It is located in the province of Southern Finland and is part of the Kymenlaaksoregion. The municipality had a population of 1,906 (2003) and covered an area of 563.06 km² of which 129.89 km² was water. The population density was 3.4 inhabitants per km².
In 2009, the six municipalities of Kouvola, Kuusankoski, Elimäki, Anjalankoski, Valkeala and Jaala were consolidated to form a new municipality named Kouvola, which, with a population of over 80,000, became the tenth largest city in Finland.