Country and climate. Finland is approximately the size of Italy but with only 5.2 million inhabitants. Our neighbours are Norway in the north, Russia in the east, Estonia in the south and Sweden in the west. The capital of Finland is Helsinki, on the south coast of Finland, with half a million inhabitants. Other important towns are Tampere, Turku, Oulu and Rovaniemi.
Due to the northern location, there are four clearly distinguishable seasons in Finland. The winter is long and dark with temperatures varying from +5° to -30°C. In Lapland the sun does not rise at all for 50 days. In summer, on the contrary, the sun does not set for 73 days in Lapland; also in southern Finland the nights are light. The temperature is between +12° to 30°C.
History. Finland was part of Sweden from the Middle Ages until 1809 when Sweden had to cede it to Russia. In December 6, 1917 Finland declared herself independent. In the Second World War Finland was defeated - but never occupied - by Russia. Since1995 Finland is a member of the European Union.
Politics and administration. Finland is a parliamentary democracy. The president, currently Mr Martti Ahtisaari, is elected by the people for a six-year term and can be re-elected once. The next election will be in March, 2000. The Parliament comprises a single chamber of 200 members elected for a four-year term by direct proportional elections. The Finnish Rainbow government comprises Social Democrats, National Coalition Party, Left Wing Alliance, Green League and Swedish People's Party. The Prime Minister is Mr Paavo Lipponen.
Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. In addition to the Swedish speaking Finns (6%), living mainly along the coast and on the Åland Islands, there are other minorities: the Saami in Lappland and the Romany people. Largest groups of foreign nationalities in Finland are Russians, Estonians, Swedes and Somalis.
By religion, 94% of the Finns are Lutheran, 4-5% are Orthodox. Both churches are state churches.
Social security and education. As in other Nordic countries, the social security system functions well in Finland. High taxation rate makes possible e.g. low-cost health care, unemployment benefits and student grants. Compulsory education begins at the age of 7 and is usually completed at the age of 16. Education is free of charge, as well as the meals at school. Studying at university level is also basically free of charge.
Economy. Before the Second World War Finland was an agrarian country depending heavily on its green gold, the forests. After that, until the 1980s, the backbone of the country was metal industry. The economic depression in the early 1990s left half a million people unemployed. The unemployment rate is still 10%. Information technology, led by Nokia Mobile Phones, has grown in importance in the 1990s. Computer and internet are used widely both in work and education.
Culture. Finnish culture is well-known especially in the field of music. Opera singers Karita Mattila, Matti Talvela and Jorma Hynninen are famous all over the world, alongside with conductors Esa-Pekka Salonen and Jukka-Pekka Saraste and opera composers Aulis Sallinen and Joonas Kokkonen. Jean Sibelius remains the Finnish national composer.
The Finnish national epic is Kalevala (by Elias Lönnroth). Other literary works translated into several other languages are Aleksis Kivi's Seven Brothers and Mika Waltari's The Egyptian. The most recent international breakthrough was made by Tove Jansson with her books on The Moomin Family.
