Alavus (Swedish: Alavo) is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Southern Ostrobothnia region. The town has a population of 12,113 (30 June 2015) and covers an area of 842.73 square kilometres (325.38 sq mi) of which 52.31 km2 (20.20 sq mi) is water. The population density is 15.32 inhabitants per square kilometre (39.7/sq mi).Agriculture and forestry employ a significant share of the population.