Facts and figures

Population
5.3 million, about 1.25 million people live in the Helsinki metropolitan area

Principal cities
Helsinki, Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa, Turku, and Oulu

Languages
Finland is officially bilingual: Finnish is the first language of 92%, and Swedish of 5.5% of the population. About 1,700 people in Lapland speak Sami (Lapp) languages. Many Finns speak English, German or some other European language.

Currency
Euro. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995.

Environment
338,000 square kilometres, of which 10% is water and 69% forest;  187 888 lakes and Europe's largest archipelago.

People
Finnish society is orderly, peaceful and functioning. Environmental values, education, equality and honesty are highly valued among people.

Economy
In 2008, Finland's GNP per capita was around 35 040 euros. Main trading partners were Russia, Germany, Sweden, China, the United Kingdom and the United States.