It is located in the province of Western Finland and is part of the Etelä-Pohjanmaa region. The municipality has a population of 9846 and covers an area of 843,1 km² of which 52,46 km² is water. The population density is 12,321 inhabitants per km².
The municipality is unilingual Finnish.
Alavus has 60 lakes with 324 km of shoreline.
Agriculture and forestry employ a significant share of the population. Most of the industry in Alavus is related to construction: materials, design and contractors.
See also: Municipalities of Western Finland