n.
officially Republic of Finland
Country, northern Europe.
Area: 130,559 sq mi (338,145 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 5,201,000. Capital: Helsinki . The majority of the people are Finns; there is a small Sami (Lapp) population in Lapland . Languages: Finnish, Swedish (both official); the Sami speak a Finno-Ugric language. Religions: Lutheranism, Finnish (Greek) Orthodoxy. Currency: euro. Finland is about 725 mi (1,165 km) long and a maximum of 340 mi (550 km) wide; one-third of the country is north of the Arctic Circle. Heavily forested, Finland contains thousands of lakes, numerous rivers, and extensive areas of marshland. Except for a small highland region in the extreme northwest, most of the country lies less than 600 ft (180 m) above sea level. The south has relatively mild weather; the north has severe and prolonged winters and short summers. Finland has a developed free-market economy combined with state ownership of a few key industries. It is among the wealthiest countries in Europe and in the world. Lumbering is a major industry, and manufacturing is highly developed; service industries are also notable. Finland is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Archaeological discoveries have led some to suggest that human habitation in Finland dates back at least 100,000 years. Ancestors of the Sami apparently were present in Finland by about 7000 BC. The ancestors of the present-day Finns came from the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland in the 1st millennium BC. The area was gradually Christianized from the 11th century AD. From the 12th century Sweden and Russia contested for supremacy in Finland, until in 1323 Sweden ruled most of the country. Russia was ceded part of Finnish territory in 1721; in 1808 Alexander I of Russia invaded Finland, which in 1809 was formally ceded to Russia. The subsequent period saw the growth of Finnish nationalism. Russia's losses in World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917 set the stage for Finland's independence in 1917. Finland was defeated by the Soviet Union in the Russo-Finnish War (193940) but then sided with Nazi Germany against the Soviets during World War II and regained the territory it had lost. Facing defeat again by the advancing Soviets in 1944, it reached a peace agreement with the Soviet Union, ceding territory and paying reparations. Finland's economy recovered after World War II. It joined the European Union in 1995.