Kokkola is a town and municipality of Finland. The town is located in the Central Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of 47,774 (31 December 2020) and covers an area of 2,730.80 square kilometres (1,054.37 sq mi) of which 1,286.61 km² (496.76 sq mi) is water. The population density is 33.08 inhabitants per square kilometre (85.7/sq mi). Neighbour municipalities are Halsua, Kalajoki, Kannus, Kaustinen, Kronoby, Lestijärvi, Larsmo and Toholampi.

The municipality is bilingual with 84.2% being Finnish and 13.9% Swedish speakers.

Kokkola will celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2020.

Kokkola is the capital of the Central Ostrobothnia region, it is located on the coast of Gulf of Bothnia, the northernmost part of the Baltic Sea. The next larger cities are Vaasa is 121 kilometres (75 miles) southwest, and Oulu is 198 kilometres (123 miles) northeast. The distance to the capital Helsinki is 483 kilometres (300 miles) to the south. Neighbouring cities and municipals are Kalajoki in the northern east, Kannus and Toholampi in the east, Halsua and Kaustinen in the southern east, Kronoby in the south and Larsmo in the southern west.

The landscape of the region around Kokkola is flat, typical for the area of Ostrobothnia, with numerous river courses flowing through the land. The biggest river in the area is Perhonjoki, which flows into Gulf of Bothnia, north of Kokkola.

The annual post-glacial rebound at Kokkola is 8.8 mm. Thus large areas of present-day Kokkola were under water when the town was founded.