Kandalaksha is a town located in the Kandalakshsky District of Murmansk Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the head of the Kandalaksha Gulf on the White Sea, positioned north of the Arctic Circle.
According to census data, the population of the town has fluctuated over recent decades. The 2021 census recorded a population of 29,138, following figures of 35,654 in 2010 and 40,564 in 2002. In the 1989 Soviet census, the population was reported as 54,080.