Finland

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Coordinates: 64°N 26°E / 64°N 26°E / 64; 26

Republic of Finland Suomen tasavalta  (Finnish) Republiken Finland  (Swedish) Flag Coat of arms Anthem:  Maamme  (Finnish) Vårt land  (Swedish) Our Land Location of  Finland  (dark green)

– in Europe  (green & dark grey) – in the European Union  (green)  — 

Capital and largest city Helsinki 60°10′N 024°56′E / 60.167°N 24.933°E / 60.167; 24.933 Official languages Finnish (90.0%) Swedish (5.4%) Recognised regional languages Sami (0.03%) Demonym Finnish Finn Government Parliamentary republic  -  President Sauli Niinistö  -  Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen (NCP)  -  Speaker of the Parliament Eero Heinäluoma (SDP) Legislature Eduskunta Independence  -  Autonomy within Russia 29 March 1809   -  Independence from Soviet Russia 6 December 1917   -  First recognized by Soviet Russia 4 January 1918   -  European Union Membership 1 January 1995  Area  -  Total 338,424 km2 (64th) 130,596 sq mi   -  Water (%) 10 Population  -  2012 estimate 5,421,827 (112th)  -  2000 census 5,180,000  -  Density 16/km2 (201st) 41/sq mi GDP (PPP) 2012 estimate  -  Total $197.476 billion  -  Per capita $36,395 GDP (nominal) 2012 estimate  -  Total $250.126 billion  -  Per capita $46,098 Gini (2000) 26.9 low HDI (2013)  0.892 very high · 21st Currency Euro (€) (EUR) Time zone EET (UTC+2)  -  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3) Date format d.m.yyyy Drives on the right Calling code +358 ISO 3166 code FI Internet TLD .fi .ax a a. The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states. The .ax domain is reserved for the autonomous province of the Åland Islands.

Finland (i/ˈfɪnlənd/;  Finnish: Suomi (help·info); Swedish: Finland), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden to the west, Norway to the north and Russia to the east, while Estonia lies to the south across the Gulf of Finland.

An estimated 5.4 million people live in Finland, with the majority concentrated in its southern regions. In terms of area, it is the eighth largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Politically, it is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital of Helsinki, local governments in 336 municipalities and an autonomous region, the Åland Islands (making Finland a federacy). About one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area (consisting of Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa) and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Lahti and Kuopio.

From the 12th until the start of the 19th century, Finland was a part of Sweden. It then became an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire until the Russian Revolution. This prompted the Finnish Declaration of Independence, which was followed by a civil war where the pro-Bolshevik "Reds" were defeated by the pro-conservative "Whites" with support from the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a monarchy in the country, Finland became a republic. Finland's experience of World War II involved three separate conflicts: the Winter War (1939–1940) and Continuation War (1941–1944) against the Soviet Union; and the Lapland War (1944–1945) against Nazi Germany. Following the end of the war, Finland joined the United Nations in 1955, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 1969, the European Union in 1995 and the eurozone at its inception in 1999. During this time, it built an extensive Nordic-style welfare state.

Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. Thereafter, economic development was rapid, such that today, with a nominal per-capita income of over $49,000 (2011), Finland is one of the world's wealthiest nations. According to some measures, Finland has the best educational system in Europe and has recently been ranked as one of the world's most peaceful and economically competitive countries. It has also been ranked as one of the world's countries with the highest quality of life. According to Newsweek magazine Finland is "the best country in the world".