| Home Earth
Image: Tiia Monto
Flag of Finland
Destination Finland, a virtual guide to the parliamentary republic in Northern Europe. The country borders the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of Bothnia, and the Gulf of Finland, it maintains land borders with Norway, Sweden, and Russia, and it shares maritime borders with Estonia.
Location map of Finland
Formerly a grand duchy in the Russian empire, the country became independent in 1917. Finland is since then a formally neutral country, and like Sweden not a member of NATO.
Finland covers an area of 338,145 km², making it almost the size of Germany, or slightly smaller than the US state of Montana. The country's landscape offers a lot of National Parks, covered mostly with coniferous taiga forests (78%), bogs and fens, it has rarely cultivated land. About 10% of its area is occupied by lakes, rivers and ponds. Halti Mountain at 1,324 m is Finland’s highest point.
A population of 5.5 million people (in 2017) making Finland one of the most sparsely populated countries in Europe. Capital and largest city is Helsinki, spoken languages are Finnish (89%), Swedish (5.3%), and Sami, a language spoken by the Laplanders (Sami), the indigenous people inhabiting the Arctic area of Sápmi.
Republic of Finland | Republiken Finland
Ruled by Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and by Russia from 1809, Finland finally won its independence in 1917.
During World War II, Finland was able to successfully defend its freedom and fend off invasions by the Soviet Union and Germany.
In the subsequent half century, the Finns have made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe.
As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.
Suomen tasavalta - Republiken Finland
short form: Suomi - Finland
int'l long form: Republic of Finland
int'l short form: Finland
ISO Country Code: fi, FIN
Time Zone: Eastern European Time
Local Time = UTC +2h
Actual Time: Fri-July-28 19:50
Daylight Saving Time (DST) March - October (UTC +3)
Country Calling Code: +358
Capital City: Helsinki (pop. 560 500)
Espoo (213 000), Tampere (195 500), Vantaa (178 500), Turku (173 000).
Type: Constitutional republic.
Independence: 6 December 1917 (from the Russian Empire).
Constitution: 17 July 1919, 1 March 2000.
The new Finnish Constitution
Location: Northern Europe
Area: 338,145 km² (130,558 sq. mi.)
Terrain: Low but hilly, more than 70% forested, with more than 60 000 lakes.
Climate: Northern temperate.
Nationality: Noun--Finn(s). Adjective--Finnish.
Population: 5.5 million (2017)
Ethnic groups: Finns, Swedes, Lapps, Sami, Roma, Tatars.
Religions: Lutheran 89%, Orthodox 1%.
Languages: Finnish 93%, Swedish 6% (both official); small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities.
Natural resources: Timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone.
Agriculture products: Barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish.
Industries: Metal products, electronics, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing.
Exports - commodities: electrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals; timber
Exports - partners: Germany 13.9%, Sweden 10.1%, USA 7%, Netherlands 6.6%, Russia 5.9%, UK 5.2%, China 4.7% (2015)
Imports - commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, computers, electronic industry products, textile yarn and fabrics, grains
Imports - partners: Germany 17%, Sweden 16%, Russia 11%, Netherlands 9.1%, Denmark 4.1% (2015)
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Image: Alexey Reshetnikov
Official Sites of FinlandNote: External links will open in a new browser window.
Republiken Finlands President
The President of the Republic of Finland.
The Finnish Government's web site.
The Parliament of Finland.
The Finnish Council of State.
Suomi.fi - A gateway to public services
Suomi.fi provides access to public sector services. It contains links to the Internet pages maintained by government organisations and agencies and municipal authorities.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
Permanent Mission of Finland to the United Nations
Finland's Permanent Mission to the UN, New York.
Embassy of Finland in the U.S.
Finnish Diplomatic Missions Abroad
List of Finnish Embassies, Permanent Representations and Special Representations and other Diplomatic Missions.
Foreign Embassies and Consulates in Finland
List of Foreign Diplomatic Representations in Finland.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Map of Finland
Political Map of Finland.
Google Earth Finland
Searchable map and satellite view of Finland.
Google Earth Helsinki
Searchable map and satellite view of Helsinki.
Map of Europe
Political Map of Europe.
Finland NewsThe Finnish government was the first in the world to make broadband internet access a legal right in 2009. Today Finland has one of the highest rates of internet penetration in the European Union. Ranked first in the World Press Freedom Index for the past five years, in the 2017 Index Finland has been replaced on the top spot by Norway.
Daily news updates.
Finnish News Agency STT
News from Finnish News Agency STT
English language headline news.
Finnish Newspapers Association
With Links to Finnish Newspapers.
YLE Radio Finland
The Finnish Broadcasting Company (yle), is the national public-broadcasting company, founded in 1926.
Bookmark/share this page
Arts & Culture
This is Finland
Things you should and shouldn't know.
Guide to Finnish Design of today.
Finnish sauna society
Hot! Site offers information on all you ever want to know about the Finnish Sauna.
All about the band with the international recognized bad taste in music.
Due to a system failure their site is not available, read more about the Leningrad Cowboys in this Wikipedia article.
Stupid Finnish Advertisements
With translations and commentary.
Indigenous peoples music festival in Inari, Finland's largest, most sparsely populated municipality, located in Lapland.
