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Geonivora
Country

Finland

Coordinates: 64°00′00″ N 26°00′00″ E

Map showing the location of Finland
Population
5,646,436
5.6M
Continent
Europe
Local time
UTC+02:00
Europe/Helsinki · UTC+02:00

About Finland

Finland is a country in Europe. It is divided into 18 regions. Its population is 5,646,436.

Travel notes for Finland

From Wikivoyage

Finland (Finnish: Suomi, Swedish: Finland) is a country with vast areas of unspoiled nature speckled with comfortable small towns and cities. Scraped flat by sheets of ice during several ice ages, Finland lacks the dramatic mountains and fjords of its Nordic neighbours but makes up for it with 188,000 lakes and a similar number of islands. Finland extends into the Arctic, where the Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun can be seen. The mythical mountain of Korvatunturi is said to be the home of Santa Claus, and there is a Santaland in Rovaniemi.

While Finland is a high-technology welfare state, Finns love to head to their summer cottages in the warmer months to enjoy all manner of relaxing pastimes including sauna, swimming, fishing and barbecuing during the short but bright summer. Finland has a distinctive language and culture that sets it apart from both Scandinavia and Russia. While Finnish culture is ancient, the country only became independent in 1917, shortly after the collapse of the Russian Empire.

Understand+

History:

Not much is known about Finland's early history, with archaeologists still debating when and where a tribe of Finno-Ugric speakers cropped up. The earliest certain evidence of human settlement is from 8900 BC. Roman historian Tacitus mentions a primitive and savage hunter tribe called Fenni in 100 AD, though there is no unanimity whether this means Finns or Sami. Even the Vikings chose not to settle, fearing the famed shamans of the area, and instead traded and plundered along the coasts.

In the mid-1100s Sweden started out to conquer and Christianise the Finnish pagans in earnest, with Birger jarl extending its rule from Finland Proper to Tavastia in the 13th century. The expansion continued, competing with the Orthodox of Novgorod. While the population was Finnish-speaking, the Swedish kings installed a Swedish-speaking class of clergy and nobles in Finland, and enforced Western Christianity, succeeding in eliminating local animism and to a large part even Russian Orthodoxy. Farmers and fishermen from Sweden settled along the coast. Finland remained an integral part of Sweden until the 19th century, although there was near-constant warfare with Russia on the eastern border and two brief occupations. Sweden converted to Lutheran Protestantism, which marked the end of the Middle Ages, led to widespread literacy in Finnish and still defines many aspects of Finnish culture. After Sweden's final disastrous defeat in the Finnish War of 1808–1809, Finland became an autonomous grand duchy under Russian rule.

Get in+

Finland is a member of the Schengen Agreement. See Travelling around the Schengen Area for more information on how the scheme works, what countries are members and what the requirements are for your nationality. In summary:

There are normally no immigration controls between countries that have signed and implemented the treaty; there may be such controls temporarily, such as in connection with important events and various crises.

The operators may carry out identity checks before passengers board international flights, ferries or trains, even between Schengen countries.

Citizens of the EEA countries and Switzerland do not need visas to travel in the Schengen area, and may stay up to 90 days with no requirements other than having a valid ID card or passport. See European Union#EEA citizens.

Normal visas granted by any Schengen member are valid in all countries that have signed and implemented the treaty (with exceptions for some overseas territories). The granting country may offer additional rights (such as longer stays or right to work) that apply only locally.

You can read more about the topic on the Finnish Border Guard's website .

Visas cannot be applied for on the road, but must be applied for in advance, in person at the Finnish embassy in your country or in another designated place (see instructions); for some countries a commercial entity handles the applications. In some countries, the processing of Finnish visa applications may be delegated to the embassy of another Nordic country. Most of the requirements are common for all the Schengen area, but what funds are regarded sufficient varies between countries.

Source: Wikivoyage · CC BY-SA 4.0 · abridged

When to go where in Finland

For each month, cities with mild, fairly dry weather; the figure is that month's average high.

