Pohjois-Karjala: population, economy and official figures

Pohjois-Karjala is a region (maakunta) in Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi, Finland. Pohjois-Karjala had 162,091 residents on 1 January 2025, 12.7% of Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi and 2.88% of Finland; 13th largest of 19 regions in Finland.

In depth

• Economy, jobs and prices in Pohjois-Karjala: GDP per person was 32,300 purchasing power standards (PPS) in 2024, 81% of the EU average (102% for Finland); 17th highest of 19 regions in Finland.
• Health in Pohjois-Karjala: THL's age-standardised morbidity index, which combines seven major disease groups, stood at 111.1 in Pohjois-Karjala (North Karelia) in 2024 against 100 for the whole country; that is 3rd highest among Finland's 19 regions.
• Education in Pohjois-Karjala: 8.0% of residents aged 15 or over in the North Karelia region held a master's degree in 2024, below the national figure of 11.5%; that is 10th highest among Finland's 19 regions, up from 6.7% in 2019.
• Poverty and living standards in Pohjois-Karjala: 19.0% of the dwelling population of Pohjois-Karjala (North Karelia) lived below the at-risk-of-poverty line (60% of the national median income) in 2024, above the national figure of 14.2%; that is the highest among Finland's 19 regions, up from 18.8% in 2019.
• Government budget and revenue in Pohjois-Karjala: Net spending on elderly care, including home care and 24-hour service housing, came to €1,184 per resident in the North Karelia wellbeing services county in 2025 (7th highest of the 18 with data; Finland €927).
• Government and politics in Pohjois-Karjala: Health, social and rescue services in the North Karelia region have been run since 2023 by the North Karelia wellbeing services county (hyvinvointialue), governed by a 59-seat county council (aluevaltuusto) elected in the 2025 county elections.

Figures come from Finland's own official statistics and from Eurostat's regional statistics for NUTS 3 areas. Comparisons with the EU average use purchasing power standards (PPS), which adjust for price differences.

Other regions in Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi

• Pohjois-Pohjanmaa 418,331
• Pohjois-Savo 248,815
• Lappi 176,151
• Etelä-Savo 129,376
• Kainuu 69,639
• Keski-Pohjanmaa 67,723

Up a level: Pohjois- ja Itä-Suomi · all regions of Finland · how local power works in Finland

Sources

• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_pjangrp3: Population on 1 January (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 4c748d3cba3a…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_d3dens: Population density, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f4b59fe9d121…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP per person, PPS (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3bf0fc662f56…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp: GDP, million euros (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 096e15e5fdb3…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment, thousand people (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 664e4e3a6dc0…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_pjanind3: Median age of the population (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7bf6ade55a0d…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_pjanind3: Share of people aged 65 or over (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 17aa0d08ab9c…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_fagec3: Live births (NUTS 3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 cfda9b5f4ebd…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset reg_area3: Area, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 75302b0aafe9…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3empers: Employment (thousand persons) by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 222a97c302d3…)
• Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus), from the election results of the Ministry of Justice: Numbers and proportions of elected councillors by party, sex and wellbeing services county in County elections, 2022-2025 (table 153i, PxWeb API POST query, json-stat2), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 36eb52231311…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gva: Gross value added at basic prices by NUTS 3 region and industry, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 c656e8563bdf…)
• Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus): Regional time series 1987-2025 (table 142h, Municipal key figures database): population, housing, education, employment and jobs by NUTS region, region and municipality (PxWeb API POST query, json-stat2, years 2015-2025), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 18a97e220312…)
• Eurostat: Eurostat dataset demo_r_gind3: Population change: demographic balance and crude rates by NUTS 3 region, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7548e948e15c…)
• 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): Offences recorded by year of reporting, figures relative to the population in the area of the offence (table 13h4, Statistics on offences and coercive measures), 2015-2025 (PxWeb API POST query, json-stat2), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 491eb3d6cd9b…)
• Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus): Income level, income inequality, population at risk of poverty or dependent on basic social security by region (table 14ww, Income distribution statistics), 2015-2024 (PxWeb API POST query, json-stat2), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 4dd1f64e4da5…)

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