Kaarina

Kaarina
S:t Karins
Town
Kaarinan kaupunki
S:t Karins stad
Coat of arms of Kaarina
Coat of arms
Location of Kaarina in Finland
Location of Kaarina in Finland
Interactive map of Kaarina
Coordinates: 60°24′N 022°22′E / 60.400°N 22.367°E / 60.400; 22.367
Country Finland
RegionSouthwest Finland
Sub-regionTurku sub-region
Metropolitan areaTurku metropolitan area
Charter1869
Government
 • Town managerHarri Virta
Area
 (2018-01-01)
 • Total
179.58 km2 (69.34 sq mi)
 • Land150.57 km2 (58.14 sq mi)
 • Water29.15 km2 (11.25 sq mi)
 • Rank276th largest in Finland
Population
 (2025-12-31)
 • Total
36,675
 • Rank31st largest in Finland
 • Density243.57/km2 (630.8/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish88% (official)
 • Swedish5.1%
 • Others6.9%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1418.5%
 • 15 to 6460.3%
 • 65 or older21.2%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
ClimateDfb
Websitekaarina.fi

Kaarina (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈkɑːrinɑ]; Swedish: S:t Karins, i.e. "Saint Catherine's") is a town in Finland, located in the region of Southwest Finland. It lies south of the regional capital, Turku. The population of Kaarina is approximately 37,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 356,000. It is the 31st most populous municipality in Finland, and the second largest municipality in the Southwest Finland region after Turku.

Kaarina has an area of 179.58 square kilometres (69.34 sq mi) of which 29.15 km2 (11.25 sq mi) is water. The population density is 243.57 inhabitants per square kilometre (630.8/sq mi).

The municipality is unilingual Finnish, with a Swedish minority and a Swedish comprehensive school. Bilingualism was proposed but rejected in 2015.

The famous artist Tom of Finland was born in Kaarina. Kaarina has a football team called Kaarinan Pojat. The Kino Piispanristi is the largest independent cinema in Southwest Finland.

The municipality of Kuusisto was merged with Kaarina in 1946. The municipality of Piikkiö was merged with Kaarina in 2009. At the same time, Kaarina adopted Piikkiö's coat of arms.

Climate

Climate data for Kaarina Yltöinen (1991-2020 normals, extremes 1959- present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 8.8
(47.8)		 10.0
(50.0)		 14.1
(57.4)		 22.9
(73.2)		 29.3
(84.7)		 31.2
(88.2)		 33.2
(91.8)		 32.2
(90.0)		 28.0
(82.4)		 18.6
(65.5)		 14.1
(57.4)		 11.0
(51.8)		 33.2
(91.8)
Mean maximum °C (°F) 4.9
(40.8)		 4.9
(40.8)		 9.2
(48.6)		 17.0
(62.6)		 24.4
(75.9)		 26.1
(79.0)		 28.3
(82.9)		 26.8
(80.2)		 21.7
(71.1)		 15.1
(59.2)		 9.5
(49.1)		 6.0
(42.8)		 29.0
(84.2)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) −0.9
(30.4)		 −1.1
(30.0)		 2.8
(37.0)		 8.9
(48.0)		 15.4
(59.7)		 19.6
(67.3)		 22.5
(72.5)		 21.3
(70.3)		 16.1
(61.0)		 9.3
(48.7)		 4.1
(39.4)		 1.1
(34.0)		 9.9
(49.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) −3.6
(25.5)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 4.0
(39.2)		 10.0
(50.0)		 14.5
(58.1)		 17.5
(63.5)		 16.2
(61.2)		 11.5
(52.7)		 6.0
(42.8)		 1.9
(35.4)		 −1.3
(29.7)		 5.9
(42.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −6.9
(19.6)		 −7.9
(17.8)		 −5.2
(22.6)		 −0.5
(31.1)		 4.3
(39.7)		 9.1
(48.4)		 12.2
(54.0)		 11.2
(52.2)		 7.2
(45.0)		 2.8
(37.0)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 −4.1
(24.6)		 1.8
(35.2)
Mean minimum °C (°F) −20.8
(−5.4)		 −20.4
(−4.7)		 −16.3
(2.7)		 −6.9
(19.6)		 −3.0
(26.6)		 2.2
(36.0)		 6.3
(43.3)		 4.3
(39.7)		 −0.8
(30.6)		 −5.8
(21.6)		 −10.2
(13.6)		 −15.4
(4.3)		 −24.2
(−11.6)
Record low °C (°F) −36.7
(−34.1)		 −37.4
(−35.3)		 −30.0
(−22.0)		 −18.4
(−1.1)		 −7.2
(19.0)		 −2.5
(27.5)		 2.0
(35.6)		 −0.6
(30.9)		 −8.0
(17.6)		 −16.8
(1.8)		 −23.5
(−10.3)		 −35.8
(−32.4)		 −37.4
(−35.3)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 54
(2.1)		 41
(1.6)		 37
(1.5)		 32
(1.3)		 35
(1.4)		 57
(2.2)		 71
(2.8)		 78
(3.1)		 56
(2.2)		 74
(2.9)		 67
(2.6)		 68
(2.7)		 671
(26.4)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) 19 15 13 11 10 12 13 14 13 16 18 20 174
Average relative humidity (%) 92 89 82 75 71 73 77 81 85 89 93 92 83
Source 1: https://helda.helsinki.fi/items/d7ce3a4f-bf47-4453-be76-2a0de738c59a
Source 2: https://kilotavu.com/asema-taulukko.php?asema=100934

