Soome

Quick Facts:

Area:	337,030 sq. km
Population:	5,183,545 (July 2002 est.)
Capital:	Helsinki
Language:	Finnish 93.4% and Swedish 5.9%(both official)
Religion:	Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Greek Orthodox 1%
Currency:	Euro
YFUs web site:	www.yfu.fi

Introduction

Finland is famous for its midnight sun in summer and the dark period, called “kaamos” during the winter. Finland is a modern Scandinavian country. It is an industrial country but it also offers much unspoiled scenic beauty and glorious wildlife. Finland is a long, narrow country. In the early summer, when people are sunning themselves on the beaches in the south, those in the north are still skiing.

Short Facts

Area: Finland is the seventh largest country in Europe, slightly larger than The Philippines. Finland is located in the northern part of Europe. Its neighboring countries are Sweden to the West, Norway to the North and Russia to the East. South of Finland is the Gulf of Finland, which is part of the Baltic Sea. Finland is known as the land of a thousands lakes. Forests, lakes and rivers dominate the landscape. It has approximately 180,000 lakes.

Climate: The climate is continental, somewhat tempered by the Gulf Stream. Summers are short with the “long white nights” and winters are cold and snowy. The winter temperatures can drop down to -15°C in January and February, while in the north it's often below -30°C during the winter months. When summer rolls around and the midnight sun does its thing, expect about 15°C in the north and around 20°C in the south (although it can get above 30°C).

Population: The Finnish population rate has a very low density and due to the country’s extreme northern location. Most people live in its southern tip of the country. The Finns form the main ethnic group (93%). Other groups are Swedes, Samis, Romas and Tatars.

Language: Finnish is a Uralic language that belongs to the Finno-Ugric group. It is closely related to Estonian and Karelian. The most widely spoken of the Finno-Ugric languages is Hungarian, butsimilarities with Finnish are few. With 6% of the population speaking Swedish, Finland is officially a bilingual country. Finlandssvenska, or 'Finland's Swedish', is very similar to the language spoken in Sweden, but local dialects have many Finnish words. Finland also has small Lapp and Russian speaking minorities.

Religion: Finland has two state churches: the Evangelical Lutheran and the Orthodox Church. About ninety percent of the population belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Even though most people belong to this church, Finns often do not attend church services except on holidays.

Government: Finland is a republic. The legislative power consists of 200 members of Parliament (Eduskunta) and the President. Executive power is vested in the President and and presidentialappointed Council of State which is accountable to the Parliament. The civil law system is based on Swedish laws.

History: A mission, sent by the king of Sweden, brought the heathen tribes of Finland into contact with the Christian religion and under Swedish rule for centuries. It also made Finland a continuous battlefield between East and West. As a result of these wars Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy under the Czar of Russia in 1809, with its own constitution, civil service, army and currency. In connection with the Russian revolution, Finland declared independence on December 6th 1917 following its earlier development of national identity. The twenty years that followed were times of strong economic and social progress. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice. As a result of these wars, Finland had to cede one-tenth of its land to the Soviets and resettle over 400,000 citizens from these areas. In 1948, Finland signed a friendship treaty with the Soviet Union, which acknowledged Finnish neutrality. As a Nordic nation, Finland shares its values of freedom, democracy and equality with its Scandinavian neighbors. Finland stays outside the conflicts of interest between the great powers and maintains good relationships with all nations. In 1995, Finland became a member of the European Union and was the only Scandinavian country to join the Euro at its initiation in January 1999. In February 2000, the first female president, Tarja Halonen was elected.

Economy: Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy. Finland’s raw materials include timber and several minerals, but the country depends on the import of other raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods. Wood, paper, metal and engineering are the key industries. Major trading partners are the EU, the USA and Japan and the major trade products are foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textiles and grains. Finland was ranked the most technologically developed country according to the United Nation Development Program (UNDP). In April 2001, 75.6% of all Finns posessed a mobile phone. In 2000, the Finns sent a total of nearly a billion text messages through their mobiles. The latest trend are text message chat shows, where people pay to have their SMS displayed on TV. Internet use is on the rise as well. In February 2001, roughly one out of every eight residents subscribed to a Finnish internet service provider. Free internet access is widespread around the country, allowing visitors to log on in museums, cafés and shopping centers.

Education: The school system is divided into pre-school, comprehensive school (6-16 years old), upper secondary and / or vocational school, and higher education (university or vocational institutes). In Finnish schools, great emphasis is put on foreign language education. The three-year upper secondary school maintains the traditional general academic education. A student can also choose a vocational school, e.g. business school, or corresponding study at high school.

Family life: Finnish people are easygoing and hospitable and families are closeknit. In present-day families, often both parents work and children are expected to help with the chores. Children are allowed quite a lot of freedom in their comings and goings. Finland is a relatively safe country and has an extremely good public transportation system. With independence comes responsibility and this is something that young people are always expected to have. Finns maintain high ideals of loyalty and reliability. Promises and agreements are always taken seriously. Although Finnish families tend to be small (3.5 persons on average) and there is talk of the dwindling significance of the family, life in Finland still tends to revolve around the home, whether this is the traditional mom and dad and two kids or other combinations. Children often spend many years studying nowadays (partly because many students also have temporary jobs), so that Finns are often nearly 30 when they enter working life. Largely because of this, the age to get married has also risen over the past couple of decades. Nowadays, the average age to get married is 28 for women and 30 for men.

Meals: The Finnish food has elements from both the Russian and the Swedish kitchen, but Finland also has its own specialties. The potato is a very important part of almost any meal and is served with various fish or meat sauces. Very traditional meals include snow grouse, reindeer stew and grilled salmon. Dark rye bread is a specialty and a very traditional food of Finland.

Recreation: In winter, ice and snow related sports are very popular and in summer sports like soccer, basketball and track are practiced. Reading and watching TV is popular all year round. In the summer time, there are lots of festivals in Finland with concerts, exhibitions, plays and displays of handicrafts. Most Finns have a summer cottage where they spend their weekends and vacations relaxing, boating, fishing and much more. A typical Finnish way of relaxation is the sauna. Almost every family has its own.

YFU Finland

YFU Finland was founded in 1958. It is a non-profit organization registered in Finland. The office is located in the capital of Helsinki. In addition to the professional staff, there is an efficient network of area representatives and returnee clubs. The Board of YFU Finland consists of 12 members who are parents, returnees, and experts in several fields.

Exchange activities for inbound students: When students first arrive in Finland they go to an Arrival Orientation, which usually lasts three to four days. In the middle of the year there is a Mid-year orientation, which is held locally and at the end there is a Reentry orientation, which is also held locally. There is also an optional five-day trip to Lapland.

Common Phrases

English	Finnish
Hello!	Hei, moi
How are you?	Mitä kuuluu?
Good morning	Hyvää huomenta
My name is	Minun nimeni on
Goodbye	Näkemiin
Yes	Kyllä
No	Ei