It is located in the province of Oulu and is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of 12,393 (31 January 2019)[2] and covers an area of 2,391.30 square kilometres (923.29 sq mi) of which 1,469.15 km2 (567.24 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 13.44 inhabitants per square kilometre (34.8/sq mi).