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Population: 5,537,364
Capital: Helsinki
Major cities: Espoo, Oulu, Turku
Land Area: 130,558 sq. mi.
Land area of New Mexico: 121,589 sq. mi.
Landforms and water features: More than 180,000 lakes and other bodies of water cover the landscape. Forests cover about three-quarters of the country's surface . Only 7% of the land is arable. The terrain is low and flat in the south, but gives way to rolling plains and low hills in the north, and a few minor mountains are found in the far north of Lapland.
Climate: Although Finland is located at about the same latitude as Alaska, Siberia, and southern Greenland, its climate is changed by its many lakes, the warming North Atlantic current, and the Baltic Sea. Still, winters are long and cold, with average temperatures below freezing. Summers are short and cool, averaging from 63°F to 68°F (17°C–20°C), but sometimes there are warm spells.
North of the Arctic Circle, the sun remains above the horizon day and night in the summer, and below the horizon day and night in the winter. The beautiful aurora borealis lights up winter nights in the north. South of the Arctic Circle, where most of the population lives, summer days tend to last 18 to 19 hours, and the nights are never completely dark. By contrast, midwinter daylight usually lasts only six hours, and the sun stays low on the horizon throughout the day.
Native plant and animal life: Finland is made up of about 72% forest. Finland has relatively plentiful wildlife. Seabirds, such as the black-backed gull and the arctic tern, nest in great quantities on the coastal islands, and waterfowl, such as the black and white velvet scoter duck, tend to nest on inland lakes. Some other birds include: the Siberian jay, the pied wagtail, and, in the north, the eagle. Many birds migrate south for the winter. Finland is the breeding site for many water and wading birds, including the vast majority of the world’s goldeneyes and broad-billed sandpipers (Limicola falcinellus). Native woodland animals include bear, elk, wolf, wolverine, lynx, and Finnish elk. There are almost no wild reindeer, they have almost disappeared; those that remain in the north are domesticated.
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