
Finland was a province
and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries
and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It finally
won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it
was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions
by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the
subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation
from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy;
per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member
of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join
the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.. LOCATION:
Northern Europe, bordering the
Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden
and Russia CLIMATE: Cold
temperate; potentially subarctic, but comparatively mild because
of moderating influence of the North
Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes BORDERS:
Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km,
Russia 1,313 km