Kouvola facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kouvola
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City
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| Kouvolan kaupunki Kouvola stad City of Kouvola |
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Aerial photo of Kouvola
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| Motto(s):
Näköisesi paikka (The place you look like)
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Location of Kouvola in Finland
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| Country |  Finland |
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| Region |  Kymenlaakso |
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| Sub-region | Kouvola sub-region | |
| Charter | 1922 | |
| City rights | 1960 | |
| Area
(2018-01-01)
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| • 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) | |
| Area rank | 22nd largest in Finland | |
| Population
(2023-12-31)
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| • 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 | ||
| • Finnish | 94.4% (official) | |
| • Swedish | 0.4% | |
| • Others | 5.2% | |
| Population by age | ||
| • 0 to 14 | 13% | |
| • 65 or older | 28.6% | |
| Time zone | UTC+02:00 (EET) | |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+03:00 (EEST) | |
| Postal code |
45100
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| Climate | Dfc | |
Kouvola is a city in Finland and the main city of the Kymenlaakso region. It is located in the southeastern part of the country. About 79,000 people live in Kouvola. This makes it the 11th largest municipality in Finland.
Kouvola is situated along the Kymi River. It is about 62 kilometers east of Lahti and 134 kilometers northeast of Helsinki, the capital city. Kouvola is the biggest city in the Kymenlaakso region, along with Kotka.
The city center of Kouvola has about 47,000 residents. The total area of Kouvola is 2,883.30 square kilometres (1,113.25 sq mi). A part of this area, 325.06 km2 (125.51 sq mi), is water. The city has over 450 lakes. Repovesi National Park is also partly located in the Kouvola area.
Since the 1990s, Kouvola has seen fewer people moving in than moving out. This trend has continued, making Kouvola an area with significant population loss. One main reason for people leaving is the loss of jobs in the region.
Contents
Kouvola's Past: A Railway City
The village of Kouvola has been around since the Middle Ages. However, it really started to grow in the 1870s. This was when the Riihimäki–Saint Petersburg railway line was built. Kouvola became an important railway hub.
More railway lines were built in the following years. The Savonia railway went north from Kouvola, and the Kotka line went south. This made Kouvola one of Finland's busiest railway junctions. Because of the railways, Kouvola grew into a major center for making pulp, paper, and for printing. It also had a leading role in industrial engineering.
During the Finnish Civil War in 1918, there was a lot of fighting in the area. More than 200 people died in Kouvola during this conflict.
Becoming a City
Kouvola was separated from the municipality of Valkeala in 1922. It gained special trading rights the next year. Kouvola officially became a city in 1960.
Kouvola was part of Viipuri Province from 1922 to 1945. After parts of Viipuri County were given to the Soviet Union in 1940 and 1944, the remaining areas became Kymi Province in 1945. Kouvola also became an important administrative center. It was the capital of Kymi County from 1955 until 1997.
In January 2009, six municipalities joined together to form the new, larger municipality of Kouvola. These were Kouvola, Kuusankoski, Elimäki, Anjalankoski, Valkeala, and Jaala. Kouvola also adopted the slogan Kymijoen kaupunki, which means "the town of Kymijoki".
Kouvola's Provincial History
Viipuri Province (1922–1945)
Kymi Province (1945–1997)
Southern Finland Province (1997–2009)
Kymenlaakso (2009–)
Fun Facts and Attractions
The name Kouvola comes from an old Finnish word, kouvo, which means bear. The city's coat of arms shows a golden star-like shape on a black background, with a wavy silver base.
Near Kouvola, you can find the Verla factory. This factory is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means it's a very important historical place.
Kouvola is also home to Tykkimäki, the third largest Amusement park in Finland. It's a great place for fun and rides!
Sports in Kouvola
Kouvola has a strong sports scene. The Sudet sports club is from Kouvola. Their bandy team won the Finnish championship six times in a row! They also have a football team.
KooKoo is Kouvola's most successful ice hockey team. They play in the top Finnish league, SM-liiga. Kouvolan Pallonlyöjät (KPL) is a famous Pesäpallo (Finnish baseball) team. They have won five Finnish championships.
The Kouvot basketball team also plays in Kouvola. They are in the highest league, Korisliiga, and have won four Finnish championships.
