Finland
Where is
Finland?
Finland is a country in northern
Europe. It is in fact one of the
world’s most northern countries.
Parts of the country are situated
in the Arctic Circle and are very
remote.
Russia is located to the east of
Finland, Sweden and Norway are
to the west.
Bordering
Countries
Finland shares a border with
Russia, Sweden and Norway.
The coastline of Finland is
surrounded by the Gulf of Bothnia
and the
Baltic Sea.
Capital City
The capital city of
Finland is Helsinki.
The name
‘Finland’ is
‘Soumi’ in Finnish.
Facts about
Finland
The population of
Finland is about
5.5 million people. The president of
Finland is
Sauli Niinistö.
Unlike its
neighbours
Denmark and
Sweden, Finland
uses the
“Sauli Niinisto 2019” by Mark McArdle is licensed under CC BY 4.0
euro currency.
Languages in
Finland
My name is…: Nimeni
on…
Hello in Finnish is Hei!
Excuse me: Anteeksi
How are you?: Mitä
kuuluu?
Please: Ole kiltti
Thank you: Kiitos
Finnish and Swedish are the official languages of Finland. Most people
speak Finnish with fewer people speaking Swedish. There are also some
minority languages, like Sámi, spoken in small regions of the country.
Finnish Food
Ruisleipä is a type of rye bread that
Finns eat for breakfast, as a snack or
for lunch.
Korvapuustit is a sweet treat
flavoured with cinnamon. Believe it or
not, Korvapuustit means ‘slap on the
ear’, which probably came from the
shape of theses buns; they look like
curled-up
Finns ears!
like to snack on Karelian pie,
known as karjalanpiirakka, which is a
rye pastry filled with thick porridge.
In Finland, people eat lots of different
types of meat, but salmon and herring
are very popular. Reindeer is a
popular meat eaten by many people
there.
Climate
Finland is located so far north that the
country is bright for almost 24 hours
during the summer. This means they
have almost no darkness for about 70
days.
The opposite is true in the winter. The winters
are extremely cold and they can have almost no
daylight for months. The summer months are
comfortable, but winters are cold, dark and
snowy.
Famous Landmarks
Suomenlinna
Helsinki Cathedral Finlandia Hall
Fortress
Temppeliaukio Rock Church Uspensky Cathedral
Famous Finnish
People
Kimi Räikkönen Teemu Puuki Linus Torvalds
“Kimi Räikkönen” by Mark McArdle is licensed under CC BY 2.0 “Linus Torvalds” by Krd is licensed under CC BY 3.0
The Flag
The flag features a blue cross on a white background.
It is believed to demonstrate the blue waters and the white snow of
Finland.
The flag was introduced in 1918, after the
country gained independence.
Geographical
Features
Finland is a heavily forested Forest
country. Forests cover about ry
75% of Finland.
Finland are committed to
maintaining their forestry.
After a tree is felled, up to 4
new trees are planted.
Lake
s
Finland has many, many
lakes. Scientists estimate
that there is one lake for
every 26 people in
Finland!
Northern Lights
In northern Finland, the northern lights are visible most nights from
September to March. In southern Finland, they are only visible
about 15 nights a year.
What are the
Northern Lights?
They are a natural light
display that is visible in
the dark sky. They are
mostly green in colour.
What causes the Northern Lights?
Electrons from solar winds glow when they mix
with atmospheric gas.
National Holiday
Every year on the 6th December,
Independence Day is celebrated
in Finland.
This commemorates when
Finland declared independence
from Russia, on this date, in
1917.
On this day, people traditionally light two
lights in each window. It was believed that
the candles were a sign to soldiers that they
could take shelter in these homes.
