Kempele

Kempele
Municipality
Kempeleen kunta
Kempele kommun
Holy Trinity Church, Kempele
Location of Kempele in Finland
Coordinates: 64°54′45″N 025°30′30″E / 64.91250°N 25.50833°E / 64.91250; 25.50833
Country Finland
RegionNorth Ostrobothnia
Sub-regionOulu
Charter1867
Government
 • Municipality managerTuomas Lohi
Area
 (2018-01-01)
 • Total
110.34 km2 (42.60 sq mi)
 • Land110.14 km2 (42.53 sq mi)
 • Water0.23 km2 (0.089 sq mi)
 • Rank294th largest in Finland
Population
 (2025-06-30)
 • Total
19,698
 • Rank56th largest in Finland
 • Density178.85/km2 (463.2/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish98.3% (official)
 • Swedish0.2%
 • Sami0.1%
 • Others1.5%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1423.9%
 • 15 to 6460.4%
 • 65 or older15.6%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Postal code
90440, 90450
Websitewww.kempele.fi

Kempele is a municipality 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) south of the city of Oulu and 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) east of the Oulu Airport in Northern Finland. Historically it was in the province of Oulu, but today it is in the region of North Ostrobothnia. The population of Kempele is 19,698 (30 June 2025) and the municipality covers an area of 110.32 square kilometres (42.59 sq mi) (excluding sea), of which 0.21 square kilometres (0.081 sq mi) is inland waters (2018-01-01). The population density is 179 inhabitants per square kilometre (460/sq mi) (30 June 2025). The municipality of Kempele was founded in 1867.

Kempele is the birthplace of former NHL goaltender Pekka Rinne.

The neighbouring municipalities are Liminka, Oulu and Tyrnävä.