Createinfographics

Ibetyoudidn'tknowthis

aboutFINLAND

5,4 million15,8 inhabitants per km²

338,424 km²Fifth-largest country in WesternEurope

December 6th, 1917Declaration of independence.Previously a grand duchy in theRussian empire for 108 years, and apart of Sweden for 600 years beforethat.

"Our land"The Finnish national anthem, withwords by Johan Ludvig Runebergand music by Fredrik Pacius, wasfirst performed in 1848 by studentscelebrating Flora Day (May 13) in ameadow belonging to KumtähtiManor in Helsinki. It was sung inSwedish. Estonia's national anthemhas the same melody as Finland's.

75%of the country's area is covered byforests.

188.000 lakesMore than any other country. Tapwater in Finland is drinkable and ofexcellent quality with a fresh taste.

180.000 islandsEurope's largest archipelago formedby approximately 95.000 islandsalong the coast.

3,3M saunas99% of Finns take a sauna at leastonce a week

FinlandwasthefirstEuropean

countrytograntwomenboththe

righttovoteandtherighttostand

forelectionin1906.NewZealand

grantedwomentherighttovotein

1893andAustraliaallowedwomen

tobothvoteandstandforelection

in1902.

91%speakFinnishastheirfirst

language,while5.4%speak

Swedish.Sámiisthemothertongue

ofroughly1,700indigenousSámi

peopleinnorthernLapland.

Finnish Swedish Other

Finlandrankssecondoutof86

countriesaroundtheworldwhen

theWorldWideWeb'scontribution

tosocial,economicandpolitical

progressismeasured.

Denmark Finland Norway UK Turkey

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 100

98,81

97,32

95,67

53,30

Finlandenjoysoneofthehighest

standardsoflivinginEurope

accordingtothelatestrankingby

Eurostat,thestatisticalofficeofthe

EuropeanUnion.

(ImagebyJuhoKuva/VisitHelsinki)

Finlandisstillseenasoneofthe

leastcorruptcountriesintheworld.

TransparencyInternational’s

CorruptionPerceptionsIndexfor

2014hasagainrankedFinland

third,afterDenmarkandNew

Zealand.

Denmark NewZealand Finland Sweden Norway

90

80

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0 92

91

89

87

86

Finnsarecoffee-lovingpeople

(annualcoffeeconsumptionin

kilogramsin2009)

Finland USA Sweden

11,92

4,09

7,35

(ImagebyEwanBell)

AquarterofFinland'sarealies

northoftheArcticCircle.

(ImagebyHannuHuovila/Vastavalo)

"Sauna"isaFinnishword

"Allmenarecreatedequal;butnowhere

moresothaninasauna"

Finnishsaying

(ImagebyJussiHellsten/VisitHelsinki)

Haveyouheardaboutsaunadiplomacy?FormerpresidentandNobelpeace

prizelaureateMarttiAhtisaariusedsaunadiplomacy-diplomaticmeetings

in the sauna - to move forward peace negotiations from Tanzania to

Indonesia.DuringtheColdWar,UrhoKekkonen-whoservedaspresident

for26years-negotiatedwithSovietdiplomatsinthesaunaathisofficial

residence.

Auroraborealiscanbeseenin

FinnishLapland200nightsayear.

Duringwintertime,100.000Finns

swimatleastonceaweek

InFinlandyoucanfindtheworld’s

rarestseal,theSaimaaringedseal

(ImagebyGuidoMuratore)

GuesswheretheAirGuitarWorld

Championshipstakesplace!

TheBritishBroadcasting

CorporationBBChaschosen

Helsinki’srailwaystationamongthe

tenmostbeautifulrailwaystations.

HelsinkiwasvotedoneoftheTop

15PlacestoGoin2015bythe

CNTravelerEditors

(ImagebyJussiHellsten/VisitHelsinki)

(ImagebyJussiHellsten/VisitHelsinki)

1.000dancersandmusiciansfrom

alloverFinlandgettogetherduring

Helsinki'sSambaCarnavalheld

annuallyinearlyJune

OneofEurope'sbestmusicfestivals

takesplaceinHelsinki

“Afestivalforallthesensesandone

thatsuccessfullymanagestobecool

andcosyatthesametime."

SusanGreenwood/TheGuardian

Ifnoneoftheabovewasenoughto

convinceyoutotraveltoFinland,

thenthefollowingvideomightdo

thetrick!

Sources

MinistryforForeignAffairsofFinland,VisitHelsinki,thisisFINLAND,Visit

Finland,GoodNewsfromFinland.