Government and politics in Oulu, Finland: official figures
Oulu is governed by a 67-member city council (kaupunginvaltuusto) elected in the 2025 municipal elections.
Which party won the municipal election in Oulu?
The National Coalition Party (KOK) is the largest group on the Oulu city council with 15 of 67 seats after 2025, compared with 15 in 2021.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice · saved copyWhat is the political make-up of Oulu city council?
The 2025 election divided the Oulu council seats KOK 15, KESK 15, SDP 13, VIHR 9, VAS 9, PS 5, KD 1, with 7 parties or lists represented.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice · saved copyHow many women are on the Oulu city council?
Women hold 55.2% of the seats on the Oulu city council elected in 2025, 3rd lowest among the nine largest cities.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice · saved copyWhat was the voter turnout in Oulu?
Turnout in Oulu in the 2025 municipal elections was 50.8%, 4th lowest among the nine largest cities (Finland 54.3%), down from 52.3% in 2021.
Source: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Sotkanet · saved copyMore figures
- 33% of people in Oulu agreed that there is corruption in their local public administration (EU quality of life in European cities survey, 2023). Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- In the EU's 2023 survey of quality of life in European cities, 52% of residents of Oulu were satisfied with how long the local administration takes to deal with a request. Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- In the EU's 2023 survey of quality of life in European cities, 44% of residents of Oulu found the local administration's procedures straightforward and easy to understand. Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- In the EU's 2023 survey of quality of life in European cities, 55% of residents of Oulu thought the fees charged by the local administration were reasonable. Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- 70% of people in Oulu said the local administration's information and services were easy to access online (EU quality of life in European cities survey, 2023). Source: Eurostat · saved copy
- 91% of people in Oulu were satisfied to live in the city (EU quality of life in European cities survey, 2023). Source: Eurostat · saved copy
How Oulu compares with other cities in Finland
Voter turnout in the 2025 municipal elections (%) (2025)
Oulu ranks 6 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | Voter turnout in the 2025 municipal elections (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Turku | 54.8% |
| 4 | Espoo | 54.6% |
| 5 | Jyvaskyla | 52.5% |
| 6 | Oulu | 50.8% |
| 7 | Kuopio | 50.0% |
| 8 | Lahti | 49.7% |
| 9 | Vantaa | 45.7% |
Women as a share of city councillors elected in 2025 (%) (2025)
Oulu ranks 7 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | Women as a share of city councillors elected in 2025 (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Jyvaskyla | 61.9% |
| 4 | Turku | 58.2% |
| 5 | Kuopio | 57.6% |
| 6 | Vantaa | 55.2% |
| 7 | Oulu | 55.2% |
| 8 | Tampere | 52.2% |
| 9 | Lahti | 44.1% |
More on Oulu: overview · economy and jobs · health · education and schools · poverty and living standards · government budget · all cities in Finland
Sources
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset urb_percep: Quality of life in European cities survey 2023: perception (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 81bd3e277f3e…)
- Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Sotkanet: Sotkanet indicator bank, REST API 1.1: 32 indicators (one exact JSON response per indicator, e.g. indicator=5761, plus the region list) on morbidity, primary care, lifestyle, social assistance, homelessness, county election turnout and the net operating costs of wellbeing services counties, 2015-2025, bundled in one zip, read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 e5b01db4f1e9…)
- Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice: Numbers and percentage shares of elected councillors by party and constituency in Municipal elections, 2021 and 2025 (table 152l, PxWeb API POST query, json-stat2), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 35f17f0496d3…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.