FINLAND

Finland has a population of 5.6 million people, and it is one of the Nordic countries. Finland is known for equality, welfare state, high educational level, advanced technology, Nordic design, and sauna culture.

NATURE

The distance from Helsinki, the capital located in the southern Finland, to northern Lapland is around 1300 kilometers. If you take a journey towards the north, views change from fields to forests and eventually to arctic landscape. Additionally, Finland has been described as the land of thousand lakes as 10 % of the area is covered by inland waters. 

Four seasons are evident in Finland as the temperatures vary from around -40 degrees Celsius to over +30 degrees Celsius, and outdoor activities range from skiing and skating in the winter to swimming and sailing in the summer. Great variance during the year is also related to the length of the day. In Helsinki, period of sunlight is limited to less than 6 hours in December but increases to almost 19 hours in June.

Most Finnish citizens speak Finnish as their native language, but there is also a Swedish-speaking linguistic minority comprising about 5% of the total Finnish population. 

That’s why for example most of the street signs are also in Swedish, and everyone learns the basics of Swedish at school. In addition, a small indigenous Sámi-speaking population inhabits the northern parts of Finland.