Laihia

Laihia
Laihela
Municipality
Laihian kunta
Laihela kommun
Laihia Church
Location of Laihia in Finland
Interactive map of Laihia
Coordinates: 62°58.5′N 022°00.5′E / 62.9750°N 22.0083°E / 62.9750; 22.0083
Country Finland
RegionOstrobothnia
Sub-regionVaasa
Charter1576
Government
 • Municipal managerJari Rantala
Area
 (2018-01-01)
 • Total
508.44 km2 (196.31 sq mi)
 • Land505.16 km2 (195.04 sq mi)
 • Water4.14 km2 (1.60 sq mi)
 • Rank172nd largest in Finland
Population
 (2025-06-30)
 • Total
8,020
 • Rank122nd largest in Finland
 • Density15.17/km2 (39.3/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish96.7% (official)
 • Swedish1.1%
 • Others2.2%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1419.8%
 • 15 to 6456.7%
 • 65 or older23.5%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitelaihia.fi

Laihia (Swedish: Laihela) is a municipality of Finland, founded in 1576 through a separation from Isokyrö and Korsholm.

It is located in the Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 8,020 (Jul 31, 2020) and covers an area of 508.44 square kilometres (196.31 sq mi) of which 4.14 km2 (1.60 sq mi) is water. The population density is 15.17 inhabitants per square kilometre (39.3/sq mi). Laihia consists of 37 villages.

Laihia is within the economical region of the neighbouring city Vaasa. The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Only 88 people speak Swedish as a native language. Most inhabitants speak Finnish or a dialect typical of this region. The municipal manager is Juha Rikala. There are a total of 469 farms in the municipality..

Laihia is located along the international tourist route Blue Highway, which goes from Norway to Russia via Sweden and Finland.