Finland (Suomi) is a country in Northern Europe. The country has more than 5.4 million inhabitants and the capital is Helsinki. The country is usually considered part of Scandinavia.

Geography

According to ABBREVIATIONFINDER, Finland is located in northern Europe, and is often considered part of Scandinavia. The country is located on the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, and has land borders with Sweden, Norway and Russia. Estonia is located on the other side of the Gulf of Finland. Finland measures a maximum of 1,100 kilometers from north to south and 525 kilometers from east to west.

Finland is largely flat, higher hills and mountains are only found in the north of the country. In addition, Finland is very densely forested, there are no large open areas, only the southwest and western coastal regions have fragmented open areas. As a result, little agriculture is possible in Finland. The country is known for its tens of thousands of lakes, which are connected by canals and rivers. Both the coastline and the lakes are very jagged, with numerous peninsulas and islands. land, which belongs to Finland, is located between Finland and Sweden. The largest lake in Finland is Saimaa, the highest point is the 1,365 meter high Halti. The mountains are therefore not very high, but the tree line in Northern Finland is very low so that the mountain range appears higher than it is.

The country has a predominantly continental climate, with quite warm summers and cold winters. The country is close enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be affected by the Gulf Stream, but its dampening effect is much less than in Norway, so winters in much of Finland are cold to very cold. The southern coastal region has little snow in some winters, especially when the sea does not freeze over. The average maximum temperature in Helsinki ranges from -1°C in January to 22°C in July. In Finland, winter temperatures regularly drop to -30°C, occasionally to -40°C in mountain areas. Summers, on the other hand, are quite warm, temperatures of up to 30°C are even found in Lapland.

Economy

Finland is one of the most prosperous countries in the world and generally scores high on socio-economic indicators such as income, human development, health care and low corruption. About two-thirds of the economy is made up of services, but the country is also somewhat industrialized. Until the 1950s, Finland had a low-developed agricultural economy, but has quickly developed into a modern country. Forestry, mining and shipbuilding are important industrial sectors. Due to the extensive forestry, the paper industry is also large. In addition, Finland has a developed high-tech sector, especially in relation to the population, the production of high-tech goods is extensive. Well-known Finnish companies are Nokia, ISS and Neste.

Demographics

The Kehä I near Espoo, a large suburb of Helsinki.

Finland has approximately 5.5 million inhabitants, most of whom live in urban areas. See Finland population density. About a fifth of the inhabitants live in Helsinki or the suburbs. Other major cities with more than 100,000 inhabitants are Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä and Lahti. Espoo and Vanta are two suburbs of Helsinki, both of which have more than 200,000 inhabitants. Espoo is even the second largest city in Finland and one of the largest suburbs in Europe.

Finland’s population has grown relatively little since the Second World War, from 4 million inhabitants in 1950 to 5.4 million in 2010. Population growth has also occurred mainly in the suburbs of Helsinki, especially from the 1960s onwards the region became urbanized around Espoo and Vantaa at a very fast pace. There are relatively few non-Western immigrants in Finland compared to Sweden.

Finland is formally bilingual Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is more or less the national language spoken by 90% of the inhabitants, while Swedish is mainly spoken in the coastal areas. In Lapland, Sami has official status. In Finland, municipalities can be monolingual Finnish, bilingual Finnish-Swedish or monolingual Swedish. Swedish-speaking Finns make up only 5% of the population and only a few municipalities in the southwest of the country are monolingual Swedish.

History

From the 12th century the area belonged to Sweden. In the early 18th century, a distinct Finnish identity began to emerge between Sweden and Russia. In 1809 the area became part of Russia. The Grand Duchy of Finland belonged to the Russian Empire, but enjoyed a large degree of autonomy. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared its independence. In 1918 a short civil war ensued between the Whites, supported by Germany, Sweden and Poland, and the Reds, supported by Russia. The Whites won the conflict and Finland became a republic.

During World War II, the Soviet Union attempted to recapture Finland, leading to the 1939-1940 Winter War in which the Soviet Union failed to occupy Finland. It ended in a peace treaty where Finland lost the eastern part (particularly the Karelia region) but retained independence. After World War II, Finland took a neutral position and became a member of the United Nations in 1955. Finland joined the European Union in 1995 and adopted the euro in 2002.

Finland industrialized late by European standards, until the 1950s the economy was oriented towards agriculture, with a little developed economy. In the 1960s and 1970s, the country modernized at a rapid pace and introduced a welfare state. It has since been regarded as one of the most stable countries in the world.