Finland
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Geographic coordinates:
64°00' N, 26°00' E
Population:
5,238,460 (July 2007 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Finn(s)
adjective: Finnish
National Hymn:
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Languages:
Finnish 92% (official)
Swedish 5.6% (official)
other 2.4% (small Sámi and Russian speaking minorities) (2003)
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Finland
conventional short form: Finland
local long form: Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland
local short form: Suomi/Finland
Government type:
republic
Area:
total: 338,145 sq km
land: 304,473 sq km
water: 33,672 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 2,681 km
border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km
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
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m
Natural resources:
timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone
Capital:
name: Helsinki
geographic coordinates: 60°10 N, 24°56 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence:
6 December 1917 (from Russia)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.66 years
male: 75.15 years
female: 82.31 years (2007 est.)
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. A member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.
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Source and images courtesy of: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/fi.html
