Finland

Finland is a country in Northern Europe which borders Sweden, Norway, and Russia, and shares a long coastline with the Baltic Sea. The Finnish people have a reputation for innovation, practicality, and hardiness. Despite the cold, dark winters, they are also generally the happiest people in the world according to the UN.

The country has a population of 5.6 million and covers 338 thousand square kilometers. It has 187,888 lakes, three million saunas, and a crystalline bedrock as old as life on Earth.

Politically, Finland is widely acknowledged as one of the most stable and representative democracies on the planet. Social and environmental issues feature prominently in public discourse. The country is a member of the European Union and NATO.

Finland is also a leader in digital tech and brought the world unforgettable inventions such as the SMS (the preferred mode of communication among Finns), Angry Birds, and the Linux operating system.

Finland also has significant heavy industries (forest, metal, petrochemical, shipyards). There are five nuclear reactors in Finland which provide roughly 40% of electricity. The country is also the clear global leader in nuclear waste disposal, with the world’s first deep geological repository for spent nuclear fuel under construction in Olkiluoto set to begin operations in the mid-2020s.