Finland in brief:

  Official Name  Republic of Finland
  Location and Borders  A peninsula with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, the country has land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east.
  Government  Parliamentary form of Government headed by Prime Minister
  Area/land  338,145 sq km
  Capital  Helsinki. Other major cities are Turku, Tampere, Oulu and Rovaniemi.
  Season  Summer, Autumn, Winter & Spring.
  Temparature July temperatures in Finland average 13 to 17°C. February is usually Finland’s coldest month, with temperatures averaging from – 22 to -3°C. In northern Finland, winter temperatures often drop as low as -30°C or even down to -50°C, sometimes with strong, cold easterly or northeasterly winds.
  Annual Rainfall/Humidity  The lowest annual rainfall may be 200 to 300 mm and the highest annual rainfall 700 mm in northern Finland and 900 to 1100 mm elsewhere.
  Standard Time   Summer UTC +3, Winter UTC +2
  Population  About  5.5 million
  Official Language  Finnish ( 88.7% ), Swedish (5.3%)
  Religion  Most Finns are Christians. The largest religious community in Finland is the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.
  Int’l Airport/ Sea Ports   Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport, Most of the major cities have domestic airport.
  Currency   EURO
  Banking hour   Mon-Fri (Business hours are generally from 09:15 to 16:15)
  GDP/Rate of Growth   US$ 194.98 billion/6.51% (2014-2015)
  Annual Export/Import   $59.6 billion (2016 est.)/$60.51 billion (2016 est.)
  Major Export Items Electrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals; tmber
  Major Import Items  Foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, computers, electronic industry products, textile yarn and fabrics, grains
  Major Trading Partners Finland is highly integrated in the global economy, and international trade is a third of GDP. The European Union makes 60 percent of the total trade. The largest trade flows are with Germany, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, Netherlands and China.


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