Finland

The official name of Finland is the Republic of Finland. It is located in Northern Europe on the Baltic Sea coast.  It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, across from Estonia.  Helsinki is the capital and largest city. The vast majority of the population are ethnic Finns. Finnish and Swedish are the official languages. The southern regions of Finland have a humid continental climate, while the northern regions have a subpolar climate. Finland has about 168,000 lakes and 179,000 islands. Its largest lake, Saimaa, is the fourth largest in Europe. The Finnish Lakeland is the area with the most lakes in the country. The landscape is covered mostly by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little cultivated land. Of the total area, 10% is lakes, rivers, and ponds, and 78% is forest. The forest consists of pine, spruce, birch, and other species. Finland is the largest producer of wood in Europe and among the largest in the world. 

Lapland is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. Lapland has the highest tourism consumption of any Finnish region. Above the Arctic Circle, in midwinter, there is a polar night, a period when the sun does not rise for days or weeks, or even months, and correspondingly, midnight sun in the summer, with no sunset even at midnight (for up to 73 consecutive days, at the northernmost point). Finnish Lapland is also locally regarded as the home of Santa Claus, with several theme parks, such as Santa Claus Village and Santa Park in Rovaniemi. The Finns' love for saunas is generally associated with Finnish cultural tradition in the world. Sauna is a type of dry steam bath practised widely in Finland, which is especially evident in the strong tradition around Midsummer  and Christmas.

Finland largely remained an agrarian country until the 1950s. After World War II, it rapidly industrialised and developed an advanced economy. Most of the economic development is based on two broad groups of export-led industries, the "metal industry" and "forest industry".

Finnish cuisine keeps alive the past traditions of this nation. When the ancient Finns were fishermen and hunters, fish and wild animal meat formed the basis of their national cuisine. Potatoes, meat and fish play a prominent role in traditional Finnish dishes. Finnish foods often use wholemeal products (rye, barley, oats) and berries (such as bilberries, lingonberries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn). Milk and its derivatives like buttermilk are commonly used as food and drink. The most popular fish food in Finland is salmon. Some of the most popular Finnish dishes are Karelian pasty, fried vendace and fried Baltic herring. Karelian pasty is a traditional Finnish dish made from a thin rye crust with a filling of barley or rice. Fried Baltic herring is a popular and wholesome Finnish dish. It is usually accompanied with boiled or mashed potatoes. Fried vendace is a summer-time delicacy in Finland. The fish are fried, served, and eaten whole, usually accompanied with garlic sauce. Finland has the world's second highest per capita consumption of coffee.

Activity 1: Read the text and answer the questions: 

1. What is the official name of Finland?

2. What countries does Finland border with?

3. What is the capital city of Finland?

4. What is the official language of Finland?

5. Which dishes form the basis of Finnish national cuisine?

6. How many lakes are there in Finland?

Activity 2. Match the words with the correct definitions:

1. landscape

2. consumption

3. associated

4. tradition

5. industry 

1.  economic activity concerned with the processing of raw materials and manufacture of goods in factories.

2. all the visible features of an area of countryside or land

3. the action of using up a resource

4. (of a person or thing) connected with something else

5. the transmission of customs or beliefs from generation to generation, or the fact of being passed on in this way

Activity 3: Further reading - Go online and find interesting things about Finland in order to answer these questions:

Trivia questions about Finland: 

1. What is the largest lake in Finland?

2. What kind of climate does Finland have?

3. What is the largest and northernmost region of Finland?

4. How many regions does Finland consist of?

5. What are the most popular sports in Finland?

6. Which Kingdom was Finland incorporated into in 1155?

7. The Finnish economy is based on which export industry group?

8. What is the most common dry steam bath in Finland?

9. What does Finland produce the largest in Europe and the world?

10. What are the largest cities or towns in Finland?