Finland is a state in the northern part of Europe. She bears the title of the best and most stable country in the world. What characteristics and features does Finland have? The form of government, geographical location and description of the population, see further in the article.
Geography
Finland borders with Norway, Russia, Sweden. By sea, it shares a border with Estonia (along the Gulf of Finland) and Sweden (Gulf of Bothnia). Finland covers 338, 430, 053 square kilometers. More than 20% of the country's territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle.
The coastline of the continental stretches for 46 thousand kilometers. In addition, Finland owns more than 80 thousand islands and archipelagos. The most famous are the Turku archipelago and the Åland Islands.
In the area between the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia is the Archipelago Sea. This is a site in which many small islands, uninhabited rocks and skerries are concentrated. Their total number reaches 50, 000, which makes the archipelago the largest in the country.
The territory of the state is extended in the meridional direction. The length from north to south is 1030 kilometers, the distance from west to east is 515 kilometers. The highest point - Mount Halti - the country shares with Norway. In Finland, its height is 1324 meters.
Finland: form of government and political structure
Finland is a unitary state where the Åland Islands have partial autonomy. The special status of the islands is determined by the Swedish official language, exempts residents of this territory from military service (unlike the rest of Finland), allows you to have your own parliament and much more.
Finland is a parliamentary-presidential republic. The head of state is the president, whose term of office lasts six years. The main ruling structures of the country are located in the capital - the city of Helsinki. The judicial system has several branches and is divided into civil, criminal and administrative courts.
Laws in the country are based on Swedish or civil law. Given that the country is a parliamentary-presidential republic, parliament and the president are responsible for the legislature. Executive power is vested in the President and the Council of State.
What territorial units is Finland divided into? The form of government of the country involves a slightly complicated division. The whole territory is divided into regions, they are divided into cities, which, in turn, are divided into communes. Each unit has its own controls. There are 19 regions in the country.
Population of the country
Approximately 5.5 million people live in the country. The majority of Finland's population lives on only five percent of the country's territory. The overall population growth is negative, the birth rate is lower than the mortality rate. Nevertheless, the total number of inhabitants is increasing.
In recent years, citizens of other countries accounted for approximately 4%. The population of Finland is 89% represented by the Finns. The largest national minority are Finnish Swedes. Russians represent 1.3%, almost 1% belongs to Estonians. The smallest number are Sami and Gypsies.
The first language is Finnish, it is spoken by more than 90% of the population. Together with Swedish, this is the official language of Finland. Only 5.5% of the population speaks Swedish, mainly on the Åland Islands, in the western and southern regions of the state. Among immigrants, Russian, Somali, Arabic and English are common.
Economy
Finland's share in the global economy is modest, in trade it is 0.8%, in production - about 5%. This is a small, highly developed industrial country. GDP per capita is about 45 thousand dollars. The national currency of Finland is the euro; until 2002, the Finnish mark operated.
The industry accounts for the largest share of the country's economy (33%). The main industries are engineering, metallurgy, woodworking, light and food industries. Agriculture is focused on growing crops and meat and dairy farming. It accounts for 6%, forestry - 5%.
The field of Internet technologies is rapidly developing in Finland, and investment attractiveness is increasing. Negative factors of the economy are the country's large external debts and an undeveloped domestic market.
Almost half of the residents are engaged in services, industry and trade, 28% work in forestry, 12% in fisheries. In Finland, there is a tendency towards an aging population, which also negatively affects the development of the country's economy.
Nature
Finland is often called the Land of a Thousand Lakes; there are more than 180 thousand of them. Most of them, along with swamps and swamps, are located in the central part of the country. The largest are the lakes Inari, Oulujärvi, Saimaa, Payanne. All lakes are connected by small rivers, in which waterfalls, rapids and valleys are often formed.
Finland is 60% forested. The relief is represented by hilly plains, in the east - by the plateau. The highest point is in the north, in the rest of the country, the elevations do not exceed three hundred meters. The formation of the relief was significantly affected by glaciation.
The country has a temperate climate, continental in the northern part, in the rest of the territory it is transitional from continental to marine. Active precipitation occurs throughout the year. Summer days are especially long and cool, reaching up to 19 hours. In remote northern areas, sunset does not occur for 73 days. Winters, on the contrary, are short and cold.
Animal and plant world
Finland is characterized by a variety of flora and fauna. Forests cover more than 20 million hectares of the country. It is mainly pine forests located in the central part. They grow a large number of berries (blueberries, cranberries, raspberries, etc.) and mushrooms. In the southern regions beech forests prevail.
In the northern part of the country, vegetation is low. There are no forests, but cloudberry grass is actively growing, forming whole thickets. Spring vegetation is represented by various herbs, such as the liverwort, coltsfoot.
The fauna is widely represented by birds. Whooper swans live in Finland, which have become a symbol of the country. Here you can find finches, lapwings, blackbirds, starlings, herons, cranes. The list of mammals includes wolverines, lynxes, flying squirrels, beavers, brown bears, night bats, wolves, ferrets and, of course, reindeer.
Interesting Facts
- In Finland there are 38 national parks, which are allowed to walk freely by law. Within them there are many parking for the night.
- Tap water in this country is considered the cleanest in the world.
- You don’t have to travel far to see the Northern Lights. You can watch it even in the southern part of the country.
- The local sport is Nordic Walking. It is an ordinary walking with ski poles for weighting. They are engaged in it even in the summer.
- On average, each Finn consumes more than two thousand cups of coffee per year. For this, they earned the title of world coffee lovers.
- In a small town in Finland it is quite possible to meet a deer or a bear right on the street.
