Living in Finland

Facts

Finland - Suomi in Finnish - is the seventh largest country in Europe in terms of area.
To the west lies Sweden, to the north Norway, to the east Russia and to the south Estonia.
After Iceland and Norway, Finland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe.
Finnish time is officially two hours ahead of the global standard time, or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT+2). Daylight saving time, one more hour ahead of GMT, is being used from the last Sunday of March to the last Sunday of October (GMT+3).
The electricity current in use in Finland is 230 volts (220 - 240 V) and 50 Hz alternating current.

The climate in Finland is milder than in many other areas of the same latitude.
Although the mean temperature may exceed +20 degrees Celsius in the warmest summer months, the long-term average is between +14 and +18 degrees Celsius in July, and between -6 and -8 degrees Celsius in February.
Snow usually arrives in October or November and lasts till the end of April.
During the summer it never gets really dark, and in the north the sun does not set at all for some time - it is called the Midnight Sun. During the winter months there are six hours of full daylight in the south while for two months far in the north the sun never rises above the horizon.

More information about the climate:
»Finnish Meteorological Institute

Finland is a member of the European Monetary Union, and has adopted euro (€), on 1 January 2002.
There are bank notes of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 and 500 euros. Coins consist of 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, and 1 and 2 euros; the 1 and 2 cent coins are usually not accepted in Finland as cash prices are rounded up or down to the nearest 5 cents.

Finland is a bilingual country, both Finnish and Swedish being official languages. 92 per cent of the population speaks Finnish as their mother tongue and 6 per cent Swedish. Most of the Swedish speakers live along the south and west coasts.
Lappish is spoken by about 2,200 people living in Lapland.
The most widely studied foreign language is English, followed by German and French.

Finns are said to be relatively quiet and shy, but straightforward and honest.
Finns have a special passion for sports, such as ice-hockey, cross-country skiing or javelin throwing. Ski-jumping, motor-racing, orienteering and Finnish baseball, also belong to the national pastimes.
Finnish families are typically small, few having more than two children. Single parents are not uncommon, and there is an increasing number of "new families". Marriage is common, but it is just as common for people to live together for some years before getting married.
It should be pointed out that there is a strong tradition of female emancipation in Finland. About 50 per cent of women with children under 18 years have a regular job, and well over 50 per cent of university students are female.

Public Holidays: