Scandinavia, Europe.

GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

338,145 sq km (130,559 sq miles).

5.2 million (UN, 2002).

15.37 per sq km.

Helsinki. Population: 560,000 (FCO).

Finland is situated in the far north of Europe, bordered to the west by Sweden and the Gulf of Bothnia, to the north by Norway, to the east by the Russian Federation and to the south by the Gulf of Finland. There are about 30,000 islands off the Finnish coast, mainly in the south and southwest, and inland lakes containing a further 98,000 islands. The Saimaa lake area is the largest inland water system in Europe. Of the total land area, 10 per cent is under water, and 65 per cent is forest; Finland is situated almost entirely in the northern coniferous zone. In the south and southwest, the forest is mainly pine, fir and birch. In Lapland, in the far north, trees become more sparse and are mainly dwarf birch. Eight per cent of the land is cultivated.

The constitution allows for a President, who is Head of State, and a single-chamber Assembly, the Eduskunta. The President is elected by direct popular vote for a term of six years, while the 200-strong Parliament is elected every four years.

Republic. Head of State: President Tarja Halonen since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen since 2003. Recent history: The main change in the political landscape has been caused by the emergence of the right-wing National Coalition Party (Kokoomus, referred to as ‘Kok’). Finland’s long-serving President, Mauno Koivisto, the architect of the delicate balancing act between East and West, stood down in 1993, after two terms. He was replaced by the SDP candidate, former senior UN official Martti Ahtisaari. He was succeeded in turn by another Social Democrat, Tarja Halonen – the first woman to hold the post – at the beginning of 2000. The SDP has also dominated successive coalition Governments. Paavo Lipponen, the leader of the SDP, assumed the post of Prime Minister following the General Election of March 1995. Lipponen survived the 1999 General Election, and finally ceded office following the most recent poll in March 2003. This was won by the Centre Party, whose leader Anneli Jaatteenmaki took over as Premier, although the Social Democrats were brought into the new coalition Government along with the Swedish People’s party, which represents Finland’s ethnic Swedish population. Jaatteenmaki’s tenure was short-lived. Brought down by a political scandal, she was replaced in June 2003 by Martti Vanhanen. Left-leaning President Tarja Halonen won the first round of the Presidential election in January 2006, but did not obtain the 50 per cent she needed to avoid a secound round.
The constitution allows for a President, who is Head of State, and a single-chamber Assembly, the Eduskunta. The President is elected by direct popular vote for a term of six years, while the 200-strong Parliament is elected (by proportional representation) every four years.

There are two official languages: Finnish, spoken by 93.4 per cent of the population, and Swedish, spoken by 5.9 per cent of the population. There are small Lapp and Russian speaking minorities. English is taught as the first foreign language.

86 per cent Evangelical Lutheran, one per cent Finnish Orthodox; there are also Baptists, Methodists, Free Church, Roman Catholic, Jews and Muslims.

Shaking hands is customary. It is customary for the guest to refrain from drinking until the host or hostess toasts their health with a ‘kippis’ or a ‘skol’. Casual dress is acceptable. Finns appear sometimes to be rather reserved and visitors should not feel alarmed if there is a lack of small talk during the first half hour or so. Shoes are usually removed when entering someone’s home.

220 (230) volts AC, 50Hz. Continental two-pin plugs are standard.