Finland by Erica Cruz

Finland is located in Europe, sharing borders with Sweden to the West, Russia to the East, and Norway to the North.  With an area of 131,991 square miles and a population of 5.5 million people, Finland is Europe’s 5th largest country. 1.5 million of its people live in the capital of Helsinki.  Finland is a democratic parliamentary republic, and has its official languages as Swedish and Finnish and its national currency is the Euro.  As of May 2022, Finland is a member of the European Union (EU) and is currently discussing joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

**Climate**

Finland’s climate results in cold winters and fairly warm summers.

In winter, the average temperature stays below 0ºC/32ºF.  Winter is Finland’s longest season, starting in October/November/December depending on the region, and can last for 100 to 200 days. North of the area known as the Arctic Circle, the sun does not rise during a time called “polar night” and can last for 51 days, while in southern Finland, the shortest day is 6 hours. Snowfall can range between 20-90cm/8-31in, and ice can be 50-60cm/20-24in thick.  Spring lasts for 45 to 65 days with an average temperature of 10ºC/50ºF.  Summertime brings average temperatures of 30°C/86ºF, and “polar days” where the area north of the Arctic Circle does not see the sun set for around 73 days, with the longest day being 19 hours.  Fall temperatures stay below 10ºC/50ºF.  Finland’s growing season starts around April/May/June depending on the region and when snow melts, and ends 140-180 days later.

72% of Finland is classified as forest land, and also features 180,000 islands, mostly along the Baltic Sea coast, and 190,000 lakes.

**Demographics**

Finland is an homogeneous country, with most people being ethnically Finnish.  About 10,000 people are Sámi, Finland’s indigenous people, who reside mainly in the Lapland area of Northern Finland.

3.5% of the population are foreign citizens, with the majority from Estonia, Sweden and Russia, giving Finland one of the lowest rates in the European Union.  Children born to foreign residents do not receive Finnish citizenship unless they are unable to receive citizenship in another country.

The majority of Finnish citizens are between the ages of 15 and 64 at 66.4%, with 16.6% between ages 0-14.

**Economy and Politics**

Finland is a democratic parliamentary republic, made up of 6 regions with individual administrations with 317 municipalities.  All members of the government are elected by citizens, including the parliament and president.  Finland’s Council of state includes the Prime Minister and 11 other ministers.  The Finnish judicial system consists of 27 district courts, 6 courts of appeals and six regional administrative courts.

Finland ranks 9th in the world and 6th in Europe in terms of economic freedom.  Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is $49,853, but has a growth rate of -2.9%.  In addition, Finland has an unemployment rate of 7.8%.

Finland and Colonization

Jyri Jaakkola, Finland's Social Justice Warrior

Finland Infographic

**Sources**

“About Finland.” *ThisisFINLAND*, 21 Dec. 2021, https://finland.fi/facts-stats-and-info/finland-in-facts/.

“Finland.” *Finland Economy: Population, GDP, Inflation, Business, Trade, FDI, Corruption,* https://www.heritage.org/index/country/finland.

“Finland Population 2022 (Live).” *Finland Population 2022 (Demographics, Maps, Graphs)*, https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/finland-population.

Nato. “Relations with Finland.” *NATO*, 14 Apr. 2022, https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics\_49594.htm.

“Seasons in Finland.” *Finnish Meteorological Institute*, https://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/seasons-in-finland.

“The Sámi in Finland.” *Samediggi*, 8 Apr. 2021, https://www.samediggi.fi/sami-info/?lang=en.

“World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.” *Summary | Climate Change Knowledge Portal*, https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/finland.