Type of government: republic since 1917.
Member of the EU since 1995.
President: Sauli Niinistö
Government: Mr. Antti Rinne (Finnish Social Democratic Party) has been Prime Minister of Finland since 14 April 2019.
Parliament: unicameral, with 200 members.
Area: 338,430 square kilometres (6th largest European country).
Population: 5.5 million (2017).
Capital: Helsinki (620,982 inhabitants, 2014)
Currency: euro
GDP per capita: €46,342 (2016)
Official languages: Finnish and Swedish, Sami.
Religion: Evangelical Lutheran Church (70.9%, 2017).
Industries: high technology, pulp and paper, machinery and equipment.
Other major cities: Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa, Turku, Oulu.
The Finnish flag, in official use since 1918, consists of a blue cross on a white background.
It has two basic versions: the national (civil) flag and the state flag. White stands for snow and blue for the lakes and the sky. The cross is longer than those on the Swedish or Danish flags, measuring 3/11 of the height and 3/18 of the width. The state flag is the one used by government institutions, and it carries the national coat of arms in the square formed where the arms of the cross intersect. The President of the Republic has a variation of the flag, as do other institutions such as the Navy.
Finland's official coat of arms has older historical roots than the flag. It shows a golden lion with a crown and a sword in its paw on a red background. The lion is surrounded by nine silver roses, which stand for the historical provinces of Finland. It was first reproduced on the tomb of the Swedish king Gustav Vasa (1523-1560), when Finland was part of the kingdom of Sweden.
The national anthem, called Maamme (meaning our country), was composed in 1848 and sung for the first time that same year, at the flower festival on 13 May. The music was composed by Fredrik Pacius (1809-1891), one of the most dynamic figures of his time. The lyrics were written by Finland's national poet, Johan Ludvig Runeberg (1804-1877).