This is Finland!

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• published: 21 Feb 2015
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Top awesome geography facts about Finland and Finland's great contributions to the world. Things you never knew came from Finland. The official name of Finland is the Republic of Finland. Finland is the most sparsely populated country within the European Union. Finland shares a land border with Sweden, Norway, and Russia. The official languages of Finland are Finnish, native to 90% of the population and Swedish, native language to 5.4% of the population. The indigenous Sami language is an official language in the area of northern Lapland. The population of Finland is over 5.4 million (5,454,444) as of 2013. Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. In the far north of Lapland on the Finland and Norway border is the highest point in the country, the mountain Halti at 1,324 metres (4,344 ft). Between the 12th and 19th centuries, Finland was part of Sweden, before it became a part of the Russian Empire until gaining independence during the Russian Revolution in 1917. Finland has thousands of lakes (about 188,000) and islands (about 179,500) leading to the nickname for the country "Land of the Thousand Lakes". Another nickname for Finland is "land of midnight sun". During summer the sun does not drop below the horizon in the north instead shining all day and night. Finland has some interesting and unique wildlife including the gray wolf, wolverine, elk, its national animal the brown bear and national bird the whooper swan. Forests including pine, spruce, and birch cover over 86% of Finland, making the country the largest forested area and largest producer of wood, in all of Europe. Finnish software engineer Linus Torvalds, created the open-source operating system called Linux. Telecommunications company Nokia is from Finland, it is headquartered in Espoo, and is one of the world's largest manufacturers of mobile phones. Rovio Entertainment, creators of the phone app Angry Birds are from Finland. Karelian pasty is a traditional Finnish dish made from a rye crust filled with rice. The national sport of Finland is called Pesapallo, which is a bit like baseball. By gold medals won per capita, Finland is the most successful country in Olympic history. Success in javelin throw and distance running with the "Flying Finn" Hannes Kolehmainen in 1912 (won 3 gold medals), and another "Flying Finn" Paavo Nurmi in 1920, 1924, 1928 (won 9 gold medals) has helped contribute to the success. Top Cities of Finland Helsinki: Helsinki is the capital and the major hub of economy, culture and education. There are many universities and technology parks in this city. It has several museums. It is an important sea-port. Food processing, metallurgy, chemical units, printing, textiles and electrical equipment manufacturing plants are its major industrial sectors. Espoo: Espoo is a major railway junction. This city boasts of Helsinki University of Technology. Telecom giant, NOKIA's headquarter is situated near it. It is also a major cultural hub. Jyvaskyla: It owns the Museum of Central Finland. Jyvaskyla is an important railway junction. Paper and plywood production, metallurgy and wool-dyeing sectors, food processing, pharmaceutical factories and a weapons production units are its major industries. Vantaa: Vanta boasts of the main airport of Finland. It is an important manufacturing hub. Tampere: Tampere has many modern architectural buildings. It is an important air and railway center. Mechanical, automation, information and communication sector, biotechnology and paper industries are its backbone. Hamina and Lappeenranta are the two historic cities in Finland. The fortress of Hamina is located in the town of Vehkalahti. Lappeenranta is positioned on Lake Saimaa and was a thriving medieval trade center. It also served as a fortress on the border of Russia. Rich forests numerous lakes and rivers and marshland have marked the nature of Finland. The autonomous Aland Islands are situated to its southwest coast. It is surrounded by Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, Norway to the north and Estonia to the south over the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Republic of Finland is located in the Fennoscandian region of Europe. Finland possesses one of the advanced economy of Europe. Its service and manufacturing sectors are quite strong.