demographics

Population

The town of Närpes has inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Finland. The subdivision has a population of.

Languages

The town of Närpes is officially bilingual, with both Finnish and Swedish as official languages., the majority of the population, persons spoke Swedish as their first language. The number of Finnish speakers was persons of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by of the population.
The most common foreign languages are Vietnamese, Bosnian and Ukrainian.
Närpes has the largest relative share of Vietnamese in Finland of any municipality.

Immigration

, there were 2,197 persons with a foreign background living in Närpes, or 23% of the population. 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.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Närpes is twinned with:

Climate

Närpes has a subarctic climate.