MyPa is another successful football club from the area. They played for 23 seasons in Finland's top football league, Veikkausliiga. MyPa is based in Myllykoski, which is part of Kouvola. After some financial problems, MyPa returned to playing in 2017 and has been moving up the leagues again.
Kouvola also has the Palomäki Ski Jump Center. It's a place where young people and others can practice ski jumping.
Kouvola's Climate
Kouvola has a humid continental climate. This means it has four clear seasons. The amount of rain and snow is fairly even throughout the year, but spring is usually the driest time.
Summers in Kouvola are generally warm. It's known as one of the hottest cities in Finland. Since 2000, it has had the most days with temperatures above 25°C (77°F). Winters are cold and long. They are colder than cities closer to the coast because Kouvola is further inland. This also means summers are warmer.
The average yearly temperature is 5.4°C (41.7°F). The highest temperature ever recorded was 34.5°C (94.1°F) on July 28, 2010. The lowest ever was -37.3°C (-35.1°F). Kouvola gets a good amount of rain and snow all year. Even in the driest month, there's more than 30 mm (1.2 inches) of precipitation. The sun shines for about 1,658 hours each year.
| Climate data for Kouvola Utti airport, normals 1991–2020, extremes 1960–present | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) |
8.7 (47.7) |
15.6 (60.1) |
24.9 (76.8) |
30.2 (86.4) |
32.2 (90.0) |
34.5 (94.1) |
33.0 (91.4) |
28.7 (83.7) |
17.7 (63.9) |
11.9 (53.4) |
9.7 (49.5) |
34.5 (94.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −3.4 (25.9) |
−3.4 (25.9) |
1.3 (34.3) |
8.3 (46.9) |
15.9 (60.6) |
20.2 (68.4) |
22.9 (73.2) |
20.8 (69.4) |
14.9 (58.8) |
7.5 (45.5) |
2.1 (35.8) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
8.8 (47.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −6.1 (21.0) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−2.3 (27.9) |
3.7 (38.7) |
10.6 (51.1) |
15.2 (59.4) |
18.0 (64.4) |
16.1 (61.0) |
10.8 (51.4) |
4.7 (40.5) |
0.1 (32.2) |
−3.5 (25.7) |
5.1 (41.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −9.1 (15.6) |
−9.7 (14.5) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
4.7 (40.5) |
10.0 (50.0) |
13.0 (55.4) |
11.6 (52.9) |
7.1 (44.8) |
2.0 (35.6) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
1.2 (34.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −37.3 (−35.1) |
−34.9 (−30.8) |
−29.3 (−20.7) |
−17.5 (0.5) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
3.0 (37.4) |
−0.1 (31.8) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
−14.9 (5.2) |
−22.3 (−8.1) |
−35.0 (−31.0) |
−37.3 (−35.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 54 (2.1) |
45 (1.8) |
42 (1.7) |
31 (1.2) |
41 (1.6) |
63 (2.5) |
69 (2.7) |
71 (2.8) |
63 (2.5) |
72 (2.8) |
66 (2.6) |
64 (2.5) |
681 (26.8) |
| Average precipitation days | 12 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 121 |
| Source: FMI climatologial normals for Finland 1991-2020 | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Kouvola Anjala (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1959–present) | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) |
8.8 (47.8) |
16.1 (61.0) |
23.8 (74.8) |
29.8 (85.6) |
32.4 (90.3) |
33.5 (92.3) |
31.9 (89.4) |
27.5 (81.5) |
19.2 (66.6) |
13.4 (56.1) |
9.7 (49.5) |
33.5 (92.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −2.7 (27.1) |
−2.6 (27.3) |
2.1 (35.8) |
8.9 (48.0) |
16.2 (61.2) |
20.5 (68.9) |
23.2 (73.8) |
21.3 (70.3) |
15.4 (59.7) |
8.2 (46.8) |
2.8 (37.0) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
9.4 (48.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −5.3 (22.5) |
−5.7 (21.7) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
4.0 (39.2) |
10.4 (50.7) |
15.0 (59.0) |
17.9 (64.2) |
16.0 (60.8) |
10.9 (51.6) |
5.1 (41.2) |
0.7 (33.3) |
−2.7 (27.1) |
5.4 (41.7) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −8.4 (16.9) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−6.0 (21.2) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
4.2 (39.6) |
9.4 (48.9) |
12.3 (54.1) |
11.1 (52.0) |
6.8 (44.2) |
2.2 (36.0) |
−1.6 (29.1) |
−5.3 (22.5) |
1.3 (34.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −37.3 (−35.1) |
−36.0 (−32.8) |
−33.5 (−28.3) |
−22.5 (−8.5) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
1.4 (34.5) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−7.9 (17.8) |
−16.3 (2.7) |
−23.3 (−9.9) |
−36.6 (−33.9) |
−37.3 (−35.1) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 52 (2.0) |
45 (1.8) |
40 (1.6) |
32 (1.3) |
38 (1.5) |
64 (2.5) |
66 (2.6) |
76 (3.0) |
61 (2.4) |
72 (2.8) |
67 (2.6) |
64 (2.5) |
677 (26.7) |
| Average precipitation days | 12.0 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 118 |
| Source 1: https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/336063 | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: https://kilotavu.com/asema-taulukko.php?asema=101194 | |||||||||||||
People and Languages in Kouvola
How Many People Live Here?
