Ii, Finland

Ii (Finnish pronunciation: [iː]; Swedish: Ijo) is a municipality of Finland. It is situated by the Bothnian Bay, at the mouth of river Iijoki, and it is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 9,844 (31 July 2020)[2] and covers an area of 2,872.44 km² (1,109.06 sq mi) of which 1,256.69 km² (485.21 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 6.34/km² (16.4/sq mi).

Ii Ijo
Municipality
Iin kunta Ijo kommun
Roadsign marking the entrance to Ii. The name is printed uppercase here.
Coat of arms
Location of Ii in Finland
Coordinates: 65°19′N 025°22′E
Country	Finland
Region	Northern Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Oulu Arc sub-region
Charter	1445
Government
• Municipal manager	Ari Alatossava
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	2,872.44 km^2 (1,109.06 sq mi)
• Land	1,552.54 km^2 (599.44 sq mi)
• Water	1,256.69 km^2 (485.21 sq mi)
Area rank	42nd largest in Finland
Population  (2020-07-31)[2]
• Total	9,844
• Rank	100th largest in Finland
• Density	6.34/km^2 (16.4/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	99.5% (official)
• Swedish	0.1%
• Others	0.4%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	23.1%
• 15 to 64	61.1%
• 65 or older	15.8%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]	20.5%
Website	www.ii.fi

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Ii merged with Kuivaniemi on 1 January 2007. The formed municipality is called Ii but it adopted the coat of arms of Kuivaniemi. Ii is notable for having the shortest place name in Finland, and also one of the shortest ones in the world. The etymology is not definitively established; options are either Germanic origin or Sami origin. In the latter, it would mean "a place to stay overnight in"; cf. Northern Sami idja "night".[6]

Beginning in 2008, Ii is home to the ART Ii Biennale of Northern Environmental and Sculpture Art, an international art fair.

The city has ambition to become the first zero waste town in the world, and its mayor claims that it does not use fossil fuels for energy.[7]

People

• Juhamatti Aaltonen, ice hockey player, currently plays for the Swedish team Rögle BK.
• Pekka Ahmavaara, politician, father of Arvi Ahmavaara who also was politician
• Liisa Hyssälä, politician
• Tanja Kari, paralympic gold medalist in cross-country skiing
• Sanna Koivisto, sculptor

References

1. "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
2. "Suomen virallinen tilasto (SVT): Väestön ennakkotilasto [verkkojulkaisu]. Heinäkuu 2020" (in Finnish). Statistics Finland. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
3. "Population according to language and the number of foreigners and land area km2 by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
4. "Population according to age and gender by area as of 31 December 2008". Statistics Finland's PX-Web databases. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 28 April 2009.
5. "List of municipal and parish tax rates in 2011". Tax Administration of Finland. 29 November 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
6. Hyyryläinen, Toivo: Kahden kirjaimen pitäjä, Iin perinnekirja. Saarijärven Offset, 2006.
7. "New generation of climate heroes". BBC News. Retrieved 22 June 2019.

External links

Media related to Ii at Wikimedia Commons

• Municipality of Ii – Official website, finnish, english