Finland – country information

Country name	Finland
Official name	Republic of Finland
Capital	Helsinki
Continent	Europe
Area	338,145 km2
Population	5,452,821 (2014)
Foundation of a state	6/12/1917
The highest mountains	Haltiatunturi 1328 m
Longest rivers	Kemi 483 km
The largest lakes	Saimaa 4400 km2
State system	a pluralist republic with a unicameral parliament
The biggest cities	Helsinki (capital city) 1,050,000, Turku 280,000, Tampere 275,000
Official language	Finnish, Swedish
Ethnicity/National Composition	Finns 93.3%, Swedes 5.8%, others 0.9%
Religious affiliation	Lutherans 87.3%, Orthodox 1.1%, no religion 10.6%, others 1%
Currency	1 euro = 100 cents
gross domestic product (GDP)	US$35,771 (2012)
Average life expectancy of the population	78.50 years (2006)
Structure of GDP	agriculture, forestry and fishing 5.2%, mining 0.3%, industry 21.8%, construction 8%, services 64.7%

Finland – neighboring countries

State	Capital	Area	Population
Norway	Oslo	385,155 km2	5,109,056
Russia	Moscow	17,098,200 km2	143,700,000
Sweden	Stockholm	449,964 km2	9,651,531

Country overview

According to Abbreviationfinder, Finnish culture and language differ greatly from other Nordic countries. For long periods of its history, the Finnish nation was under the domination of Sweden and Russia, but no one managed to break its spirit.

Country data

Location: Northern Europe

Time zone: CET + 1

Total area: 338,145 km²

Land area: 303,815 km²

Water area: 34,330 km²

Length of the state border: 2,563 km

Bordering countries:
Norway: 709 km
Russian Federation: 1,309 km
Sweden: 545 km

Coastline: 1,250 km

Capital: Helsinki

Provinces: 19
Aland (Swedish), Ahvenanmaa (Finnish); Etela-Karjala (Finnish), Sodra Karelen (Swedish) [South Karelia]; Etela-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Sodra Osterbotten (Swedish) [South Ostrobothnia]; Etela-Savo (Finnish), Sodra Savolax (Swedish) [South Savo]; Kanta-Hame (Finnish), Egentliga Tavastland (Swedish); Kainuu (Finnish), Kajanaland (Swedish); Keski-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Mellersta Osterbotten (Swedish) [Central Ostrobothnia]; Keski-Suomi (Finnish), Mellersta Finland (Swedish) [Central Finland]; Kymenlaakso (Finnish), Kymmenedalen (Swedish); Lappi (Finnish), Lapland (Swedish); Paijat-Hame (Finnish), Paijanne-Tavastland (Swedish); Pirkanmaa (Finnish), Birkaland (Swedish) [Tampere]; Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Osterbotten (Swedish) [Ostrobothnia]; Pohjois-Karjala (Finnish), Norra Karelen (Swedish) [North Karelia]; Pohjois-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Norra Osterbotten (Swedish) [North Ostrobothnia]; Pohjois-Savo (Finnish), Norra Savolax (Swedish) [North Savo]; Satakunta (Finnish and Swedish); Uusimaa (Finnish), Nyland (Swedish) [Newland]; Varsinais-Suomi (Finnish), Egentliga Finland (Swedish)

Electric current: 230 V / 50 Hz

Telephone code: 00 358 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m

Population

Population: approx. 5.3 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: 0.1% per year

Population density (inh. Per km²): 16

Life expectancy: 76 (male), 83 (female)

Official language: Finnish, Swedish

Religions:

• 78% Lutherans
• 1% Orthodox
• 21% other

Climate

In Finland, the summer months are moderately warm and the winter months are cold and snowy.

The average temperature in summer (June – September) is 13 ° C, but in June / July it can occasionally get up to 28 ° C.

The winter is very long at 4-6 months. The temperature is often between -3 ° C and -15 ° C. In the south of the Landes the winter season lasts from January to March, in the north from November to April.

North of the Arctic Circle, the midnight sun shines in summer, while the polar night prevails in winter.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: € / Euro (EUR)

Division: 1 € = 100 cents

ATMs: Available in many cities.

International credit cards: These are accepted by many hotels and shops.

Regulations: Foreign and national currencies can be imported and exported in unlimited amounts.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages
• small amounts of perfume

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

Spirits with an alcohol content of 22-80% are only allowed to be imported into Finland by people older than 20 years. There is an import ban for even higher percentage goods.

Travel advice

There is currently no country-specific safety notice for Finland.

Economy

The processing of wood into various end products and the extraction of natural resources determine a large part of the Finnish industry.

Industries: chemistry, wood processing, shipbuilding, textiles

Natural resources: iron ores, wood, copper, silver, zinc

Land use:

• Usable land: 8%
• Grain cultivation: 0%
• Pasture area: 0%
• Forests: 76%
• other: 16%

Plants

Most of the country consists of coniferous forests, in which spruce and pine dominate the scene. Mixed forests are only found in the southernmost regions.

Hundreds of different types of moss, grass and plants could develop in the huge uninhabited areas.

Animals

Since the north of Finland is hardly populated, there are still bears, moose, lynx, ptarmigan, swans, wild geese and wolves that live in the wild. Seals can be seen here and there in the coastal areas.