General

Part of Fenno-Scandia (the Scandinavian Peninsula, Finland, Karelia, and the Kola Peninsula), Finland has an area of 337,030 sq km (130,128 sq mi), of which 31,560 sq km (12,185 sq mi) is inland water. Comparatively, the area occupied by Finland is slightly smaller than the state of Montana. Its length, one-third of which lies above the Arctic Circle, is 1,160 km (721 mi), north to south; its width is 540 km (336 mi), east to west.

Finland borders Russia to the east, the Gulf of Finland to the southeast, the Baltic Sea to the southwest, the Gulf of Bothnia and Sweden to the west, and Norway to the northwest and north, with a total land boundary of 2,628 km (1,629 mi) and a coastline of about 1,126 km (698 mi, excluding islands and coastal indentations.

Finland's capital, Helsinki, is located on the country's southern coast.

Southern and western Finland consists of a coastal plain with a severely indented coastline and thousands of small islands stretching out to the Åland Islands. Central Finland is an extensive lake plateau with a majority of the country's 60,000 lakes; 24.5% of the area of Mikkelin Province is water.

Northern Finland is densely forested upland. The highest elevations are in the Norwegian border areas; northwest of Enontekiö rises Haltia, a mountain 1,328 m (4,357 ft) above sea level. Extensive, interconnected lake and river systems provide important natural waterways.

Because of the warming influence of the Gulf Stream and the prevailing wind patterns, Finland's climate is comparatively mild for the high latitude. During the winter, the average temperature ranges from -14°C to -3°C (7–27°F), while summer mean temperatures range from 13°C to 18°C (55–65°F). Snow cover lasts from about 90 days in the Åland

Islands to 250 days in Enontekiö. Average annual precipitation (including both rain and snow) ranges from cm (17 in) in northern Finland to 71 cm (28 in) in southern Finland.

Overview

Location:
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia

Geographic coordinates:
64 00 N, 26 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 338,145 sq km
land: 304,473 sq km
water: 33,672 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 2,681 km
border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km

Coastline:
1,250 km