Finland

The Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta Swedish: Republiken Finland) is one of the Nordic countries. It is situated in northern Europe, bounded by the Baltic Sea with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. more...

Finland has land frontiers with Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east. The Åland Islands, off the southwestern coast, are under Finnish sovereignty while enjoying extensive autonomy. The Finnish name for the country is Suomi and the Swedish name Finland.

Finland has a population of five million people spread over more than 330,000 square kilometres (127,000 sq. mi) making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world (see List of countries by population density).

Finland is ranked thirteenth on the 2005 United Nations Human Development Index.

History

According to archaeological evidence, the area now comprising Finland was first settled around 8500 BC during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were probably hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BC (see Comb Ceramic Culture). The existence of an extensive exchange system during the mesolithic is indicated by the spread of asbestos and soapstone from eastern Finland, and by finds of flint from southern Scandinavia and Russia and slate from Lake Onega and northern Scandinavia. It has been postulated and held probable that the speakers of the Finno-Ugric language arrived in the area during the Stone Age, and were possibly even among the first Mesolithic settlers . The arrival of the Battle-Axe Culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BC may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late 3rd millenium B.C. Hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

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