Kouvola

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Kouvola
City
Kouvolan kaupunki Kouvola stad City of Kouvola
Aerial photo of Kouvola
Coat of arms
Motto:  Näköisesi paikka (The place you look like)[citation needed]
Location of Kouvola in Finland
Coordinates: 60°52′05″N 026°42′15″E / 60.86806°N 26.70417°E / 60.86806; 26.70417
Country	Finland
Region	Kymenlaakso
Sub-region	Kouvola sub-region
Charter	1922
City rights	1960
Government
• City manager	Marita Toikka
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• City	2,883.30 km2 (1,113.25 sq mi)
• Land	2,557.63 km2 (987.51 sq mi)
• Water	325.06 km2 (125.51 sq mi)
• Rank	22nd largest in Finland
Population  (2023-12-31)[2]
• City	78,880
• Rank	11th largest in Finland
• Density	30.84/km2 (79.9/sq mi)
• Urban	55,372
• Metro	60,776
• Metro density	267/km2 (690/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	94.4% (official)
• Swedish	0.4%
• Others	5.2%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	13%
• 15 to 64	58.4%
• 65 or older	28.6%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Postal code	45100
Climate	Dfc
Website	www.kouvola.fi/en/

Kouvola (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkou̯ʋolɑ]) is a city in Finland and the administrative capital of Kymenlaakso. It is located in the southeastern interior of the country. The population of Kouvola is approximately 79,000. It is the 11th most populous municipality in Finland, and the 17th most populous urban area in the country.

Kouvola is located along the Kymijoki River in the region of Kymenlaakso, 62 kilometres (39 mi) kilometers east of Lahti, 87 kilometres (54 mi) west of Lappeenranta and 134 kilometres (83 mi) northeast of the capital, Helsinki. With Kotka, Kouvola is one of the capital centers and is the largest city in the Kymenlaakso region.

The urban area of Kouvola in the city centre itself is home to about 47,000 people.^[6] The city covers an area of 2,883.30 square kilometres (1,113.25 sq mi) of which 325.06 km² (125.51 sq mi) is water.^[1] The population density is 30.84 inhabitants per square kilometre (79.9/sq mi). Kouvola is bordered by the municipalities of Hamina, Heinola, Iitti, Kotka, Lapinjärvi, Loviisa, Luumäki, Miehikkälä, Mäntyharju, Pyhtää and Savitaipale. Kouvola has over 450 lakes and, together with Mäntyharju, the Kouvola area includes the Repovesi National Park.^[7]

Kouvola, which had population growth as late as the 1980s, has suffered a loss of migration since the 1990s. Over time, the loss has only deepened, so that at the end of the 2010s Kouvola was Finland's worst migration loss area. Natural demographics have also trended downward; in 2017, more than 450 more people died in the city than new ones were born.^[8][9][10] The reasons for the emigration are thought to be largely due to job losses in the region.^[9][10]