A Window into Sámi Culture and Arctic Nature.
The Finnish Museums Association
The central organization of the museums in Finland.
The Finnish National Gallery
The Museum of Contemporary Art
The National Board of Antiquities
The National Board of Antiquities Preserves Finland's Material Cultural heritage.
The National Museum of Finland
Finnish history from before Stone Age to the present day.
The European Song Contest. Finland has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 50 times. Finland won the contest in 2006.
Image: Diego Delso
Business & Economy
Bank of Finland with information on the Finnish economy and banking supervision.
Information on trading in Finnish stocks, derivatives, and mutual funds.
Central Finland Chamber of Commerce
Helsinki Chamber of Commerce
A guide to Finnish Business Services, Organisations and Authorities.
Connecting not only Finnish People.
VR Passenger Service
Port of Helsinki
The Port of Helsinki is the main harbor for foreign trade and passenger traffic services in Finland.
Routes cover the whole Finland, Stockholm in Sweden, Vyborg and St. Petersburg in Russia.
Image: Simo Räsänen
Travel and Tour Consumer Information
Destination Finland - Country Guides
Åland (); Kilpisjärvi (); Koli (famous for its tree-covered hill scenery);
Levi (Ski resort in Kittilä); Luostarinmäki (open-air museum in Turku with original 18th-century and early 19th-century buildings); Olavinlinna (15th-century castle in Savonlinna); Ranua Wildlife Park (northernmost zoo in the world); Rukatunturi (low-level ski resort in Kuusamo); Suomenlinna (18th century inhabited sea fortress and a UNESCO World Heritage Site); Santa Claus Village (Year-round Christmas in Rovaniemi, hohoho!); Saramo (); Siida (Sámi Museum on Lake Inari); Turku Castle (13th-century castle)
Utö island (small island in the Baltic Sea);
Image: Timo Newton-Syms
Hiidenportti National Park (wilderness with canyons and a prehistorical sacred place in Kainuu); Lemmenjoki National Park (in Lapland); Linnansaari National Park (in Savonia); Pyhä-Luosto National Park (in Lapland); Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park (in the Lapland region); Oulanka National Park (in the Northern Ostrobothnia region); Repovesi National Park (); Riisitunturi National Park (); Urho Kekkonen National Park (in Lapland)
The Official Travel Guide of Finland
Official site of the Finnish Tourist Board with information about Finland as a tourist destination.
with an Online Travel Guide.
this is Finland - Virtual Finland
A portal to Finland with comprehensive information on the country by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
Travel Guide to the islands of Åland.
Helsinki City Tourist & Convention Bureau provides tourism information for Helsinki.
Espoo is Finland's second largest city.
Site of the City of Tampere, third largest city in Finland.
Vantaa's official site.
Finlands Christmas City.
The Saami Parliament in Finland.
What happens in the Sami community.
The Saami Council is a voluntary Saami organization (NGO), with Saami member organizations in Finland, Russia, Norway and Sweden.
Image: Tomáš Klíma
CIMO Discover Finland
The Finnish National Agency for Education provides information about education, training and youth issues in Finland.
Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration
Helsinki University of Technology
Official site of the largest, oldest and most diversified university of technology and architecture in Finland.
University of Helsinki
Finland's largest university.
The University of Lapland with Faculties for Art and Design, Business and Tourism, Education, Law and Social Sciences.
University of Oulu
Official site of this science and learning institution.
University of Vaasa
A multidisciplinary, business-oriented university in the city of Vaasa.
Environment & Nature
Official site of Finland's environmental administration.
Metsähallitus is a state enterprise whose main tasks are to supply wood to the forest industry and manage most of Finland's protected areas.
Nature & the Environment
Virtual Finland about Nature & the Environment of Finland.
Finland's National Parks
Site with information on Finland's 35 national parks.
Finnish Nature League
The Finnish Nature League is an environmental NGO dealing with mainly national level environmental problems.
NorNet is the co-operation network of the northern Finnish environmental researchers of the University of Oulu and the Finnish Environmental Administration, the umbrella organisation for Finnish Environment Research institutions like:
Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute (RKTL)
Game and Fisheries.
Finnish Forest Research Institute (METLA)
Geological Survey of Finland (GTK)
Geoscientific information and services.
Finnish Environment Institute.
Comprehensive site about Finland's History by Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
Main outlines of Finnish history
Article about Finland's past.
Information and facts about Finland.
Open Directory: Finland
Sources and additional Information on Finland
BBC Country Profile: Finland
Finland Basic Facts
The Heritage Foundation: Finland
Human Rights Watch: Finland
Reporters Without Borders: Finland
The World Factbook -- Finland
Other Countries and Regions of Northern Europe:
Denmark | Estonia | Faroe Islands | Greenland | Iceland | Ireland
Latvia | Lithuania | Norway | Northern Ireland | Sweden | Scotland | United Kingdom | Wales
One World - Nations Online .:. let's care for this planet
Actually, it's impossible to simulate freedom --- or?
Nations Online Project is made to improve cross-cultural understanding and global awareness.
More signal - less NOISE
| Information Sources | Disclaimer | Contact: email@example.com | Copyright © 1998-2017 :: nationsonline.org