Finland is in Northern Europe. The country borders Sweden, Norway, Russia and the Baltic Sea. Finland is one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe. The Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland belong to the Baltic Sea. There are around 80,000 islands off the coast.
There are 118,000 inland Lakes with almost 100,000 more islands, it is the largest lake district in Europe. Fir and birch forests predominate in the south and south-west of the country. In the north the tree population is sparse. The individual parts of the country are very different both in terms of climate and landscape, as well as in terms of traditions and culture.
The capital Helsinki is a vibrant arts center. Many galleries and museums offer a wide range of exhibitions. In the Seurasaari Regional Park and the Open Air Museum, visitors can experience Finnish folk tradition. Traditional folk dances are also danced here.
The Finnish lake districts are particularly popular with holidaymakers. Numerous festivals are celebrated here in summer. They also provide starting points for fishing, boating, and hiking.
Finland tops the list of the most heavily forested countries in Europe. A full 86 percent of Finland is covered with forest. The Finnish southwest coast is covered with mixed forests. There are also oaks here, for example, which are rarely seen elsewhere in Finland.
Much of Finland used to consist of moorland, which was drained by cultivation to gain arable land. Nevertheless, bogs can still be found in Finland today. These include, for example, the peat-rich raised bogs and the Aapamoore.
The largest mammal species in Finland is the elk. Around 100,000 moose are shot each hunting season, but Finland still has a large number of these impressive animals.
Finland – key data
Area: 338,145 km² (of which land: 303,815 km², water: 34,330 km²)
Population: 5.3 million (2011 estimate, CIA). Composition: Finns 93.4%,Sweden 5.6%, Russia 0.5%, Estonians 0.3%, Roma 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006)
Population density: 16 people per km²
Population growth: 0.075% per year (2011, CIA)
Capital: Helsinki (568,146 residents, 2007)
Highest point: Haltiatunturi, 1,328 m
Lowest point: Baltic Sea, 0 m
Form of government: Finland has been a republic since 1919, the constitution dates from the same year. The last constitutional amendment was made in 2000. The Finnish unicameral parliament (Eduskunta / Riksdag) has 200 members. The head of state is directly elected every 6 years. Finland has been independent from Russia since December 6, 1917. Finland has been a member of the EU since 1995.
Administrative division: 6 provinces (laani, plural: laanit): Ahvenanmaan Laani (Aland), Etela-Suomen Laani (southern Finland), Ita-Suomen Laani (eastern Finland), Lansi-Suomen Laani (western Finland), Lapin Laani (Lapland), Oulun Laani.
Head of State: President Sauli Niinistö, since March 1, 2012
Head of Government: Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen, since June 22, 2011
Language: the official languages are Finnish (91.2%) and Swedish (5.5%), other languages (such as Sami and Russian) 3.3% (2007)
R eligion: Lutheran Finnish Church 82.5%, Orthodox 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, no confession 15.1% (2006)
Local time: CET +1 h. Between the last Sunday in March and the last Sunday in October there is summer time in Finland (CET + 2 hours).
The time difference to Central Europe is +1 hour in both winter and summer.
International phone code: +358
Internet identifier:.fi
Mains voltage: 230 V, 50 Hz
Finland Geography
The Republic of Finland is located in Northern Europe and borders the Gulf of Bothnia in the west, Sweden in the northwest, Norway in the north, Russia in the east and the Gulf of Finland in the south. 5.3 million people live on a total area of around 338,150 square kilometers, making Finland one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe.
In the last ice age, glaciers in the north formed one characterized by hills and moraines landscape, which is mostly overgrown by conifer and birch forests and is criss-crossed by a shiny mosaic of countless large and small lakes. The landscape, dominated by forests and around 180,000 bodies of water, gave Finland the nickname “Land of a Thousand Lakes”.
The south and west coast of Finland goes into seemingly endless plains over while extending inland to the north quite mountainous represents. The Finnish in the southeast lake district gradually descends towards the north-east of the Gulf of Bothnia and the lake district, which appears to be infinite in the north, is bordered to the south by a chain of hills consisting of terminal moraines.
In the south of the country there are hardly any lakes, but the mostly sandy plains are repeatedly interrupted by bizarre and bizarre rock formations. The agricultural coastal plains are the warmest and most fertile areas in Finland and are also known as the country’s granaries. Visit nexticle.net for Finland’s travel destinations.
The south coast is very varied with bays, islands, rocky skerries and headlands and the boundary between sea and land seems to be forming again and again. After the coastal plains, the country gradually rises to the most defining landscape for Finland – the Finnish Lake District. This tangle of lakes, bays, peninsulas and wooded islands is connected by canals or natural watercourses, which are as beautiful as they are hardly usable because of their waterfalls, rapids and cascades. This jumble of water, land, forests and hills often makes it difficult for locals to keep track of where one lake ends and the next body of water begins. Over a third of the area of Finland is covered by the lake district, which consists of three loosely connected water basins: Näsijärvi in the west, the huge Saimaasee in the east and Päijänne in the middle. In the north, the Finnish Lake District is crossed by the Suomenselkä ridge, which also forms the watershed between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. The 500 kilometer long Salpausselkä ridge ends the lake landscape in the southeast of the country. The double, strange looking mountain range, the highest point of which is 233 meters, is the defining element of the southern Finnish landscape.
Also unique and characteristic of Finland is the archipelago band that lies off the entire coast of the country. This grandiose “archipelago” is particularly pronounced between Stockholm and Turku, as it consists of around 24,000 small and tiny islands.
Despite its barren vegetation The landscape of Finnish Lapland also presents itself in an impressive variety of colors. In the north of Lapland, moors, heather and tundra determine the picture; here the Sami live from reindeer herding. The south is covered by endless forests, from which the elevations of the Tunturis protrude, which translates as “woodless mountain”. With a little luck, gold can also be found in the raging rivers of Lapland, which freeze completely in winter.
