Europe

Finland

Finland lies in northern Europe between Sweden, Norway and Russia, with the Baltic Sea to the south and west. About 5.6 million people live there, most of them in the south around the capital, Helsinki. Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, and the Sámi languages have a special status in Lapland, in the far north.

For about six hundred years Finland was part of the Swedish realm, and from 1809 it was a grand duchy under the Russian Empire. It declared independence on 6 December 1917, a date still celebrated as Independence Day. Finland joined the European Union in 1995 and was among the first countries to adopt the euro. After decades of military non-alignment, it joined NATO in 2023.

The flag of Finland

The flag is white with a blue Nordic cross, which is why Finns call it the Siniristilippu, the blue cross flag.

The flag was adopted in 1918, soon after independence. The colours are traditionally linked to Finland’s landscape: blue for its many lakes and the sky, and white for the snow that covers the country in winter. The cross follows the pattern of the other Nordic flags, placed closer to the flagpole.

Landscape and geography

Finland is often called the land of a thousand lakes, but the real number is far higher: there are around 188,000 lakes larger than 500 square metres. Forests cover about three quarters of the land, making Finland the most heavily forested country in Europe. Most of the country is low and gently rolling, shaped by glaciers. Only in the far north-west do the fells rise higher, and the country’s highest point is on the slope of Halti, close to the Norwegian border.

The land in Finland is still rising slowly after being pressed down by the weight of the Ice Age glaciers. Along the west coast this lifts new land out of the sea every year. The Åland Islands, between Finland and Sweden, are an autonomous, demilitarised and Swedish-speaking region of Finland.

Did you know?

Finland has millions of saunas, roughly one for every two people, and the word sauna is one of the few Finnish words used around the world.
Finland has been ranked the happiest country in the world in the World Happiness Report several years in a row.
The Linux operating system was created by Linus Torvalds while he was a student at the University of Helsinki.
In northern Lapland the sun does not set for weeks in summer, and the northern lights are visible on many winter nights.

Key facts

Capital: Helsinki
Continent: Europe
Population: About 5.6 million
Land neighbours: 3
Coast: Has a coastline
European Union: Member
NATO: Member
Language in GeoLingo: Finnish

Land neighbours

Finland in numbers

Population	5,556,880 people
Land area	303,815 km²
Population density	18.3 people/km²
Total GDP	$300,187,000,000
GDP per capita	$54,008
Life expectancy	81.9 years
Unemployment rate	7.2%
Coastline	1,250 km
Forest coverage	73.7%
Human Development Index	0.940
UNESCO World Heritage sites	7 sites
Airports	148 airports

These are the figures used in GeoDecide. They are rounded and can lag behind the latest official statistics.

Say it in Finnish

GeoLingo shows these four phrases and asks which country they belong to.

Hello: Hei
Thank you: Kiitos
Yes: Kyllä
Goodbye: Näkemiin

Practise Finland on Geodly

Flag Drawing: The flag of Finland is in the Easy set. Draw it from memory and compare your drawing with the real design.
Border Clash: Draw the border between Finland and Sweden on a blank map.
Border Clash: Draw the border between Finland and Norway on a blank map.
Geo Click: Find Finland on the map, or locate its capital, Helsinki, in the capital modes.
Geo Chain: Link countries through shared land borders. Knowing the 3 neighbours of Finland gives you more routes.
GeoDecide: Compare Finland with other countries on the statistics listed above.
GeoLingo: Recognise Finnish from four short phrases and match it to Finland.
Terra Tac Toe: Use Finland as an answer when its facts fit both the row and the column of a square.

Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica: Finland · CIA World Factbook: Finland