29 Fascinating Finland Facts That Will Blow Your Mind

Finland is a country in northern Europe and it borders the Baltic Sea.

Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, is the largest city in the country. Swedish and Finnish are recognized official languages and the country is bordered by Russia, Norway, and Sweden.

Finland is one of the world's northernmost countries. This Nordic country is one of the most beautiful countries in the world.

It is known as the home of Santa Claus, the 'land of the midnight sun', and offers gorgeous scenery in the form of the Northern Lights. Helsinki, the country's capital, houses numerous foreigners and is densely populated.

Over the years, Finland has seen a vast improvement in the quality of life thanks to the various efforts taken by the government including free education and gender equality. The country has achieved great recognition by providing the world with various inventions that have made day-to-day life much easier than before.

If you like this article about Finland facts, be sure to check out fun facts articles about Austria facts and Belgium facts too!

What is Finland famous for?

Finland is known as the land of a thousand lakes because of the numerous lakes that the country has! There are around 187,188 lakes in the country with 57,000 of them being larger than 110,000 sq ft (10,000 sq m).

Finland prides itself in its egalitarian society that works towards achieving gender equality. Finland was the first European country to provide voting rights to women. Anneli Jäätteenmäki, the first female prime minister was appointed in April 2003, and this came with the country becoming the only European country to have a female prime minister and president.

Matti Makkonen, a Finnish engineer, is known as the inventor of text messaging. Matti first introduced the idea in 1984 and a computer sent the first text message. A few years down the line, Nokia brought the first text message phone to the world.

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, can be seen in the Finnish Lapland as well as in some other regions of Finland. In the winter season, the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis can appear for a period of more than 200 nights in a year.

Finland ranks at the top of the world's happiest country rankings. Nordic countries are consistently found at the top of the annual World Happiness Report, but other countries were overtaken by Finland in 2020.

The rankings are based on various factors of a country. Freedom of life, strength, life expectancy, and corruption are some of the factors that help decide a country's place in the rankings.

Finland is home to the second-longest tunnel in the world. The Päijänne Water Tunnel, in southern Finland is a 74.5 mi (120 km) long tunnel. The tunnel is used as a freshwater supply to the population. United States' Delaware Aqueduct is the longest, however, at a length of 84.9 mi (136.7 km).

Finland Population

After the events of World War II, Finland saw a spike in emigration, but since the 1990s, the country has seen prosperity. With the end of the Soviet Union, the immigration policies were tweaked which led to a rise in the number of immigrants that came to the country.

People from Sweden, Russia, Somalia, and Estonia came in large numbers to the country.

Based on statistical data, Finland's population is estimated at around 5,552,483 as of 2021. This population is slightly larger than that of Norway. Helsinki, the capital of Finland, houses around half of the country's foreign population. People with Indian and Somali backgrounds are denser in population in the capital.

Facts About Finland Culture

Finland prides itself on its free education system which stands even at the university level. International students from EES/EU region can also access free education.

By the 13th century, Christianity had spread into Finland. As of today, Finland is one of the most homogeneous regions in Europe, and in all of Scandinavia, Finland has the highest church membership percentage and so you could say that in Finland, religion is an important aspect of the culture.

Finland has one of the most active heavy metal music scenes in the world. Finns love the genre so much that there are educational metal bands featuring dinosaurs for children!

English is spoken by almost 63% of the population. A small percentage of the population also speaks Russian. The Sami language is the language of the indigenous people.

The brown bear is the national animal of Finland. The current population count of brown bears is estimated at around 2,000 individuals.

The indigenous Sami tribe or group is the only native group that is recognized by the European Union. It is assumed that the Sami people were the first Finnish speakers in the region before they moved north to the country to modern-day Lapland.

'Sisu' which roughly translates to bravery, grit, or determination is the favorite word of the Finnish culture. Finns love the importance of the word and it is engraved deep into Finnish tradition.

Swedish is seen as an important language in Finland and young children are taught Swedish in schools alongside Finnish because Swedish is recognized as an official language in the country.

Ice hockey is one of the most-watched sports in Finland. Teemu Selänne, an ice hockey legend from Finland, scored 684 goals during the entirety of his NHL career.

Weird Facts About Finland

Finland kept its place as the least corrupt country in the world for a good amount of time. It has now slipped to 3rd in the ranking.

The Finnish people love coffee. It is estimated that Finns drink around 12 kg of coffee per year! This staggering amount puts the coffee consumption of an average Finn three to four times that of an American.

