Kangasniemi is a municipality in the province of Eastern Finland and is part of the Southern Savonia region, Finland. The municipality has a population of 5,633 (31 March 2016) and covers an area of 1,326.73 square kilometres (512.25 sq mi) of which 256.86 km2 (99.17 sq mi) is water. The population density is 5.27 inhabitants per square kilometre (13.6/sq mi). Kangasniemi is located on the Finnish national road 13, 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Mikkeli and 63 km (39 mi) southeast of Jyväskylä. Distance to the national capital, Helsinki is 250 km (160 mi). The municipality was founded in 1867.