The municipality's population density was 3.2 inhabitants per square kilometre (8.3/sq mi).

The last element is the definite form of fold which has an unknown meaning (maybe "the broad one").

At the time of the municipal dissolution, it was part of the Folda prestegjeld and the Bodø prosti (deanery) in the Diocese of Sør-Hålogaland.

The municipality included all the area around the Nordfolda and the entrance to the Folda fjord.

The highest point in the municipality was the 1,351.15-metre (4,432.9 ft) tall mountain Helldalisen.