Finland is located in northern Europe between the 60th and 70th parallels of latitude. One quarter of Finland’s total area lies north of the Arctic Circle (Napapiiri in Finnish). The topography of Finland is flat with the exception of the high rounded fells in Lapland, the northern part of the country. Thousands of lakes, rivers and streams as well as forests and woods dominate the Finnish landscape.
The towns of Kemi, Tornio and Haparanda (Sweden) and three municipalities, Keminmaa, Simo and Tervola comprise the Kemi-Tornio region with about 61 000 inhabitants. Kemi and Tornio are located about 25 kilometres apart, but they are well connected by regularly running buses. Due to the location on the northern coast of the Gulf of Bothnia, into which the region´s three great rivers – the Simo, Kemi and Tornio Rivers –flow, the area is sometimes called Sea Lapland (Meri-Lappi).
Rovaniemi is a town of 61 000 inhabitants and it is located on the Arctic Circle. Due to the location and the exotic experiences the city offers, Rovaniemi attracts tourists all over the world. Finland’s longest river, The Kemi River, flows through Rovaniemi. The distance from Rovaniemi to Kemi is about 114 kilometers. Way to Tornio takes a little bit more time, because the distance is 125 kilometers. Railroad and bus connections make the distances easier to travel.
Finland is two hours ahead (+2) of Greenwich mean Time (GMT) and one hour ahead of central European Time (CE T). We set the clocks twice a year: daylight Saving Time (or summer time) is in effect from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday of October. A 24-hour timetable is commonly used. For example 8.00–16.00 means the same as from 8 am to 4 pm.
The Finns form a distinct linguistic and ethnic population bearing features from both Eastern and Western Europe. The Finnish language, with Estonian and Hungarian, belongs to the Finno- Ugric group of languages. The population of Finland is 5, 4 million people. Families with one child are the most common. The average life-expectancy of Finnish women is 83 years and of men 76.
Finns are curiously silent in public places and they rarely enter into conversation with strangers, but will converse after you take the initiative. Most Finns speaks English fluently except most of the elderly people.
Finns are better at listening than at talking, and interrupting another speaker is considered impolite. A Finn does not grow nervous if there are breaks in the conversation; silence is regarded as a part of communication. Having once got to know a stranger better, Finns are quite willing to discuss any topic; generally not even religion or politics are taboo. Visit: https://finland.fi/
Although a total of 5.4 million Finns, about 80 % of the population live in urban areas in the southern part of the country, many people have summer cottages in the countryside. Practically every Finnish house has a sauna of its own. There are public saunas in swimming halls with indoor swimming pools, water slides, water massage, Jacuzzi and so on. What do you do in a sauna? To learn more visit the website of the Finnish Sauna Society www.sauna.fi
output in Finland is among the highest in the world.