Demographics

Population

The city of Kaarina has 36,675 inhabitants, making it the 31st most populous municipality in Finland. The city of Kaarina is part of the Turku region, which is the third largest urban area in Finland with 355,791 inhabitants.

Population size 1990–2025
Year Population
1990
24,390
1995
25,457
2000
26,746
2005
28,967
2010
30,911
2015
32,590
2020
34,667
2025
36,675

Languages

Population by
mother tongue (2025)
  1. Finnish (88.0%)
  2. Swedish (5.10%)
  3. Russian (1.00%)
  4. Arabic (0.70%)
  5. Estonian (0.60%)
  6. Albanian (0.50%)
  7. Vietnamese (0.50%)
  8. Other (3.60%)

Kaarina is a monolingual Finnish-speaking municipality. The majority of the population, 32,265 persons (88%), spoke Finnish as their first language. In addition, the number of Swedish speakers was 1,877 persons (5.1%) of the population. Foreign languages were spoken by 6.9% of the population. As English and Swedish are compulsory school subjects, functional bilingualism or trilingualism acquired through language studies is not uncommon.

At least 30 different languages are spoken in Kaarina. The most common foreign languages are Russian (1.0%), Arabic (0.7%), Estonian (0.6%) and Albanian (0.5%).

Politics

Results of the 2011 Finnish parliamentary election in Kaarina:

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Kaarina is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. ↑ "Population growth slowed down in 2025". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2026-04-01. ISSN 2243-3627. Retrieved 2026-04-06.
  3. ↑ "Population growth slowed down in 2025". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2026-04-01. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  4. ↑ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  5. ↑ "Meistä – Kino Piispanristi". Kino Piispanristi (in Finnish). Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  6. ↑ "02828: Piikkio Yltoinen (Finland)". ogimet.com. OGIMET. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Population growth slowed down in 2025". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 2026-04-01. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 2026-04-05.
  8. ↑ "Kaarinalla on viisi ystävyyskaupunkia" (in Finnish). City of Kaarina. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 15 December 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
  9. ↑ "Ukrainan sota katkaisi ystävyyden Kaarinan ja entisen Johanneksen väliltä – Johannes-seuran puheenjohtaja moittii ratkaisua". Kaarina-lehti (in Finnish). 2022-03-08. Retrieved 2023-03-31.