South Savo
Region of Finland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
South Savo[3] (or Southern Savonia; Finnish: Etelä-Savo; Swedish: Södra Savolax) is a region in the south-east of Finland. It borders the regions of North Savo, North Karelia, South Karelia, Kymenlaakso, Päijät-Häme, and Central Finland. The total area of South Savo is 18,768.33 km2 (7,246.5 sq mi), with a population of 153,738 (2011). South Savo is located in the heart of the Finnish lake district, and contains Lake Saimaa, the largest lake in Finland. The three major towns in the region are Mikkeli, Savonlinna and Pieksämäki.
South Savo
| |
|---|---|
| Region of South Savo Etelä-Savon maakunta Landskapet Södra Savolax | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
 South Savo on a map of Finland | |
| Coordinates: 62°0′N 27°30′E | |
| Country | Finland |
| Historical province | Savo |
| Capital | Mikkeli |
| Other towns | Pieksämäki and Savonlinna |
| Area | |
• Total | 18,768.33 km2 (7,246.49 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• Total | 128,144 |
| • Density | 10/km2 (26/sq mi) |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €4.414 billion (2015) |
| • Per capita | €29,245 (2015) |
| ISO 3166 code | FI-04 |
| NUTS | 131 |
| Regional bird | Golden oriole |
| Regional fish | Vendace |
| Regional flower | Water lily |
| Regional stone | Marble |
| Regional lake | Lake Puula |
| Website | esavo.fi |
Historical provinces
For history, geography and culture see: Savo
History
South Savo was the main part of the old Mikkeli Province, established in 1831. Some municipalities were transferred from the county to Central Finland Province, which was established in 1960. Mikkeli Province was abolished in the province reform of 1997, when Regions were established. The province of South Savo belonged to the Eastern Finland Province. In 2002, Kangaslampi moved from the province of South Savo to the province of North Savo. Suomenniemi became part of Etelä-Savo in 2013 when it merged with Ristiina to form the city of Mikkeli. At the beginning of 2021, Joroinen moved to the province of North Savo and Heinävesi to the province of North Karelia as a result of provincial and social and health care reforms.
Municipalities
The region of South Savo consists of 12 municipalities, three of which have city status (marked in bold).
Sub-regions
List of municipalities
| Coat of arms |
Municipality | Population | Land area (km2) |
Density (/km2) |
Finnish speakers |
Swedish speakers |
Other speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Enonkoski | 1,273 | 306 | 4 | 96 % | 0 % | 4 % |
 | Hirvensalmi | 2,023 | 465 | 4 | 96 % | 0 % | 3 % |
 | Juva | 5,569 | 1,163 | 5 | 95 % | 0.3 % | 5 % |
 | Kangasniemi | 4,952 | 1,069 | 5 | 96 % | 0.2 % | 4 % |
 | Mikkeli | 51,551 | 2,548 | 20 | 93 % | 0.2 % | 7 % |
 | Mäntyharju | 7,034 | 981 | 7 | 94 % | 0.3 % | 6 % |
 | Pieksämäki | 17,124 | 1,569 | 11 | 92 % | 0.1 % | 8 % |
 | Puumala | 2,081 | 794 | 3 | 96 % | 0 % | 4 % |
 | Rantasalmi | 3,219 | 560 | 6 | 93 % | 0 % | 7 % |
 | Savonlinna | 31,008 | 2,238 | 14 | 94 % | 0.1 % | 6 % |
 | Sulkava | 2,310 | 584 | 4 | 94 % | 0 % | 5 % |
| Total | 128,144 | 12,278 | 10 | 93 % | 0.2 % | 6 % |
Demographics
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1990 | |
| 1995 | |
| 2000 | |
| 2005 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2025 |
Politics
For parliamentary elections, South Savo, together with the regions of Kymenlaakso and South Karelia, is part of the Southeast Finland constituency. The constituency elects 15 of the 200 members of the Parliament of Finland.[5]
