Finland is located between Sweden and Russia, and is sometimes described as the Nordic bridge between East and West. It is also called the land of a thousand lakes, as a tenth of the land’s surface consists of lakes and streams. With 188,000 lakes, Finland is the world’s most sea-rich country in terms of size.
| Capital: | Helsinki |
| Biggest city: | Helsinki |
| State: | republic within the EU |
| Language: | Finnish, Swedish |
| Religion: | Protestantism |
| Surface: | 337 030 km² |
| Population: | 5.4 million (2013) |
| Population density: | 16 residents per km² |
| Life expectancy: | 79 years |
| Illiteracy: | 0% |
| Currency: | euro (EUR) 1 euro = 9.76 kr |
| GDP per capita: | $ 34,000 (2010) |
| Time difference: | +1 hour |
| Electricity: | 220 V AC, 50Hz |
| National Day: | December 6 |
| Country area code: | 358 |
| 2-Letter country abbreviation: | FI (See more abbreviations on Abbreviationfinder) |
| Business: | service sector 60%, industry 34%, agriculture 6% |
| Climate: | predominantly cold temperate; polar climate in the Arctic regions |
With the exception of a narrow coastal strip in the north, which belongs to Norway, it is Europe’s northernmost country. A quarter of the country’s area is north of the Arctic Circle. Three quarters of the country’s area is covered by forest, and Finland is also one of the world’s most forested countries.
Finland was a Swedish province in the 14th century. The country has since had close ties with Sweden, and Swedish has long been the dominant language. The country is today bilingual, where Swedish and Finnish by law have the same status.
Finland is divided into provinces and municipalities in a way similar to the Swedish system. One of the provinces is Åland, which is an autonomous archipelago in the Baltic Sea. Åland has mainly Swedish-speaking people, and unlike the rest of Finland is not bilingual. Only Swedish is the official language here.
Sauna baths have a long tradition in Finland, and it is estimated that there are around two million saunas in the country. Internationally, the word sauna is used, which is the Finnish word for sauna.
Finland is one of the most popular destinations among Swedes. The country is known for its Finnish melancholy, Finnish tango and Finnish design. The Moomin role, the Leningrad Cowboys and Lordi all come from Finland. Many also believe that Santa Claus, who in Finland is called Santa Claus, lives in Rovaniemi. It is also here, in Rovaniemi, that parts of the film The Eagle Has Landed with Michael Caine have been shot.
WORLD HERITAGE
The following objects in Finland are on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The year in which the item was added to the list is indicated in parentheses.
- Suomenlinna Fortress (1991)
- Old Town of Raumo (1991)
- Old Church in Petäjävesi (1994)
- The paper and board factory in Verla (1996)
- Bronze Age burial ground Sammallahdenmäki (1999)
- Kvarken archipelago (2000)
- Six measuring points in Struve’s meridian arc (2005)
ELECTRICAL OUTLET
Electricity and electrical outlets in Finland
Voltage: 230 V
Frequency: 50 Hz
Type of plug: C, F
Need an adapter: No, you do not need an adapter.
CLIMATE AND WEATHER
Weather in Helsinki
| Climate | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Christmas | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Average temperature °C | -6 | -6 | -3 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | -3 |
| Rain (mm) | 47 | 37 | 35 | 37 | 42 | 46 | 62 | 75 | 67 | 69 | 66 | 55 |
Helsinki
According to Countryaah, Helsinki is the capital of Finland. The capital region (also called Greater Helsinki) with the neighboring cities of Espoo, Grankulla and Vantaa, has over one million residents.
Helsinki, located on the Gulf of Finland, is Finland’s main shipping city and the country’s commercial center. The city is also Finland’s center for education and research and development. Helsinki used to be an important industrial city, but today the city is primarily the headquarters of the technology industry’s companies. Many of Finland’s most important cultural institutions are also located in Helsinki.
In Finnish, Helsinki is called Helsinki, which has also been used in most other languages since the 20th century. The name comes from Helsinge. In slang, people talk about Stadi, which comes from the Swedish word stad.
Helsinki was to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, but they were canceled due to the war. Instead, the Olympic Games were held in 1952. In 2000, Helsinki was one of Europe’s cultural capitals. Suomenlinna outside Helsinki in Finland is one of the world’s largest sea fortresses. It includes several islands at the entrance to Helsinki, and is also called “Nordic Gibraltar”. Suomenlinna is today on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi is a city in the province of Lapland and the city of residence in the county of Lapland in Finland. Historically, the city belongs to the historic landscape of Ostrobothnia. Rovaniemi has about 57,800 residents (2005) and an area of about 8 square kilometers, of which 559 square kilometers is water. The city is home to the University of Lapland. Rovaniemi is monolingual Finnish.
The city was 90 percent burned down by retreating German troops in the autumn of 1944 during the Lapland War. Rovaniemi is the home of Santa Claus. The Santa Park visitor facility has more than one million visitors a year.
Tampere
Tampere is the third largest city in Finland, and is the largest inland city in the Nordic region. In Tampere, there is, among other things, the art museum with the Moomin Valley, which shows the model of the Moomin house that Tove Jansson and her friends built as well as her sketches and manuscripts and more.
Tornio
Tornio is located next to the Torne River and the border with Sweden. Tornio is located right by Haparanda, which is on the Swedish side of the border. Tornio and Haparanda call themselves HaparandaTornio.
Tornio was originally located on an island, Svensarö, in the Torne River. Due to the land uplift, the island has gradually more or less grown together with the Swedish river bank, while the city due to the state border drawn after the Finnish War in 1809 expanded on the Finnish side. The older and newer parts are connected by a road bridge over the river’s main channel.
The area around Tornio is originally Finnish-speaking. During the latter half of the 18th century, however, the city of Tornio underwent a major Swedification, mainly due to the intensive trade relations with Stockholm; the craftsmen and burghers were Swedish-speaking at this time and Tornio became a “language island”, even though the so-called “small people” were still Finnish-speaking. Later, Finnish gradually took over again as a “prestige language” and Swedish was completely pushed out. Today, the city is monolingually Finnish.
Turku
Turku is Finland’s fifth largest city. The entire urban area is home to more than 300,000 people, making it Finland’s third largest urban area after Helsinki and Tampere. 5.2% of the city’s residents are Swedish-speaking. The city’s linguistic status is bilingual with Finnish as the majority language.
Turku is Finland’s oldest city. It is believed that the city was founded in the 13th century. Turku has a long history and has long been the center of power in Finland. Like many other Finnish coastal cities, the city has long had a large proportion of Finnish-Swedish residents. Turku is also a large port city with, among other things, ferry connections to Mariehamn and Stockholm.