Jokkmokk Municipality (, , , ) is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Norrbotten County Norrbotten County (, Meänkieli/, ) is the northernmost county or '' län'' of Sweden. It is also the largest county by land area, almost a quarter of Sweden's total area. It shares borders with Västerbotten County to the southwest, the Gulf ...

in northern

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. Its

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

is located in Jokkmokk. The name ''Jokkmokk'' is

Sami Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ne ...

for the words "

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

" and "bend", since the town is situated close to a bend in the nearby river. The municipality is the second largest in area of all Swedish municipalities and is, with an area of 19,477 km² (approximately 7,520 square miles) slightly smaller than

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

or the US state of

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. It has never been amalgamated with another entity, having been that large ever since municipalities were established in Sweden in 1863.

History

The name Jokkmokk is present in the Jokkmokk Lapland Court District, a historical jurisdiction. When the municipality was given its current borders in 1971, its municipal

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

were made to depict the hydro plant, the symbol of Luleå (to which Jokkmokk belonged until 1673), and the traditional

hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nail (fastener), nails into wood, to sh ...

Geography

The municipality is situated in the Scandinavian Mountains in Swedish Lapland and is sparsely populated. A large part of the area has been the habitat of reindeer herding Sami people for thousands of years and has for that reason been protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site under the name Laponian area. The Laponian area is roughly divided into the eastern flatlands and the western mountainous region. There are several well-structured and well-maintained starting locations for those interested in experiencing the majestic

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

. For instance, the Kvikkjokk basecamp provides excursions and has a high quality hostel. Due to the northern location, the aurora borealis can be experienced all through winter (November to March), and the

midnight sun Midnight sun, also known as polar day, is a natural phenomenon that occurs in the summer months in places north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle, when the Sun remains visible at the local midnight. When midnight sun is see ...

can be experienced during June and July. The Lule River and the Lesser Lule River flows through the district. The rivers are heavily regulated for

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

, most of all in Sweden. 6 of the 10 largest hydroelectric plants are located in the area. This includes the 977 MW Harsprånget, the 480 MW Porjus, and the 460 MW Messaure. There's a total of 11 hydroelectric plants in the area, 9 over 100 MW, 8 over 200 MW, and 4 over 400 MW.

Localities

There are three official localities (or urban areas) in Jokkmokk Municipality. The municipal seat is bolded: Additional small settlements within the municipality include the Sami reindeer herding camp Udtja and the village of Puottaure.

Demographics

This is a demographic table based on Jokkmokk Municipality's electoral districts in the 2022 Swedish general election sourced from SVT's election platform, in turn taken from SCB official statistics. In total there were 4,769 residents, including 3,773 Swedish citizens of voting age. 59.6% voted for the left coalition and 38.9% for the right coalition. Indicators are in percentage points except population totals and income.

Attractions

National parks

The four

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

s in Jokkmokk Municipality all have their own distinct identity. The national parks are Sarek, Muddus, Padjelanta and Stora Sjöfallet. These national parks are popular with tourists all year around but the darkest and coldest months (November to January) are not recommended for beginners. The best period for sunshine and winter activities is from February all through April, when the

snow Snow consists of individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water througho ...

lies deep and the days are long. This time of year the national parks are easily accessible by snowmobile and skis. Visitors should understand and respect that the wilderness is just that, and snowmobiles are not allowed in the parks at any time. The summer in Jokkmokk Municipality is short but intense. The ground is free of snow from May until late October, early November. As with most areas in the

Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; ) are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe, as well as the Arctic Ocean, Arctic and Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic oceans. It includes the sovereign states of Denm ...

, the actual warm period is quite short, but as Jokkmokk Municipality has a

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm to hot summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in central and eastern parts of the three northern-tier continents (North America, Europe, and Asia), typi ...

, the temperature can top 30 degrees Celsius in the summer and reach as low as -40 degrees Celsius in the winter. During the summer months hikers and other friends of nature converge in the national parks and this is also the time when most of the parks are most easily accessed. Visitors should be warned that the amount of

mosquito Mosquitoes, the Culicidae, are a Family (biology), family of small Diptera, flies consisting of 3,600 species. The word ''mosquito'' (formed by ''Musca (fly), mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish and Portuguese for ''little fly''. Mos ...

es can be difficult to those not used to them and driving has an added danger in the reindeer that seek shelter from the mosquitoes. Collisions with reindeer are frequent in most of the northern parts of the Nordic countries and drivers should keep an eye out. Fall is also short and the shifting colors of the wide forests make the surroundings burn with color. This is a good time for hiking but due to the shifting temperatures the mountainous parts of the national parks can be treacherous for those unprepared.

Other attractions

Jokkmokk is known for its Sami market held the first weekend every February. This market has been held for more than 400 consecutive years. Initially a gathering of traders from the entire region the market has long since grown to be more than a simple gathering of traders and is now a week-long cultural event with lectures, art exhibitions, concerts and much more.

Mining

There are

iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...

deposits in the region, and the proposed Kallak mine, which has been met with resistance by activists, lies within the municipality. Mining exploration by British company Beowulf Mining has identified a potential mining site between the (non-Sami) villages of Björkholmen and Randijaur, which forms part of the reindeer winter grazing lands of the Sami community of Jåhkågasska tjiellde.

Elections

Riksdag The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...

These are the results of the elections to the Riksdag since the 1972 municipal reform. Norrbotten Party also contested the

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

election but due to the party's small size at a nationwide level SCB did not publish the party's results at a municipal level. The same applies to the

Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( , SD ) is a Nationalism, nationalist and Right-wing populism, right-wing populist political party in Sweden founded in 1988. As of 2024, it is the largest member of Sweden's Right-wing politics, right-wing bloc and the sec ...

between 1988 and 1998. "Turnout" denotes the percentage of eligible voters casting any ballots, whereas "Votes" denotes the number of actual valid ballots cast. Blocs This lists the relative strength of the socialist and centre-right blocs since 1973, but parties not elected to the Riksdag are inserted as "other", including the Sweden Democrats results from 1988 to 2006, but also the Christian Democrats pre-1991 and the Greens in 1982, 1985 and 1991. The sources are identical to the table above. The coalition or government mandate marked in bold formed the government after the election. New Democracy got elected in 1991 but are still listed as "other" due to the short lifespan of the party.