The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced – for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter.
The euro (currency sign: €; currency code: EUR) is the official currency of the European Union (EU). Fifteen member states have adopted it, known collectively as the Eurozone (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain).
The geography of Finland differs from that of other Nordic countries. Bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia, Finland is the northernmost country on the European continent. Although other countries have points extending farther north, virtually all of Finland is north of 60 degrees north latitude; nearly a quarter of the land area and fully one-third of the latitudinal extent of the country lie north of the Arctic Circle.
Beginning well before 1800 BC, certain tribes from the tundra of northern Russia settled into Lapland and in the eastern parts of Finland. In the 5th century BC, Baltic people arrived from western Europe and Scandinavia and settled into southern and western Finland, and tribes from the Urals in Russia settled into eastern Finland gradually pushing the indigenous Saami peoples north into Lapland. All of these groups were hunters and gatherers, surviving on lake fish. They lived in clans and worshiped natural gods.
The Swedes brought the Roman Catholic Church to Finland in 1157 and occupied Finland for the next 650 years. Finland became a Swedish province in 1362 and was part of and indistinguishable from larger Sweden. The cultures were similar, except for languages and religion. Finland was designated the Grand Duchy of Sweden by King John III of Sweden in 1580; he also named himself the first Grand Duke of Finland and Karelia.
Various monastic orders, supplementing the existing church presence, strengthened the power and influence of the Roman Catholic Church in the 14th and 15th centuries. Life remained nomadic in the east which was not suitable for cultivation, but became more settled in southern towns of Turku and Viipuri (which were linked to other Baltic towns); there artisans and professions flourished.
Kalmar Union was a 1397 treaty group headed by Denmark but included Sweden (and therefore Finland) and Norway; it was declared ultimately dissolved by Sweden in 1523.
The Protestant Reformation spread from Wurttenberg in Germany to Sweden in 1527. King Gustavus Vasa, who coveted the wealth of the Roman Catholic Church, took over church properties and Sweden became the first European country to split with Rome. Evangelical Lutheranism was declared the state religion in 1593. The Bible was the first known book ever written in Finnish.
Sweden was at war with Russia off and on from 1527 to 1809 with Russia occupying areas of Finland in the 18th century. Being in between Sweden and Russia, the Finnish towns of Turku, Viipuri and Helsinki often burned. Helsinki was founded in 1550 to compete with Tallinn (Estonia) but was relocated in 1640s; by 1740, its population had declined to only 150. Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg in 1700s, when England allied itself with Sweden, and the Russians felt threatened (through Baltic Sea). In early 1800's Tsar Alexander I occupied Finland to force Sweden to blockade Napoleon, and Sweden formally ceded Finland to Russia in 1807. Finland remained a Grand Duchy, with the Grand Duke becoming Tsar Alexander I of Russia. He established Helsinki as the capital of Finland in 1812.
Russia offered the Finnish people a carrot and stick approach. Russia allowed an elected Diet (parliament) at Porvoo, and became Europe's first experiment in constitutional monarchy. Russia required no changes in the Swedish/Finnish language, local taxation, or Lutheran church dominance; Russia stationed no substantial Russian troops in Finland. The Russian policy was to pacify the Finns and woo them away from Sweden, creating a buffer state between the two antagonists. In return, the Finnish government distanced itself from Sweden. This approach was preserved by succeeding Tsars Nicholas I, Alexander II and Alexander III.
However, Tsar Nicholas II discarded the carrot and stick approach in 1894 and established a more stringent dictatorship in Finland. He imposed conscription into the Russian army, increased taxation to finance Russian operations and stationed substantial Russian troops in Finland. These activities created unrest and planted the first seeds of independence. The Russian Revolution of 1905 and Russo-Japanese War brought a respite as the Tsar was distracted. He approved a new unicameral parliament (Eduskunta) with universal suffrage in 1906, making Finland the first country in Europe to allow women to vote. But still the independence movement grew. During the Russian October Revolution of 1917, Finland seized the opportunity to declare itself independent on December 6, 1917; being preoccupied with other things, Lenin recognized the new independent state on the last day of 1917. Notwithstanding, the Russian revolution spread to Finland where tenant farmers and other leftists (Reds) tried to overcome the landowners and commercialists (Whites). Under General Mannerheim, Whites prevailed in Spring of 1918, and Finlands first constitution was enacted in 1919, creating a republic with an elected president and the same unicameral parliament.