Each year Finland shrinks in size as it is still healing from the ice age.

Finland got its independence in 1917 and it was ruled by both the Russian Empire and the Swedish during their history. The Russian reign lasted for 108 years and the Swedish reign for 600 years. Due to this, a small part of the Finnish population uses Swedish as a mother tongue.

Polar night is an event when the sun in Finland does not rise for 51 days in the winter season. Lapland and other parts of Finland close to the Arctic Circle see this event unfolding and are known as the 'Land of the Midnight Sun'.

The famous mobile game 'Angry Birds' was created by Jaakko Iisalo, a Finnish man. Angry Birds went on to be one of the most popular games of its time, as it spun off into sequels and movies.

One of the most astounding fun facts about Finland is that it has more than two million saunas! The Finnish sauna count is a cultural heritage of the Finnish people.

In fact, 'sauna' is the one Finnish word that is used outside Finland. There are actually more saunas in Finland than there are cars. There's a sauna even in a Burger King!

National Failure Day was created by Finland in 2010, this day serves as an opportunity for the Finnish people to educate themselves from mistakes. The day is celebrated on 13 October each year.

Finland is known for hosting weird sports events. Some of the bizarre past-times of the country include wife-carrying (the first prize is your wife's weight in beer), swamp soccer, mosquito hunting, mobile phone throwing, and the Air Guitar World Championship.

The Finnish have two major languages; Finnish and Swedish. The Sami population uses Sami as their regional language.

The Finnish language is ranked among 10 of the most difficult languages to learn in the world. Even though Finland is seen as another part of the Scandinavian region, the country has nothing in common with its neighbors. The closest relative to the Finnish language is the Hungarian language.

Finland has a TV tax. Yes, you read that right! The Finns have to pay TV tax even if they do not own a TV.

Did You Know?

Among other Nordic countries, Finland is the only country that has adopted the Euro as the official currency of the Finnish people. Denmark opted out of using the Euro.

If you visit Finland during Christmas, chances are high that you might come to know that Finland claims to be the home of Santa Claus or Saint Nicholas. According to Finnish people, Santa Claus lives in Lapland's northern region.

The population of large animals, mostly predators like wolves and bears, has seen a steep decline because of over-hunting in the forest regions of the Finnish territory. There are around 1,500 bears, 300 wolves, 150 wolverines, and 2,500 lynxes. The flora, on the other hand, is thriving and there are around 1,000 flowering plant species.

Reindeers are commonly found in Finland and are a part of its identity. There are an estimated 190,000 reindeer in the country that can often be seen near human settlements.

The forests in Finland are completely indigenous, meaning hardly any native trees can be found in the wild.

Finland is the biggest consumer of milk in the world. The country holds the top spot for milk consumption per person. Even with this high milk consumption, 17% of the Finnish populate is lactose intolerant.

The Saimaa ringed seal, one of the most endangered seal species can be found in Finland in Lake Saimaa. As of now, there are only 380 individuals left in the lake. It is assumed that these seals came to the region after the lake was cut from the sea during the ice age.

Of all the passports in the world, Finland has the passport that is the most useful. You can travel to 175 countries without a visa if you have a Finnish passport.

Finland is known to the rest of the world as Finland, but the Finnish people call their country Suomi. The earliest recorded use of the name Finland comes from a Scandinavian runestone.

Finland's capital city, Helsinki, was founded by King Gustav I when Sweden controlled Finland.

The highest peak in Finland is situated in the Haiti mountain peak between the border of Norway and Finland. Ráisduattarháldi, the peak stands at an elevation of 4478 ft (1365 m).

Finland was the first country to make internet access a legal right for its citizens.

The city of Tampere in southern Finland is an open-air museum that provides an in-depth look at the lives of Finnish workers in the previous century. The museum holds monuments like a steam engine.

Finland's press is rated as the second freest press in the world as of 2021. Prior to this, Finland held the first spot multiple times.

Finland is one of the most forested areas in all of Europe. Forested areas account for 74% of the land area of the country.

The forests and the lakes give Finland its unique nature. Birch, fir, and pine are the commonly found tree species in the forests. With this large landmass being covered with forest, the country is also full of marshlands.

The origin of the name Suomi, as the country is known by locals, is from the word 'suo', which translates to 'bog'. The damp soil is frequently drained by farmers.

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