Destination Finland

Background

Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.

Area

• Total: 338,145 sq km
• Land: 304,473 sq km
• Water: 33,672 sq km

Area - comparative

• Slightly smaller than Montana

Coastline

• 1,250 km

Climate

• Cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes

Terrain

• Mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills

Population

• 5,231,372 (July 2006 est.)

Capital

• Helsinki

Nationality

• noun: Finn(s)
• adjective: Finnish

Languages

• Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003)

Local Weather

Quick Metric Conversions

Search Home4Swap for Home Exchanges in Finland!

Return to Home Exchange Destinations Index