Facts about Finland

Capital                      

Helsinki

Currency

euro (EUR/€)

Polulation 

5.2 milloin

Time zone 

Greenwich Mean Time + 2 hours 

Electricity

220 AC               

Language

93 % of the population speak Finnish,  5,5 %  Swedish and one procent other languages, including Sami

Religion

Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Finland (88 %), Orthodox (1 %)

Goverment  

a parliamentary democracy, with a president elected for six-years, a prime minister, and a 200-member, single chamber parliament

Education

The Finnish school system does not have any actual pre-schools, but  pre-school teaching is provided at daycare centres. Pre-school teaching means education provided in the year before children start comprehensive school.  Compulsory education in Finland is comprehensive school, which generally starts in the year children turn seven and which lasts for nine year. After comprehensive school young people must deside whether to continue in general education, i.e. upper secondary school or to apply for vocational education.

The literacy rate in Finland is practically 100 %. The number of newpapers and books printed per capita is one of the highest of the world.

Passport and Visas 

Citizen of most Western countries do not need visa to travel to Finland, a valid passport is enought

Geography

Finland is set on the Baltic Sea between Sweden to the west and Russia to the east. About one-third of Finland's landmass is above Arctic Circle, which defines the area known as Lapland.

The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills. The highest point is found in the north of Lapland (The Halti fell 1,328 metres).  Some 75 % of Finland is covered by forests. There are 188.000 lakes in Finland.

Climate

Finland is near enough to the Atlantic to be continuously warmed by the Guld Steam which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude. 

Finland is a land for all seasons. Winter is time for cold, snow and skiing. In the winter the temperature can fall 40 degrees below zero (Celcius); the average, however, is around -10 C.The amount of snow varies from 50-100 cm towards the spring. Spring burst suddenly  in April-May and everything turns green in a week. Summer is at its peak in July. The temperature can rise up to30 degrees Celcius, water temperature to 20 degrees. Around September 10th the forest is glowing with autumn tints, ruska has begun. Autumn is full of colourful leaves.

Aurora Borealis

White, yellow, green and red northern lights dance across the sky in the far north. They are best seen on clear and cold nights and most often occurs from September to October and from Marsh to April. On the average they are on display every other night between September and April.

 The finnish name "revontulet" (fox's fire) comes from the old belief that a fox runns across the hills and his tail touches the snow and sends sparks into to the sky.

http://virtual.finland.fi/Nature_Environment/aurora/

Sauna

There are 1.2. million saunas in Finland.  The idea of the sauna is to perspire and then wash yourself.  People go to a sauna to relax, to small-talk and to talk seriously. 

Water is thrown to the hot stones in the sauna stove to create a dry steam which makes the high heat more tolerable and stimulatas pespiration. It is entirely up to you how long time you sit in the sauna.

 When you have had enought, you go out of the sauna to cooling off.  You can repeat the heating and cooling off as many times as you feel like. After that you go to the washroom to wash yourself. The final stage is to dry off which should be done without harry, to avoid further perspiration.