Total Area

338,000 square kilometres, of which 10% is water and 69% forest

188,000 lakes, 5,100 rapids, and 179,584 islands

Distances

1,160 km north to south, 540 km west to east

Finland's land border with Russia (1,269 km) is the eastern border of the European Union.

Population

• 5.3 million, 17 inhabitants per square kilometre
• 67% live in towns or urban areas, 33% in rural areas
• About one million people live in the Helsinki metropolitan area.

Language

The two official languages in Finland are Finnish and Swedish.  About 91.5 percent of the population speak Finnish and 5.5 percent speak Swedish.  Both languages are compulsory at school.  English is widely spoken in Finland, especially among younger people and in major cities.

Economy

In 2006, Finland's GNP per capita was around 31,886 euros (ca. USD 40,036).

Currency

The Finnish currency unit is the euro.  Finland was one of the 12 EU countries that started using euro cash in 2002.