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About Finland
People
Population: 5.48 million,
18.0 inhabitants per km².
Life expectancy: Men 77 years,
women 83 years.
Languages: Official languages
are Finnish (spoken by 90%)
and Swedish (5.4%). Sámi is the
mother tongue of about
1,800 people, members of
the indigenous Sámi people
of northern Lapland.
Religion: Christianity; 75.2 %
Lutheran and about 1.1% Ortho-
dox. In practice Finnish society is
fairly secularized.
Geography & Climate
Area: 338,432 km², the fifth-largest country in Western Europe.
Capital: Helsinki (1.42 million inhabitants in metropolitan area).
Climate: Great contrasts –cold winters and fairly warm summers
(2014 extremes: coldest day in Utsjoki -40.7 C, warmest day in
Heinola 32.8 C).
State & Government
Independence: Declared on December 6, 1917.
Form of government: Republic, parliamentary democracy.
Head of State: President of the Republic Mr.Sauli Niinistö, elected in 2012.
Member of United Nations since 1955 and European Union since 1995.
Society & Economy
GDP per capita: 37,018 euros (2013).
Main exports: Chemicals, wood and paper products, electrotechnical
goods, metal products, machinery, transport equipment.
Currency unit: Euro.
Sources: Statistics Finland, National Board of Customs, Population
Register Center