Pajala is in part of the Meänmaa (Torne valley) region and was in past times unilingually Meänkieli-speaking.

[2] Lars Levi Laestadius, a botanist, Lutheran minister, and founder of the revivalist movement Laestadianism, lived and worked in Pajala municipality in the mid-19th century.

Seven Soviet planes dropped 134 bombs, a mix of explosive and firebombs, which destroyed six buildings, badly damaging telephone wires, and making the streets impossible to drive on due to 43 big craters.

Vittula, or more properly Vittulajänkkä, is a colloquial name (vulgar in its Finnish-Sami etymology, roughly translating to "The pussy swamp") for a certain garden suburb in Pajala.

Its inland position and lower elevation cause warmer summers, and winters are a bit less cold than most areas on similar latitudes.