It is located in the province of Lapland. The municipality has a population of 21,803 and covers an area of 7,915.51 km² of which 409.06 km² is water. The population density is 2.9 inhabitants per km².
The municipality surrounds the town of Rovaniemi. In 2004 the two municipalities decided to unite into one municipality. The new municipality will be formed on January 1, 2006 and will be called Rovaniemen kaupunki (the town of Rovaniemi). The new municipality will have a population of approximately 57 000. With an area of 7 900 km² it will be the largest town in Finland.