Finland

Geography

Finland is a Nordic country, with the northern part of Lapland already on the Scandinavian Peninsula.. The land has a total area of 338,450 km² (130,676 mi²) and a total coastline of 1,250 km (776.7 mi). This land area is approximately 84% of the area of California. Finland is thus one of the largest countries in Europe and the 66th biggest in the world. With 16 inhabitants per km² it is one of the most sparsely populated countries on earth. An exceptionally high proportion of residents (86%) belongs to the urban population. Around one in nine residents lives in Helsinki alone.

Finland is comparatively low at an average elevation of 164 meters above sea level. The highest mountain peak (Haltitunturi) is at 1,324 meters. The country has about 40,000 mostly uninhabited islands. There are direct national borders with the three neighboring countries Norway, Sweden and Russia. The distance between New York City and the Capital Helsinki is about 6,620 km (4,113 mi).

Climate in Finland

Finland has a cold temperate climate that changes to subarctic in the north. The distinct seasons are mainly caused by the Baltic Sea and the North Atlantic Gulf Stream. The summers from June to August are mild to warm with temperatures up to 25 °C. Winters from December to February, on the other hand, are very cold. In the north and east, temperatures then drop to -30 °C with lots of snow. Autumn and spring are mainly transitional seasons with moderate temperatures.

• Detailed climate data for Finland and 6 individual greater regions

Languages

Mother tongue	Distribution
Finnish	93.2 %
Swedish	5.5 %
Russian	0.9 %
other	0.4 %

Religions

Religion	Distribution
Lutherans	78.4%
Orthodoxes	1.1%
other Christs	1.1%
nondenominational	19.2%
other	0.2%

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Economy

GDP:	282.65 bn $
Exportations:	127.83 bn $
Importations:	134.72 bn $
Budget deficit:	2,408 M $
› Tourism receipts:	1.54 bn $
› Debt rate:	74.81 %
› Unemployment rate:	7.16 %
› Inflation rate:	7.12 %
› Corruption index:	87 (good)
› Energy consumption:	79.4 bn kWh

With a Human Development Index (HDI) of 0.942, Finland counts as one of the high developed economies by UN definition. The IMF also shares this classification.

With an average annual income of 54,890 USD Finland is one of the high-income countries. Even considering purchasing power parity, it is among the 30 richest countries in the world.

Land use

6% Urban areas:	20,052 km²
7% Agricultural areas:	25,316 km²
74% Forest:	249,539 km²
10% Water areas:	34,540 km²
13% Others:	43,543 km²

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Transport

Roadways:	108,637 km
Railways:	5,918 km
Waterways:	8,082 km
Reg. vehicles:	4,368,796
› Airports: