Finland is a Nordic country situated in northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Finland is the country of thousands of lakes and islands – 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands. The majority of the islands are found in the southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Aaland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. The landscape in Finland is mostly flat with few hills.

Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a mostly Helsinki-based central government and local governments in 348 municipalities. However before their independence in 1917 they were ruled by the Swedish and the Russians. In 1995 Finland became a member of the European Union and in 2002 the Euro was adopted as the currency of Finland.

Around 5.3 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern part of the country. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area, but the most sparsely populated country in the European Union.

The climate in Finland is humid and cool semi-continental. There is a difference in the climate between Northern Finland and Southern Finland. The climate type in the Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. Summers in the southern Finland are ca 4 months long (from the mid of May to mid of September). Winters of southern Finland are usually 4-5 months long, and the snow covers the land about 4 months of every year. In the southern coast, the snow can melt many times during winter, and then come again. The coldest winter days of southern Finland are usually -20 Celsius degrees cold, while the warmest days of July and early august can be 25-30 Celsius degrees. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterized by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. Summers of northern Finland are quite short, lasting only 2-3 months. Winters of North-Finland are nearly 7 months long and snow covers the land almost 6-7 months every year. A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced – for more days, the farther north one travels. In the winter on the other hand, when the sun does not rise, it is often possible to see the beautiful northern lights, Aurora Borealis.

All photo credits to VisitFinland