Municipalities of Kainuu

Kajaani (; ), is a town in Finland and the regional capital of Kainuu. Kajaani is located southeast of Lake Oulu, which drains into the Gulf of Bothnia through the Oulu River. The population of Kajaani is approximately , while the sub-region has a population of approximately . It is the most populous municipality in Finland.

Suomussalmi () is a municipality in Finland located in the Kainuu region about northeast of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu and south of Kuusamo. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish. Ämmänsaari is the biggest built-up area in the municipality.

Kuhmo (known as Kuhmoniemi until 1937) is a town and a municipality in Finland and is located at the south-eastern corner of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . It shares a border of with Russia (Finnish-Russian border). Neighbouring towns are Hyrynsalmi, Lieksa, Nurmes, Ristijärvi, Sotkamo and Suomussalmi. A neighbour city across the Russian border is Kostomuksha. Vartius, one of the border crossing points between Finland and Russia, is located in northern Kuhmo.

Puolanka (; , also ) is a municipality in Finland located in the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

Sotkamo is a municipality of Finland, located in the Kainuu region about east of Kajaani, the capital of Kainuu. Vuokatti, in west of Sotkamo, is the most populous village in the municipality and also a popular skiing resort. Both Hiidenportti National Park and Tiilikkajärvi National Park are located in the municipality.

Paltamo (, also ) is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . There are two built-up areas in the municipality: Kontiomäki and Paltamo. Kontiomäki has about 600 inhabitants.

Hyrynsalmi is a municipality in Finland and is part of the Kainuu region.

Ristijärvi () is a municipality of Finland. It is part of the Kainuu region. The municipality has a population of (), which makes it the smallest municipality in Kainuu in terms of population. It covers an area of of which is water. The population density is . The municipality is unilingually Finnish.