Finland - Tourism and Travel

The Republic of Finland is a country in northern Europe.

It has an area of 130,559 square miles (338,145 square kilometers)

More than one third of Finland is north of the Arctic Circle. There are long, harsh winters and short summers.

More than seven tenths of the land is covered with forests, while lakes cover more than one tenth of the land.

During the last ice age, most of Finland was covered with glaciers up to 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) deep.

The action of glaciers created shallow lake basins in Finland. Oulujärvi is one of the many lakes created by glacial action.

The glaciers left structures made of debris that are known as moraines.

Halti Mountain is the highest mountain in Finland. It is 4,356 feet (1,328 meters) high.

The capital of Finland is Helsinki.

The early settlers to Finland came from the east, giving the country a culture that is distinct from the nearby countries of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which were settled by people from the south.

5,326,000 people live in Finland.

Most of them live in the southern third of the country, either around the lakes or near the coast.

93% of the people are Finnish.

Official languages are Finnish and Swedish. Some people speak Sami, the language of the Sami, or Lapps.

89% of the population is Evangelical Lutheran.

Chromium and timber are important resources. There are dense spruce, birch and pine forests.

There are large electronics, chemical, metalworking, paper and paper products industries.

Lapland, the home of the Sami, lies north of the Arctic Circle in Finland, Sweden and Norway. Lapland's terrain is characterized by tundra and undulating fells. The subsoil of Lapland is permanently frozen. When the surface thaws in the summer, pools appear. Lapland has many peat bogs.

While many of the Sami maintain a traditional lifestyle of reindeer herding, a large number earn a living fishing or farming, while some work in cities. The Sami also obtain some income from tourism.

Finland is a member of the European Union.

Its official currency is the euro.

Finland has a parliamentary system of government.