Following independence, Finland distrusted the Soviets, while the Soviets resented the defeat of the Reds in Finland. The Communists kept a low profile and fascists failed to gain support; Finland delicately balanced its position between the Soviet Union, Germans and neutral Sweden. A famine in the 1920s caused 400,000 Finns to emigrate, mostly to the United States.
In 1938, Germany persuaded Estonia, Latvia and Denmark to accept a non-aggression pact, but Norway, Sweden and Finland refused to participate. Germany and the Soviet Union signed a nonaggression pact and secret side protocol putting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland in the Soviet sphere of influence. The Soviets pressed Finland for a secular non-aggression pact, but again Finland resisted. Russia attacked Finland on independence day in 1939, launching the 100-day Winter War. Finnish mobility and winter acclimation held Russian superiority at bay; an armistice was signed in 1940 ceding some of eastern Finland to the Soviet Union but maintaining Finnish independence. When Germany unexpectedly invaded Russia in June 1941, and Hitler falsely announced that Finnish and German troops were defending Finland from the Soviets, the Soviets again invaded Finland, in the Continuation War. The Finns were co-belligerents against Soviets, but not allies of the Germans. When Finland signed an armistice with the Soviets in 1944, it agreed to expel all Germans in 30 days; most Germans were in northern Finland, and they were forced out without being killed or captured. At the end of the war, Finland agreed to pay reparations to Soviets; although extremely burdensome to its economy, Finland lived up to its commitment and completed all payments in the 1950s.
Finland and the Soviet Union signed the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance in 1948. Finland agreed not to permit foreign troops in Finland, not to join any alliances adverse to Soviets (e.g. NATO), and not to accept Marshall Plan aid. In return, the Soviet Union agreed not to annex Finland, unlike it did much of Eastern Europe. Finland had a barter trade agreement with the Soviet Union in forest products, clothing, machinery and ships for oil and consumer goods. Finland joined the United Nations and the International Monetary Fund in 1955. By the 1970s and 1980s, Finland had developed a high gross national product but social services also caused very high taxation (Finland became the most expensive country in world). Seeking foreign currency, the Soviet Union unilaterally canceled the barter agreement in 1990 in order to sell oil for hard currency; this caused a severe recession in Finland, and led to inflation, unemployment and budget deficits. In response, the government pruned (but did not discard) its welfare program. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Finland terminated the 1948 mutual assistance agreement. The recession, coupled with economic freedom from Russia, caused Finland to move from a commodity based economy looking towards the Soviet Union, to a manufacturing and service economy looking towards the West; it also energized a commitment to education. Nokia developed into a world leader and spawned wider high tech industry. The government imposed tough economic measures in order to join the European Union in 1995. Finland was also among the first group of countries to adopt the Euro in place of the Markka.
Viewed from the West, Finland was idolized for its resistance to Russia in the Winter War, ostracized for its resistance to the Soviets in World War II, written off as lost to the East Bloc upon signing the mutual assistance pact in 1948, and denigrated as subservient to Soviets until 1991. It is now viewed as a highly democratic country which successfully preserved its independence and has developed into a prosperous, educated and technologically advanced nation.
Finland currently numbers 5,302,778 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, a phenomenon even more pronounced after 20th century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area – Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. Other large cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.
The share of foreign citizens in Finland is 2.5 percentbeing among the lowest of the European Union countries. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden.
Capital: HELSINKI
Population: about 5,237,000
Area: 338,145 Km2
Time zone: +1 h compared to Italy
Languages: The official language is Finnish and Swedish. Widespread knowledge of English.
Religions: Includes the following religions: Lutheran (85%), Orthodox (1.1%), Catholic (0.2%), others (0.6%)
Currency: EURO
Prefix from Italy: 00358 + citizen (without zero) or mobile
Prefix for Italy: 0039
Telephony: The GSM 900 and 1800 MHz cover the entire country.
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