Where to go, month by month →
  1. January -7°

    Oulu

    Tampere -4° · Kuopio -6°

    No ideal places; the closest

  2. February -4°

    Tampere

    Oulu -7° · Jyväskylä -5°

    No ideal places; the closest

  3. March -1°

    Oulu

    Kuopio 0° · Tampere 1°

    No ideal places; the closest

  4. April 4°

    Oulu

    Kuopio 5° · Lahti 7°

    No ideal places; the closest

  5. May 16°

    Lahti

    Tampere 16° · Turku 15°

    No ideal places; the closest

  6. June 20°

    Lahti

    Tampere 20° · Turku 20°

  7. July 22°

    Lahti

    Helsinki 21° · Vantaa 21°

  8. August 20°

    Turku

    Helsinki 20° · Lahti 20°

  9. September 14°

    Turku

    Helsinki 14° · Vantaa 14°

    No ideal places; the closest

  10. October 6°

    Kuopio

    Jyväskylä 6° · Tampere 7°

    No ideal places; the closest

  11. November -1°

    Oulu

    Helsinki 3° · Espoo 3°

    No ideal places; the closest

  12. December -5°

    Oulu

    Tampere -2° · Kuopio -4°

    No ideal places; the closest

Top lists: Finland

Highest mountains in Finland

  1. 1Halti 1,365 m
  2. 2Govddošgáisi 1,107 m
  3. 3Saana 1,029 m
  4. 4Pallastunturi 740 m
  5. 5Ylläs 718 m
See the full list →

Largest cities in Finland

  1. 1Helsinki 658.9K
  2. 2Espoo 256.8K
  3. 3Tampere 244.3K
  4. 4Vantaa 239.2K
  5. 5Oulu 209.6K
See the full list →

Regions of Finland

18 regions
  1. 1 Uusimaa 1.7M
  2. 2 Pirkanmaa 529.1K
  3. 3 Southwest Finland 481.4K
  4. 4 North Ostrobothnia 412.8K
  5. 5 Central Finland Region 275.1K
  6. 6 Northern Savonia 244.2K
  7. 7 Satakunta Region 216.8K
  8. 8 Paijat-Hame 199.6K
  9. 9 South Ostrobothnia 188.7K
  10. 10 Ostrobothnia 180.4K
  11. 11 Lapland Region 177.2K
  12. 12 Kymenlaakso 174.2K
  13. 13 Kanta-Häme 170.9K
  14. 14 North Karelia 161.2K
  15. 15 South Savo 142.3K
  16. 16 South Karelia 127.8K
  17. 17 Kainuu 72.3K
  18. 18 Central Ostrobothnia 67.7K

Bar: population relative to the most populous place in this list.

Nature and heritage in Finland

Other large cities

  1. Helsinki Municipality, Helsinki sub-region
    658.9K
  2. Espoo Municipality, Helsinki sub-region
    256.8K
  3. Vantaa Municipality, Helsinki sub-region
    239.2K
  4. Lahti Municipality, Lahti
    120.1K
  5. Kuopio Municipality, Kuopio
    121.6K
  6. Jyväskylä Municipality, Jyväskylä
    144.5K
  7. Nurmijärvi Municipality, Helsinki sub-region
    44.1K
  8. Salo Municipality, Salo
    51.4K

Other places across Finland

44 places

Mountains & nature4

Lakes, rivers & coasts40

Public holidays in Finland (2026)

  • 1 January, ThursdayNew Year's Day
  • 6 January, TuesdayEpiphany
  • 3 April, FridayGood Friday
  • 5 April, SundayEaster Sunday
  • 6 April, MondayEaster Monday
  • 1 May, FridayMay Day
  • 14 May, ThursdayAscension Day
  • 24 May, SundayPentecost
  • 19 June, FridayMidsummer Eve
  • 20 June, SaturdayMidsummer Day
  • 31 October, SaturdayAll Saints' Day
  • 6 December, SundayIndependence Day
  • 24 December, ThursdayChristmas Eve
  • 25 December, FridayChristmas Day
  • 26 December, SaturdaySecond Day of Christmas

Nationwide public holidays; regional holidays are not included. Dates of religious holidays may shift by a day. Source: python-holidays.

Sources & licences

Data last updated: