Kemi, a Small Large Town

Kemi is no high-flying metropole. We are just ordinary people. And Kemi is just an honest, unwavering and slightly crazy town in the north of Finland. 

In Kemi, creativity is seen as the ability to sail upwind and to forge your own path. We do our own thing. We have a snow castle that is open around the year and an icebreaker for tourists. We have the crown of the king of Finland, even though Finland has no king. 

In the summer we enjoy the sea and the sun, and in the autumn the landscape surrounding our town is draped in magnificent autumn colour. As the sky explodes with the northern lights, we welcome the snow-white winter with its bitterly cold temperatures. Then, the spring sun awakens the surrounding nature into wild growth and vivacity. 

And it gets windy in Kemi. Very much so. Thanks to the wind, we have become a particularly tough crowd, surviving many challenges over the years. Kemi’s wind is fresh and clean, a good kind of wind. It gives you energy.  

Kemi is honest about what it is; a coarse but reliable small Lappish town, maybe not the most exciting place in the world, but probably better than the average place to live, sleep, eat, laugh and have a good time. One thing is certain: Kemi is the best Kemi in the world and everyone is welcome here.

Facts about Kemi

• Founding date: 5th of March 1869
• Population: 19 982 (31th of December 2021)
• Surface area: 747 square kilometres
• Land area: 95 square kilometres
• Sub-region: Kemi-Tornio
• Province:  Lapland
• Municipal tax: 21,75 percent