North Savo[2] (or Northern Savonia; Finnish: Pohjois-Savo; Swedish: Norra Savolax) is a region in eastern Finland. It borders the regions of South Savo, Central Finland, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, and North Karelia. Kuopio is the largest city in the region and Lake Kallavesi is the largest lake in the region.
The region’s traditional food is a fish and bacon filling pie called Kalakukko.[3]
Historical provinces
For history, geography and culture see: Savo
Municipalities
The region of North Savo consists of 19 municipalities, five of which have city status (marked in bold).
Municipalities on the map
Municipalities
Over 100 000 inhabitants
Over 30 000 inhabitants
Over 10 000 inhabitants
Over 3 000 inhabitants
< 3 000 inhabitants
Sub-regions
Joroinen (Jorois)
Leppävirta
Varkaus
Iisalmi (Idensalmi)
Keitele
Kiuruvesi
Lapinlahti
Pielavesi
Sonkajärvi
Vieremä
List of municipalities
| Coat of arms |
Municipality | Population | Land area (km2) |
Density (/km2) |
Finnish speakers |
Swedish speakers |
Other speakers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Iisalmi | 20,205 | 763 | 26 | 95 % | 0 % | 5 % |
 |
Joroinen | 4,494 | 575 | 8 | 92 % | 0.4 % | 8 % |
 |
Kaavi | 2,547 | 674 | 4 | 97 % | 0 % | 2 % |
 |
Keitele | 1,922 | 483 | 4 | 96 % | 0 % | 3 % |
 |
Kiuruvesi | 7,255 | 1,328 | 5 | 98 % | 0 % | 2 % |
 |
Kuopio | 126,572 | 3,242 | 39 | 93 % | 0.1 % | 7 % |
 |
Lapinlahti | 8,803 | 1,097 | 8 | 97 % | 0.1 % | 3 % |
 |
Leppävirta | 8,924 | 1,136 | 8 | 97 % | 0.1 % | 3 % |
 |
Pielavesi | 3,873 | 1,153 | 3 | 97 % | 0.3 % | 2 % |
 |
Rautalampi | 2,928 | 539 | 5 | 95 % | 0 % | 5 % |
 |
Rautavaara | 1,398 | 1,151 | 1 | 97 % | 0 % | 3 % |
 |
Siilinjärvi | 21,348 | 401 | 53 | 97 % | 0.1 % | 2 % |
 |
Sonkajärvi | 3,521 | 1,466 | 2 | 98 % | 0 % | 2 % |
 |
Suonenjoki | 6,549 | 714 | 9 | 95 % | 0 % | 5 % |
 |
Tervo | 1,388 | 348 | 4 | 97 % | 0 % | 3 % |
 |
Tuusniemi | 2,270 | 543 | 4 | 97 % | 0 % | 3 % |
 |
Varkaus | 19,433 | 386 | 50 | 93 % | 0.2 % | 7 % |
 |
Vesanto | 1,787 | 423 | 4 | 96 % | 0 % | 4 % |
 |
Vieremä | 3,295 | 925 | 4 | 95 % | 0 % | 5 % |
| Total | 248,512 | 17,346 | 14 | 94 % | 0.1 % | 6 % |
Demographics
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1990 | |
| 1995 | |
| 2000 | |
| 2005 | |
| 2010 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2025 |
Politics
Results of the 2019 Finnish parliamentary election in North Savo:
- Centre Party 21.67%
- Finns Party 17.55%
- National Coalition Party 14.80%
- Social Democratic Party 14.57%
- Green League 9.46%
- Christian Democrats 8.61%
- Left Alliance 8.44%
- Movement Now 1.93%
- Blue Reform 1.62%
- Seven Star Movement 0.44%
- Other parties 0.91%
Tertiary education
- University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus (enrollment c. 6,000, in Kuopio)
- Savonia University of Applied Sciences (enrollment c. 6,000, in Kuopio (about 4,500), Varkaus and Iisalmi)
- Kuopio department of Sibelius Academy (c. 150 studying for Master of Music in Church music or Master of Arts in Arts Management)
- Kuopio department of Humak University of Applied Sciences (c. 100 studying to be Sign language Interpreters)
References
- ^ Regions and Cities > Regional Statistics > Regional Economy > Regional GDP per Capita, OECD.Stats. Accessed on 16 November 2018.
- ^ “Alueluokitusmuutokset 1.1.2019”. Archived from the original on 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
- ^ “Kalakukko | Traditional Savory Pie From Northern Savonia | TasteAtlas”. www.tasteatlas.com.
- ^ “Population growth slowed down in 2025”. Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2026-04-01. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
External links
| Regions |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Former regions | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| Geographic | |
