Wikijunior:Europe/Finland
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Finland is a large country in north eastern Europe. It shares borders with Norway, Sweden and Russia. The capital city is Helsinki. Other big cities in Finland are Tampere and Turku. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995.
[edit] Finland's History
The area now known as Finland was settled at the latest around 8500 BC during the Stone Age. The settlers came from the areas of today's Estonia and Russia. Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century. Swedish became the dominant language of noble people and used in education. The Finnish famine of 1866–1868 killed 15 percent of the population, making it the last and one of the worst famines in European history. On December 6, 1917 Finland declared its independence. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Finland tried to build relationships with former Soviet republics and Europe.
[edit] Finland's Geography
The area of Finland totals 338,145 sq km (130,559 sq mi)—which is slightly smaller than the state of Montana. Finland has over 187,000 lakes and 179,000 islands. Lake Saimaa is the 5th largest lake in Europe. Most of Finland is low lying ground with occasional hills. Thick forests cover about 74 percent of Finland. Wildlife includes bear, wolf, lynx, and arctic fox. Summer days in Finland are long and cool and winter days are short and cold. During summer, daylight lasts as long as 19 hours a day in the far south. In winter, the sun does not rise above the horizon for 51 days.
[edit] Finland's People
The population of Finland is 5,238,460. Most of the population in Finland are natives. They make up about 93 percent of the population. The other major ethnic group are the Swedish. The national languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the national church. More than 85 percent of the population are members of the church.
Education in Finland is free and required between the ages of 7 and 16. Almost everyone who lives in Finland is literate.
