Finland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Coordinates: 64N 26E

Finland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Finland ( i /fnlnd/; Finnish: Suomi [suomi]; Swedish: Finland [fnland]), officially the
Republic of Finland,[7] is a Nordic country in Northern Europe bordered by Sweden to the
west, Norway to the north and Russia to the east; Estonia lies to the south across the Gulf of
Finland. Finland is part of the geographic region of Fennoscandia, which also includes
Scandinavia and parts of Russia.

Republic of Finland
Suomen tasavalta (Finnish)
Republiken Finland (Swedish)

In 2013, Finland's population was around 5.5 million, with the majority living in its southern
regions.[8] In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe and the most sparsely
populated country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary republic with a central
government based in the capital Helsinki, local governments in 317 municipalities[9] and an
autonomous region, the land Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki
metropolitan area, which produces a third of the country's GDP. Other large cities include
Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyvskyl, Lahti, and Kuopio.

Flag

Anthem:
Maamme (Finnish)
Vrt land (Swedish)

From the late 12th century until 1809, Finland was part of Sweden, a legacy reflected in the
prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. It was then incorporated into the
Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, until the Russian Revolution of
1917 prompted the Finnish Declaration of Independence. This was followed by the Finnish
Civil War in which the pro-Bolshevik Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic was defeated by the
pro-conservative "Whites" with support from the German Empire. After a brief attempt to
establish a kingdom, the country became a republic. In World War II, Finnish forces fought in
three separate conflicts: the Winter War (19391940) and Continuation War (19411944)
against the Soviet Union and the Lapland War (19441945) against Nazi Germany. Finland
joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. It joined the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1969, the European
Union in 1995, and the Eurozone at its inception in 1999.
Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a largely agrarian country until
the 1950s. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive Nordic-style
welfare state, resulting in widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in the
world.[10] Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including
education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development.
The country has a long legacy of social progressivism, in 1906 becoming the second nation in
the world to give full suffrage to all adult citizens.[11][12] About 73.9% of Finns were members
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland by 2014; nevertheless, the Lutheran Church
estimates that approximately only 2% of its members attend church services weekly.[13] A bill
legalizing same-sex marriage in Finland was approved by the parliament on 12 December 2014
and signed by the President on 20 February 2015. In 2010, Newsweek chose Finland as the best
country in the world.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Finland ranked first in the World Human Capital index
in May 2015.[20]

Contents

1 of 26

1 Etymology and concept of Finland

1.1 Etymology
1.2 Concept
2 History
2.1 Prehistory
2.2 Swedish era
2.3 Russian Empire era
2.4 Civil war and early independence
2.5 World War II
2.6 Cold War
2.7 Recent history
3 Geography
3.1 Biodiversity
3.2 Climate
3.3 Regions
3.4 Administrative divisions
4 Politics
4.1 Constitution
4.2 President

Coat of arms

"Our Land"
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Location of Finland (dark green)

in Europe (green & dark grey)
in the European Union (green) [Legend]

Capital
and largest city
Official languages
Recognised
regional languages
Religion

Helsinki
6010N 02456E

Finnish (89.33%)
Swedish (5.34%)
Sami (0.03%)
Evangelical
Lutheranism,[1]
Eastern
Orthodoxy[1]

Demonym

Finnish Finn

Government

Parliamentary republic[2]

- President
- Prime Minister
- Speaker of the
Parliament

Sauli Niinist
Juha Sipil
Maria Lohela

Legislature

Eduskunta

Independence
- Autonomy

29 March 1809

within Russia

- Independence

6 December 1917

from the Russian

SFSR

- First recognized

4 January 1918

by the Russian SFSR

Area
- Total
- Water (%)

338,424 km2 (64th)

130,596 sq mi
10

Population

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