Närpes

Närpes (Finland Swedish: ; Närpiö ) is a town in Finland, located on the west coast of the country. Närpes is situated in Ostrobothnia, along the Gulf of Bothnia. The population of Närpes is approximately 0, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 0. It is the most populous municipality in Finland.

Närpes covers an area of undefined km2 of which undefined km2 is water. The population density is undefined PD/km2. Economically, the municipality is known for extensive greenhouse farming of tomatoes and manufacture of trailers for trucks.

Närpes is a bilingual municipality with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages. The population consists of NaN Finnish speakers, NaN Swedish speakers, and NaN speakers of other languages, which is well above the national average. Närpes has been a bilingual municipality since 2016. Before that, Närpes was the last unilingual Swedish-speaking municipality in mainland Finland. Most residents speak a variant of Ostrobothnian Swedish.

The most significant main roads in Närpes are Highway 8 between Turku and Vaasa, and Highway 67 between Kaskinen and Seinäjoki.

History
Närpes has a history that can be dated back to 1331, when Klas Bengtsson in "Nærpes" pawned goods to bishop Bengt in Turku.

In 1348 king Magnus IV of Sweden declared "all who live in Nerpis socken, Mustasaari socken and Pedersöre socken" the right to buy and sell "all eatables". Thus creating the first official marketplaces in Ostrobothnia.

Demographics


Närpes has attracted many immigrants, and has also welcomed refugees.

Largest immigrant groups:
 * 1)  Vietnam (403)
 * 2) 🇧🇦 Bosnia and Herzegovina (388)
 * 3) 🇸🇪 Sweden (254)
 * 4)  Yugoslavia (254)
 * 5) 🇹🇭 Thailand (58)
 * 6) 🇷🇺 Russia (54)
 * 7) 🇺🇦 Ukraine (51)
 * 8) 🇪🇪 Estonia (42)
 * 9) 🇭🇷 Croatia (32)
 * 10) 🇱🇹 Lithuania (30)
 * 11) 🇺🇸 United States (28)
 * 12) 🇪🇨 Ecuador (25)

Twin towns — Sister cities
Närpes is twinned with:


 * 🇮🇸 Akranes, Iceland
 * 🇳🇴 Bamble, Norway
 * Tønder, Denmark
 * 🇸🇪 Västervik Municipality, Sweden