Ii, Finland

Ii (Finnish pronunciation: [iː]; Swedish: Ijo) is a municipality of Finland. It is situated by the Bothnian Bay, at the mouth of river Iijoki, and it is part of the Northern Ostrobothnia region. The municipality has a population of 9,889 (31 January 2019)[2] and covers an area of 2,872.44 km² (1,109.06 sq mi) of which 1,256.69 km² (485.21 sq mi) is water.[1] The population density is 6.37/km² (16.5/sq mi).

Ii Ijo
Municipality
Iin kunta Ijo kommun
Roadsign marking the entrance to Ii. The name is printed uppercase here.
Coat of arms
Location of Ii in Finland
Coordinates: 65°19′N 025°22′E
Country	Finland
Region	Northern Ostrobothnia
Sub-region	Oulu Arc sub-region
Charter	1445
Government
• Municipal manager	Ari Alatossava
Area  (2018-01-01)[1]
• Total	2,872.44 km2 (1,109.06 sq mi)
• Land	1,552.54 km2 (599.44 sq mi)
• Water	1,256.69 km2 (485.21 sq mi)
Area rank	42nd largest in Finland
Population  (2019-01-31)[2]
• Total	9,889
• Rank	107th largest in Finland
• Density	6.37/km2 (16.5/sq mi)
Population by native language [3]
• Finnish	99.5% (official)
• Swedish	0.1%
• Others	0.4%
Population by age [4]
• 0 to 14	23.1%
• 15 to 64	61.1%
• 65 or older	15.8%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Municipal tax rate[5]	20.5%
Website	www.ii.fi

The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Ii merged with Kuivaniemi on 1 January 2007. The formed municipality is called Ii but it adopted the coat of arms of Kuivaniemi. Ii is notable for having the shortest place name in Finland, and also one of the shortest ones in the world. The etymology is not definitively established; options are either Germanic origin or Sami origin. In the latter, it would mean "a place to stay overnight in"; cf. Northern Sami idja "night".[6]

Beginning in 2008, Ii is home to the ART Ii Biennale of Northern Environmental and Sculpture Art, an international art fair.

The city has ambition to become the first zero waste town in the world, and its mayor claims that it does not use fossil fuels for energy.[7]