Sysmä

Sysmä
Municipality
Sysmän kunta
Sysmä kommun
Sunset at Lake Päijänne and Päijätsalo natural park
Location of Sysmä in Finland
Coordinates: 61°30′N 025°41′E / 61.500°N 25.683°E / 61.500; 25.683
Country Finland
RegionPäijät-Häme
Sub-regionHeinola
Founded1442
Government
 • Municipal managerMarketta Kitkiöjoki
Area
 (2018-01-01)
 • Total
936.18 km2 (361.46 sq mi)
 • Land666.76 km2 (257.44 sq mi)
 • Water269.14 km2 (103.92 sq mi)
 • Rank128th largest in Finland
Population
 (2025-06-30)
 • Total
3,393
 • Rank204th largest in Finland
 • Density5.09/km2 (13.2/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish96.3% (official)
 • Swedish0.3%
 • Others3.4%
Population by age
 • 0 to 148.3%
 • 15 to 6448.4%
 • 65 or older43.2%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitesysma.fi

Sysmä (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈsysmæ]) is a municipality of Finland. It is situated in the Päijät-Häme region. The municipality has a population of 3,393 (30 June 2025) and covers an area of 936.18 square kilometres (361.46 sq mi) of which 269.14 km2 (103.92 sq mi) is water. The population density is 5.09 inhabitants per square kilometre (13.2/sq mi). Neighbouring municipalities are Asikkala, Hartola, Heinola, Kuhmoinen, Luhanka, and Padasjoki. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Itä-Häme newspaper is established in Sysmä.

According to historians, the word sysmä means either a "dark forest" or an "uninhabited wilderness." Sysmä is also a lake in Joroinen and another lake in Ilomantsi.