5,132,320 (1996).

15.1 per sq km.

Helsinki.

532,053 (1996).

Finland is situated in Scandinavia in the far north of Europe. Bounded to the west by Sweden and the Gulf of Bothnia, to the north by Norway, to the east by the Russian Federation and to the south by the Gulf of Finland, it is the fifth largest country in Europe. There are about 30,000 islands off the Finnish coast, mainly in the south and southwest, and inland lakes containing a further 98,000 islands. The Saimaa lake area is the largest inland water system in Europe. 10% of the total land area is under water, and 65% forest, the country being situated almost entirely in the northern coniferous zone. In the south and southwest the forest is mainly pine, fir and birch. In Lapland, in the far north, trees become more sparse and are mainly dwarf birch. 8% of the land is cultivated.

Republic. Head of State: President Tarja Halonen since 2000. Head of Government: Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen since 1995.

There are two official languages: Finnish, spoken by 93.6% of the population, and Swedish, spoken by 6% of the population. About 1700 people speak Same (Lapp). English is taught as the first foreign language.

90% Evangelical Lutheran, 10% others including Finnish Orthodox, Baptists, Methodists, Free Church, Roman Catholic, Jews and Muslims.

GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Saturday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

220 volts AC, 50Hz. Continental 2-pin plugs are standard.

Telephone: Full IDD is available. Country code: 358. Outgoing international code: 990, 994 or 999. For international number enquiries and tariff information within Finland, callers should dial 020208. Calls made in telephone boxes require Fmk5 and Fmk1 coins. Fax: Many hotels and businesses have fax facilities. Also available in larger post offices in Helsinki. Telegram: These can be left with the nearest post office or hotel desk. Post: Letters and postcards sent by airmail usually take about three days to reach destinations within Europe. Stamps are available from post offices, book and paper shops, stations and hotels. Visitors can have mail sent to them Poste Restante, Central Post Office, Mannerheimintie 11, 00100 Helsinki, which is open 0800-2100 Monday to Friday; 0900-1800 Saturday; and 1100-2100 Sunday. Generally, post offices are open 0900-1700 Monday to Friday, closed Saturday. During winter many town offices are open 0900-1800. Press: There are over 90 daily newspapers including: Aamulehti, Helsingin Sanomat, Ilta-Sanomat and Iltalehti. Seura is a weekly illustrated news magazine and is one of several periodicals. Kauppalehti is one of the leading business newspapers. There are no English-language newspapers published in Finland, but most UK and American daily newspapers are available.