Finland
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Republic of Finland
conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland local short form: Suomi/Finland |
| Gevernment type | republic |
| Capital |
name: Helsinki
geographic coordinates: 60 10 N, 24 58 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 |
| Flag description | white with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) |
| Currency | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
| Internet country code | .fi; note - the IANA has assigned the ccTLD of .ax to the Aland Islands |
| Ports and terminals | Hamina, Hanko, Helsinki, Kotka, Naantali, Pori, Porvoo, Raahe, Rauma, Turku |
| Agriculture products | barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish |
| Industries | metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing |
| Geography |
| Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia |
| Coordinates | 64 00 N, 26 00 E |
| Continent | Europe |
| Area |
total: 338,145 sq km
land: 304,473 sq km water: 33,672 sq km |
| 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 |
| Natural resources | timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone |
| Natural hazards | NA |
| People |
| Population | 5,231,372 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Russian 0.4%, Estonian 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Sami 0.1% |
| Religions | Lutheran National Church 84.2%, Greek Orthodox in Finland 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 13.5% (2003) |
| Languages | Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003) |
