Ruovesi

Ruovesi
Municipality
Ruoveden kunta
Ruovesi kommun
Central Ruovesi
Central Ruovesi
Coat of arms of Ruovesi
Coat of arms
Location of Ruovesi in Finland
Location of Ruovesi in Finland
Interactive map of Ruovesi
Coordinates: 61°59′N 024°04′E / 61.983°N 24.067°E / 61.983; 24.067
Country Finland
RegionPirkanmaa
Sub-regionUpper Pirkanmaa
Charter1565
Government
 • Municipal managerToni Leppänen
Area
 (2018-01-01)
 • Total
950.16 km2 (366.86 sq mi)
 • Land776.99 km2 (300.00 sq mi)
 • Water173.97 km2 (67.17 sq mi)
 • Rank108th largest in Finland
Population
 (2025-12-31)
 • Total
3,995
 • Rank190th largest in Finland
 • Density5.14/km2 (13.3/sq mi)
Population by native language
 • Finnish95.9% (official)
 • Swedish0.3%
 • Others3.8%
Population by age
 • 0 to 1411%
 • 15 to 6451.2%
 • 65 or older37.8%
Time zoneUTC+02:00 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Websitewww.ruovesi.fi/for-tourists Edit this at Wikidata

Ruovesi is a municipality in the Pirkanmaa region of Finland. The municipality has a population of 3,995 (31 December 2025) and covers an area of 950.16 square kilometres (366.86 sq mi) of which 173.97 km2 (67.17 sq mi) is water. The population density is 5.14 inhabitants per square kilometre (13.3/sq mi).

Neighbouring municipalities are Juupajoki, Mänttä-Vilppula, Orivesi, Tampere, Virrat and Ylöjärvi.

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Helvetinjärvi National Park is located in Ruovesi. The biggest lake in the area of the municipality, Lake Ruovesi, is a part of the Kokemäki River basin. The educational department takes part in Lifelong Learning Programme 2007–2013 in Finland.

History

The municipality of Ruovesi is named after the eponymous lake, whose name may have originally been *Ruokovesi, derived from the word ruoko meaning 'reed'. The parish of Ruovesi was separated from Pirkkala in 1565, and included the territories of later Ähtäri, Keuruu, Kuru, Mänttä, Multia, Pihlajavesi, Pohjaslahti, Vilppula and Virrat at that time.

Population

On 31 December 2023, there were 4,124 people living in Ruovesi, of whom 2,032 lived in urban areas (taajama), 2,048 lived outside them and 44 lived in an unknown location.

At the time, there were two urban areas in the municipality: Ruoveden kirkonkylä (administrative center; 1,765) and Visuvesi (267).

People born in Ruovesi

References

  1. 1 2 "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
  2. 1 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. ↑ Paikkala, Sirkka; et al. (2007). Suomalainen paikannimikirja (PDF) (digital version) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Institute for the Languages of Finland (Kotus). p. 388. ISBN 978-952-5446-96-8. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Taajama- ja haja-asutusalueväestö iän ja sukupuolen mukaan kunnittain, 2023". pxdata.stat.fi (in Finnish). Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus). Retrieved 1 March 2026.

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