The city of Kouvola has 78,880 residents. This makes it the 11th largest municipality in Finland. About 5.4% of the people in Kouvola have a background from another country. This number is a bit lower than the average for all of Finland.
| Year | Population |
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| 1990 |
94,352
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| 1995 |
94,138
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| 2000 |
91,550
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| 2005 |
89,924
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| 2010 |
88,072
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| 2015 |
85,855
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| 2020 |
81,187
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What Languages are Spoken?
Population by mother tongue (2023) Finnish (94.4%) Russian (1.9%) Estonian (0.5%) Swedish (0.4%) Arabic (0.3%) Ukrainian (0.2%) Thai (0.2%) Other (2.1%)
Kouvola is a city where most people speak Finnish. There are also about 279 people who speak Swedish. This is about 0.4% of the population.
In schools, English and Swedish are required subjects. So, many people can speak two or even three languages because of their studies. At least 40 different languages are spoken in Kouvola. The most common foreign languages are Russian, Estonian, Arabic, and Ukrainian.
Immigration to Kouvola
| Population by country of birth (2022) | ||
| Nationality | Population | % |
|---|---|---|
| Finland |
73,735 | 95.3 |
 Soviet Union |
1,116 | 1.4 |
 Estonia |
321 | 0.4 |
 Russia |
235 | 0.3 |
 Sweden |
210 | 0.3 |
 Thailand |
190 | 0.2 |
 Turkey |
123 | 0.2 |
 Somalia |
112 | 0.1 |
 Iraq |
93 | 0.1 |
 China |
71 | 0.1 |
 Philippines |
54 | 0.1 |
| Other | 1,075 | 1.4 |
As of 2023, there were 4,221 people in Kouvola who had a migrant background. This is about 5.4% of the population. Most foreign-born residents came from the former Soviet Union, Estonia, Russia, and Sweden.
The number of immigrants in Kouvola is growing. This means that more and more new residents in the city are from other countries.
Religion in Kouvola
In 2023, the largest religious group in Kouvola was the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. About 69.2% of the population belonged to this church. Other religious groups made up 2.0% of the population. About 28.8% of the people said they did not have a religious affiliation.
Global Connections: Twin Cities
Kouvola has "twin towns" or "sister cities" in other countries. This means they have special friendly relationships. Kouvola is twinned with:
- Balatonfüred,
Veszprém County, 
Hungary - Vologda,
Vologda Oblast, Russia - Mülheim an der Ruhr,
North Rhine-Westphalia, 
Germany
Famous People from Kouvola
Many notable people come from Kouvola, including:
- Aleksanteri Hakaniemi (Singer and YouTuber)
- Ari Koivunen (Heavy metal singer)
- Arto Bryggare (Former hurdling athlete)
- Hannu Salama (Finnish author)
- Jari Lindström (Finnish politician)
- Juhani Aaltonen (Jazz saxophonist and flautist)
- Kaarle Viikate (Finnish musician and metal band founder)
- Niilo Halonen (Former ski jumper)
- Roope Tonteri (Finnish snowboarder)
- Toni Gardemeister (Professional rally driver)
- Ville Nousiainen (Cross-country skier)
Images for kids
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Kouvola railway station
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Kouvola's City Hall
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Pohjolatalo, an office building in the center of Kouvola
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Kymi River
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A paifang in Kouvola
See also
In Spanish: Kouvola para niños
