Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
When Moscow's menace vanished, so did about 20 percent of Finland's trade. After
a few years of adjustment, Finland bounced back quickly, joining the European Union
and adopting the euro currency. Many Finns used to move to Sweden (where they are the
biggest immigrant group), looking for better jobs in Stockholm. Some still nurse an in-
feriority complex, thinking of themselves as poor cousins to the Swedes. But now Finland
is the most technologically advanced country in Europe. Home to the giant mobile-phone
company Nokia, Finland has more mobile-phone numbers than fixed ones, and ranks fourth
among European nations (15th globally) in the number of Internet users per capita.
We think of Finland as Scandinavian, but it's better to call it “Nordic.” Technically, the
Scandinavian countries are Denmark, Sweden, and Norway—all constitutional monarchies
with closely related languages. Add Iceland, Finland, and maybe Estonia—former Danish
or Swedish colonies that speak separate languages—and you have the “Nordic countries.”
Iceland, Finland, and Estonia are also republics, not monarchies. In 1906, Finnish women
were the first in Europe to vote. The country's president from 2000 to 2012 was a woman,
and today, 40 percent of the Finnish parliament is female.
Finland is known as a nation of few words; Finns value silence, yet are easily approach-
able. Tourists are not considered a headache to the locals the way they might be in places
like Paris and Munich.
