aters. High rounded fells form the landscape in Finnish Lapland, the most northerly part of the country.ClimateThe climate is marked by cold winters and warm summers. The mean annual temperature in the capital, Helsinki, is 5.3 degrees Celsius. The highest daytime temperature in southern Finland during the summer occasionally rises to almost 30 degrees. During the winter months, particularly in January and February, temperatures of minus 20 Celsius are not uncommon. In the far north, beyond the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set for about 73 days, producing the white nights of summer. In the same region, during the dark winter period, the sun remains below the horizon for 51 days, creating the polar night known in Finnish as kaamos.The PeopleThe population of Finland is approximately 5 200 000. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in area, with a low population density of 17 persons per square kilometre. Most Finns, some 65 %, now live in urban areas, while 35 % remain in a rural environment. The three cities of Helsinki, the capital, population 555 500, Espoo, 213 300, and Vantaa, 178 500, form the fast growing Helsinki metropolitan region, which is now home to roughly a sixth of the country's total population. Other important cities are Tampere, 195 500, Turku, 172 500, and in the north Oulu, 120 800.There are about 1.5 million families in Finland. Among families with children the average number of offspring is 1.8. In 1960 the figure was 2.27. In 1998 women made up 48% of the total work force of 2.5 million. Their average earnings were 81 % of average male earnings. Women on average outlive men in Finland. Average life expectancy for females is 81 years and for males 74 years. In the parliamentary elections of 1999 women won 73 of the 200 seats.LanguagesThe Finnish language is a member of the Finno-Ugric linguistic family that includes, in one branch, Finnish, Estonian and a number of other Finnic tongues, and in the other...
