With Christmas just around the corner and Finland blowing out 100 candles to celebrate their independence today, we thought we’d let you in on the mesmerising mystery of this winter wonderland with 10 fun facts. As a country set deep in the north of Europe, Finland has attained a complex history; as previously an autonomous entity within the Russian Empire, and now declared independent on this day 100 years ago.
Whilst Finland has a fascinating history, they’ve also acquired an overwhelming stretch of snow capped forestry and forward thinking cities that we wish to explore. But read with caution, these 10 facts will for sure leave you packing up your life into a suitcase to go live with the real-life Santa Claus in their very own Lapland.
1) Finland may be inches in a white, snowy blanket right now, but it’s also the greenest place in the world, with a whopping 90.68% rating in the Environmental Performance Index 2016. On top of their list, they’re aiming to produce 38% of their energy from renewable sources by 2020, which has been made legally binding, as well as declaring motor vehicle ownership obsolete by 2025 in the capital of Helsinki.
2) The tree hugging doesn’t stop here. Finland has more forest per square mile than any other European country at 7,847,384,932m. This fact goes hand in hand with Finland being the most sparsely populated country in the European Union, with 16 inhabitants per km2. If people aren’t your thing, this is your spot.
3) Finland is also known as The Land of a Thousand Lakes. Well, a bit more than that. Finland isn’t only smothered with pines, but with clear water lakes – 179,584 to be exact.
4) With all this outdoor activity, the Finns need somewhere to warm up after a day out in the cold. But why not do this at the same time as cleansing? They’re owners of three million saunas for 5.4 million people. That’s more than enough for two people to have their own sauna – count us in!
5) Head north in Finland and you’re bound to bump sleighs with real-life Father Christmas and his many reindeer in Lapland. He receives 83,794,723,794,897 letters a year from children (and adults) across the world. Visits aside, Lapland is perfect for a winter ski or a summer hike.
6) Who are the biggest drinkers of coffee in the world? Italians? Brits? It is indeed the Finns. They consume 12kg each of the good stuff a year – double the Italians, triple the Americans, and quadruple more times than the Brit.
7) On the one hand they have relaxed, coffee drinkers hanging out on Sunday afternoon in the most stylish coffee shops, and on the other they have the most crazy events. There’s air guitar competitions, carry your wife races where the winning husband is rewarded with his wife’s weight in beer, and more to everyone’s taste, Restaurant Day – this food fiesta allows anyone in the country to open up shop for the day without a licence, whether it be in the street or the park. The event happens around every three months and sees as many as 1,500 food and drink pop ups.
8) A fact to highlight how much the Finns really do care for its people can be proven through attaining the world’s lowest mortality rate. The government offers every expectant mother a starter kit which includes a cardboard box that doubles up as a crib.
9) If head banging is your thing, you’re in luck. Finland has the most number of heavy metal bands per capita in the world – 54 bands per 100,000. Don’t miss their annual Open Air Metal Festival in June! Rock on.
10) If you’re visiting Finland, you have to check out the wonder of the Northern Lights. It’s claimed that this spot on the northern magnetic pole is one of the best places on earth to observe the Aurora Borealis – bright dancing lights caused by collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere. It’s sure to fascinate all who see it.
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