Welcome to Pohjois-Savo Region

Pohjois-Savo is part of the most beautiful Finnish Lakeland. Three biggest cities of the province describes well the district’s versatile environment. Kuopio is lively and active university town, the centre of Pohjois-Savo region, located in the rich scenery of lakeland. Varkaus -born on the banks of a central waterway - is an international industrial town while Iisalmi is a provincial town with a rich cultural life. The population of Pohjois-Savo constitutes 5% of the entire population of Finland. Though sparsely populated, with only 12 inhabitants per each square kilometres, Pohjois-Savo is the sixth most populated region in Finland.

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THE REGIONAL COUNCIL OF POHJOIS-SAVO

Finland's Regional Councils are statutory joint municipal authorities operating according to the principles of local selfgovernment. The Councils operate as regional development and regional planning authorities and are thus the units in charge of regional planning and looking after regional interests. On the basis of municipal democracy they articulate common regional needs and work to promote the material and cultural well-being of their regions.

Regional Councils have also other tasks besides the statutory responsibilities. The Councils act as centres of development for the regions. They also pursue the interests of the region, its munic-ipalities, inhabitants and businesses and carry out research, planning and analyses. The Regional Council is also the organisation for cooperation between the various influences within the region.