Neighbour municipalities are Halsua, Kalajoki, Kannus, Kaustinen, Kronoby, Lestijärvi, Larsmo and Toholampi.

Gustav II Adolf, the founder of the city, possibly named the town in honor of his father King Karl IX of Sweden.

The Finnish name is possibly derived from Kokkolahti, a narrow bay located at the place of the town.

[6] Another theory claims that the name comes from ancient signal fires (kokko), which were used to warn people about approaching enemy troops.

Anders Chydenius (1729-1803) who was one of the leading politicians of Sweden, was a keen supporter of economic freedom and fought in the Swedish Parliament for free foreign trade and further social reforms.

As a result of tar trade and shipbuilding industry, Kokkola was for a time one of the richest towns in Finland.

The marines were repelled by local defenders armed with hunting rifles supported by troops, artillery and possibly Russian advisors and military.

The town council has refused to return the boat despite several requests by the United Kingdom, most recently by John Stuttard, the Lord Mayor of London.

The British Treasury annually pays a small sum to the local church congregation for the maintenance of the graves of nine Royal Marines killed in action during the skirmish .

[10] Interesting contemporaneous accounts of the disastrous action can be found in the British Newspaper Archive, citing Gamla Carleby.

Kokkola is the capital of the Central Ostrobothnia region, it is located on the coast of Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea.

The landscape of the region around Kokkola is flat, typical for the area of Ostrobothnia, with numerous river courses flowing through the land.

Kokkola marks the northernmost settlement area of the Swedish-speakers (Fenno-Swedish) on the western coast of Finland.

In addition, industries represented in the town include metalworking, casting, textiles, plastics, food and carpentry.

[20] Kokkola is located on the coast of Gulf of Bothnia, and the coastal European route E8 (Finnish highway 8) goes through, connecting Oulu and Turku via Vaasa.

Finnish highway 13 begins from Kokkola and runs through Finland into the Nuijamaa border to Russia crossing via Jyväskylä and Mikkeli.

Results of the 2021 Finnish municipal elections in Kokkola: The city is the home of the world-renowned Ostrobothnian Chamber Orchestra, which was founded by the conductor Juha Kangas in 1972.

The island houses a lighthouse which is still in use today, a museum of seal-hunting, a bird-watching tower, a lot of nature trails and even accommodations for tourists.

K.H.Renlund Museum is devoted to Karl Herman Renlund, who donated his large art collection to the town of Kokkola.

Next to the museum is the Pedagogio, a school-house, which is Finland's oldest urban secular wooden building (built in 1696).

During the winter time, Kokkola offers 20 skiing tracks with a total length of 150 km (93 mi).

Kokkola is the home of the ice hockeyclub Hermes, which plays in the second highest Finnish league (mestis).

Kokkola has a lot of preschools, some of them offer children a bilingual education from an early age (mostly Finnish-English or Finnish-Swedish).