This country is one of those places that, despite having a smaller population than 22 US states, ends up in the American news a lot. So to keep you in the loop, here are 20 fun facts about Finland, with the disclaimer that they’re not all necessarily fun. To help out, I used this book.
1
Modern-day Finland spent a decent chunk of the Common Era (starting in perhaps the 12th century) under the umbrella of Sweden and the Swedish Empire.
2
In 1809, Finland swapped one empire for another, becoming a Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire.
3
In 1917, as the Russian Empire fell, the country that we know today as Finland formally declared independence. Next came a civil war, a few wars against the Soviets resulting in loss of territory, neutrality during the Cold War, and the European Union in 1995. In 2022, after the invasion of Ukraine by Russia—with which Finland shares an 830-mile-long border—the Finns indicated their plan to join NATO. Here’s a map.
4
With a population of 5.5 million, Finland has the lowest population density of any country in the European Union. Its capital and largest city, Helsinki, has a population of about 658,864 (which increases to 1.2 million when the entire urban area is included). Over 90 percent of the country’s residents are of Finnish ethnicity.
5
Among capital cities of independent countries, Helsinki is number two in terms of northern latitude, trailing just Reykjavik, Iceland.
6
Being at one with nature is part of the Finnish experience—the country boasts around 178,947 islands and something like 187,888 lakes larger than five acres. About 75 percent of Finland is covered by forest.
7
In keeping with the whole nature thing, Finland is recognized for having some of the cleanest air in the world as measured by the concentration of PM2.5 (particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in diameter). The country’s average PM2.5 reading of 5 micrograms per cubic meter easily meets the World Health Organization’s recommendation of 10 or under.
8
On a per capita basis, Finland has the 16th largest GDP in the world (21st when adjusted for purchasing power parity). You’ve definitely heard of Nokia and Rovio (think Angry Birds), and other exports include paper/pulp/timber (thanks to those forests), chemicals, machinery, and transport equipment.
9
The official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish. Minority languages do exist, with the Sámi languages being an example. (The Sámi are an indigenous people who inhabit the northern reaches of Norway, Sweden, and Finland as well as the Kola Peninsula in Russia.) English is spoken widely.
10
The Finnish language is actually in the Uralic language family, making it one of the rare European languages that is not included in the Indo-European family of languages. In other words, despite historical and geographic ties to Sweden and Russia, when it comes to to language, Finnish is its own beast, sharing perhaps the most similarities with Estonian. (As a side note, if you want to sound smart, the Finnish word for Finland is Suomi.)
11
The term Nordic can be used in reference to Finland along with Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and territories belonging to any of those countries. Scandinavian is generally reserved for Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
12
With part of the country lying north of the Arctic Circle, Finland experiences some unique solar-related phenomena, namely the Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun (i.e. unending daylight for part of the year). Of course, the latter is balanced by one of the less fun facts about Finland—a couple months of nearly unending darkness in the northern regions.
13
Based on historical population bottlenecks (severe and rapid reductions in population size), relative isolation, and an impressive network of biobanks, Finland is considered a gold mine when it comes to genetics research.
14
Education—including university education—is largely free in Finland. Of course, that means taxes must be on the high side, and the highest marginal tax rate does approach 60 percent.
15
In 1906, Finland (while still an autonomous part of the Russian Empire) became the first “country” in the world to grant women the right to vote and run for office. Today, it is number two on the Global Gender Gap Index (again behind the pesky Icelanders), and its head of government is Prime Minister Sanna Marin, the third woman to hold that post.
16
Based on the World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world.
17
Finland is known for its saunas, estimated to number in the range of two million! (The word sauna is one of the few Finnish words that has entered the English language.) In fact, there is apparently a sauna at a Burger King in Helsinki (in case you want to sweat profusely while eating a Whopper naked?).
18
Typical culinary delights include reindeer, fish, and salty licorice (salmiakki). It all apparently goes well with coffee, as some sources list the Finns as the largest per-capita coffee consumers in the world.
19
The most popular sport in Finland is ice hockey. Along with Canada, Czechia, Russia, Sweden, and the United States, the country is part of a group of national teams that dominates international play known as the “Big Six.” The men’s team won the gold medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and the country has the fourth most players in the NHL after Canada, the United States, and Sweden.
20
Finland is known for having the largest number of heavy metal bands per capita in the world. You might hear terms like folk metal and symphonic metal, though it’s all about the same. Here’s an example.
But alas, I have to end with one of the least fun facts about Finland—the model nation accounts for just 0.07 percent of humanity.
