Pekela (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈpeːkəlaː] (
listen)) is a municipality in the province of Groningen in the Netherlands. It was created in 1990 when Oude Pekela and Nieuwe Pekela were merged.
Pekela | |
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Municipality | |
Bridge in Oude Pekela | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Location of Pekela (green) in the province of Groningen (dark grey) in the Netherlands (light grey) | |
| Coordinates: 53°6′N 7°0′E | |
| Country | Netherlands |
| Province | Groningen |
| Government | |
| • Body | Municipal council |
| • Mayor | Jaap Kuin (PvdA) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 50.20 km2 (19.38 sq mi) |
| • Land | 49.04 km2 (18.93 sq mi) |
| • Water | 1.16 km2 (0.45 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1 m (3 ft) |
| Population (January 2019)[4] | |
| • Total | 12,214 |
| • Density | 249/km2 (640/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postcode | 9662–9669 |
| Area code | 0597 |
| Website | www |
The municipality of Pekela was created when the municipalities of Oude Pekela and Nieuwe Pekela were merged in 1990.[5]

Pekela is located at 53°6′N 7°0′E in the southeast of the province of Groningen in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is bordered by the municipalities of:
The river Pekel Aa crosses the municipality from north to south. The main population centres in the municipality are the villages of Boven Pekela [nl] (Upper Pekela), Nieuwe Pekela (New Pekela), and Oude Pekela (Old Pekela). Part of the village of Alteveer and the hamlets of Bronsveen and Hoetmansmeer [nl] are also in the municipality.
The municipality has a total area of 50.20 km2 (19.38 sq mi), of which 49.04 km2 (18.93 sq mi) is land and 1.16 km2 (0.45 sq mi) is water.[2]
Mayor (burgemeester) of Pekela is Jaap Kuin of the Labour Party.[1] The municipal council of Pekela consists of 15 seats, which are divided as follows:
| Municipality seats | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | ||||||||||
| PvdA | 6 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||
| GroenLinks | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| CDA | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||||
| VVD | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||||||||||
| SP | - | - | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||
| ChristenUnie | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | ||||||||||
| Samen Voor Pekela | - | - | - | 4 | 3 | ||||||||||
| VCP | - | - | - | - | 1 | ||||||||||
| Total | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 | ||||||||||
In 2019, the municipality had a total population of 12,214 and a population density of 249/km2 (640/sq mi).[4]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pekela. |
Places adjacent to Pekela | ||||||||||||||||
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Populated places in the municipality of Pekela | |
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| Villages |
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| Hamlets |
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List of cities, towns and villages in Groningen | |
Municipalities of Groningen | ||
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| Authority control |
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