About Finland
Located
in the northern part of Europe between Sweden and Russia, Finland is the
fifth largest country in Europe. Despite its northern latitude, it
enjoys a milder climate, thanks to the warming influence of the Atlantic
Gulf Stream. It has extensive forests, rural farmlands, coastal regions,
and lakes. With 188,000 lakes, more of the surface area of Finland is
covered in water than any other European country. Most of the population
of Finland can be found in the southern part of the country in major
cities such as Helsinki. The northern part of Finland is populated by
indigenous Sami (Lappish) people. The country is divided into 400
communes which support local hospitals, schools, fire, and police
services, and provide a focal point for the community. A little over
five million people live in Finland. While Finnish is the native
language, many Finns speak English and Swedish. Finland has a
parliamentary democracy with the president as head of state. It has an
elected 200 member Parliament, and the president appoints the prime
minister and Council of State. In 1995, Finland joined the European
Union. Finland’s gross domestic product is one of the highest in the
world, and this, in turn, provides a comfortable standard of living for
its citizens. It is a major shipbuilder and exporter of forest products,
metal, engineering and telecommunications products (e.g. Nokia cell
phones), and it is the third largest exporter of pulp and paper in the
world. Finland is also a producer of chemicals, textiles, and minerals
(silver, iron, and copper), and it is self-sufficient in grain, dairy
production, and some meat products. Typical of an advanced industrial
economy, two-thirds of Finland’s total economic output is generated in
the service industry. Finns love the outdoors and they take part in a
wide range of outdoor activities, including walking, fishing, hunting,
camping, skiing, track and field, basketball, Finnish baseball, ice
hockey, cycling, and boating. The sauna is a traditional way for Finns
to relax and socialize, and a popular activity among all ages of Finns
is to go straight from a hot sauna in a summer cottage to a cool, clear
lake nearby for an invigorating swim!
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Finnish
Educational System Finns are required to attend school for a minimum of 9 years, beginning
at age seven, and then may attend a vocational school or complete three
years of secondary school. Many Finns go on to a university where a
typical Bachelor’s degree takes 3 years to complete and a Master’s degree requires 5 years of studies. Most Finnish students choose to study a Master’s degree as their first
degree. Students receive one credit for 40 hours of work, and 15-20
credits for one semester of full-time study. The Finnish grading system
is based on scale of 1-3 or 1-5 which correspond to “pass,” “good,” and
“excellent.”
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