South Karelia (Finnish: Etelä-Karjala; Swedish: Södra Karelen) is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Kymenlaakso, Southern Savonia and North Karelia, as well as Russia.

For history, geography and culture see: Finnish Karelia

The Regional Council of South Karelia is a joint municipal authority of nine member municipalities. The Council operates as the authority for regional development and unit for regional planning and looks after regional interests and to promote economic development and cultural well-being in South Karelia. The Council has a statutory responsibility for regional development and planning.

The EU’s regional Objective Programmes for South Karelia have partly been prepared in the Council as it also implements and coordinates various projects. The Council is also represented in several international organisations, such as AEBR.

The region of South Karelia is made up of nine municipalities, of which two have city status (marked in bold).

Imatra Sub-region:

Lappeenranta Sub-region:

South Karelia is a popular tourist area in Finland with its special features – its nature, its location between Lake Saimaa and the border as well as its cultural heritage and history as a border region.

Thanks to the natural attractions, waterways and islands, tourism has natural prerequisites for developing in South Karelia. The provincial centres are continuously improving their services. Lappeenranta has in recent years focused particularly on tourism services for families, and Imatra on fishing and spa tourism. There is a good selection of agritourism attractions and tourism services available around the region.

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