Flag of Finland
Finland Flag Meaning
The Finnish flag was adopted in 1918 after the Finnish Civil War. The white base of the flag is said to represent Finland’s white snow and the blue cross stands for all watercourses in this “Land of a Thousand Lakes”. The national flag originates from the Finnish sailing association flags to which the Tsar of Russia gave his permission.
Finland Overview
| Population | 5.2 million |
| Currency | Euro |
| Area | 338,130 km2 |
| Capital city | Helsinki |
| Population density | 15.3 residents/km2 |
| HDI location | 16 |
Flat land (average height is 150 m) with hills formed when the glaciers at the end of the ice age receded, as well as lakes that are not particularly deep. Most of the population lives on the coast, which is the country’s primary agricultural area. The economic basis is the utilization of the coniferous forests. The main export products are wood, pulp and paper. Emissions of sulfur dioxide and contaminated water in the Baltic Sea are the most serious environmental problems. Furthermore, the country is threatened by extensive radioactive pollution from Murmansk in northern Russia.
The people: 92.1% of the population is Finnish and 7.5% are Swedish. Furthermore, there are minorities of Gypsies and Sami.
Religion: 2 official church directions: Evangelical Lutheran Church (over 94% of the population), Orthodox Church of Finland (2%).
Languages: Finnish (official, 93.2%), Swedish (official, 6%). A small minority – around 1,700 people – speak lazily.
Political parties: Social Democracy (SDP), center-leftist. The Center Party (KP), formerly called the Agricultural Party. Democratic People’s League. National Coalition Party (KOK), moderately conservative. The Liberal Party. Swedish People’s Party, a liberal party representing the Swedish minority. The Greens. Christian League of Finland. Farmer Party. Communist Party of Finland.
Social organizations: LO with 1,086,000 members distributed across 28 federations.
Official name: Suomen Tasavalta
Administrative division: 12 provinces
Capital: Helsinski, 1,036,000 in 2010 (2010).
Other important cities: Espoo, 219,400 residents; Tampere, 197,200 residents; Turku (Turku), 175,100 residents (2000).
Government: Sauli Niinistö, President since March 2012. Juha Sipilä Prime Minister since May 2015. Parliament has one chamber with 200 seats. Since 1996, the Sami have had their own parliament – sowmediggi – with limited autonomy and the right to cultural legislation.
National Day: December 6 (Independence, 1917)
Armed Forces: 31,100 (1995).
Paramilitary forces: 4,400 (Border Police)