It is located in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the North Karelia region. The municipality has a population of 9,876 (31 December 2021)[2] and covers an area of 1,724.41 square kilometres (665.80 sq mi) of which 275.61 km2 (106.41 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 11.41 inhabitants per square kilometre (29.6/sq mi).