@Finland
Introduction Finland
Background:
Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the
12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia
after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World
War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist
invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory.
In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable
transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern
industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western
Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only
Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January
1999.
Geography Finland
Location:
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and
Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia
Geographic coordinates:
64 00 N, 26 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 338,145 sq km
land: 304,473 sq km
water: 33,672 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries: total: 2,681 km border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km