芬兰(Finland)
正式名称芬兰共和国（Republic of Finland）。
欧洲北部国家。面积338,145平方公里。人口约5,185,000（2001）。首都︰赫尔辛基。人口中大多数是芬兰人，拉普兰地区有少数的萨米人（拉普人）。语言︰芬兰语和瑞典语（均为官方语）；另外拉普人操芬兰-乌戈尔语。宗教︰路德宗和芬兰希腊正教会。货币︰欧元（euro）。芬兰长约1,165公里，宽约550公里。约有1/3领土位於北极圈以内。多森林，境内有数千个湖泊、众多河流和大片的沼泽。除西北端一小片高地外，全境为海拔180公尺以下的低地。南部天气温和，北部冬季酷寒漫长，而夏季很短。经济属已开发的自由市场经济。只有一些数量很少的重要产业属於国有，是欧洲乃至全世界最富有的国家之一。伐木业是一个主要行业，制造业已高度发展；服务业亦发达。政府形式是共和国，一院制。国家元首是总统，政府首脑为总理。
最近考古学发现，使一些考古学家认为，有人类居住在芬兰可以追溯到10万年。拉普人的祖先可能在西元前7000年左右即已在芬兰定居。今日芬兰人的祖先於西元前1千纪期间自芬兰湾南岸迁到芬兰。自12世纪起，俄罗斯与瑞典开始争夺在芬兰的统治地位。1323年瑞典统治该国大部分地区。1721年瑞典割让了部分地区予俄罗斯。1808年俄罗斯的亚历山大一世入侵芬兰，1809年芬兰正式归属俄罗斯。从此，芬兰的民族主义情绪日渐高涨。俄罗斯在第一次世界大战中的失败和1917年俄国革命，为芬兰於1917年争取独立创造了条件。芬兰在俄芬战争（1939～1940）中被苏联击败，但随即在第二次世界大战中站在纳粹德国一方反对苏联，收回了失土。由於1944年再次败於向前推进的苏联军队，芬兰签署了一项和平协定，割让一些领土以保独立。芬兰经济在第二次世界大战後恢复，1995年加入欧洲联盟。
English version：
Finland
FinnishSuomiCountry, northern Europe. Area: 130,559 sq mi (338,145 sq km). Population (2000 est.): 5,178,000. Capital: Helsinki. The majority of the people are Finns; there is a small Sami (Lapp) population in Lapland. Languages: Finnish, Swedish (both official); the Sami speak a Finno-Ugric language. Religions: Lutheranism, Finnish (Greek) Orthodoxy. Monetary unit: euro. Finland is about 725 mi (1,165 km) long and 340 mi (550 km) at its widest; a third of the country is north of the Arctic Circle. Heavily forested, it contains thousands of lakes, numerous rivers, and extensive areas of marshland. Except for a small highland region in the extreme northwest, the country is a lowland less than 600 ft (180 m) above sea level. The south has relatively mild weather; the north has severe and prolonged winters and short summers. Finland has a developed free-market economy combined with state ownership of a few key industries. It is among the wealthiest countries in Europe and in the world. Lumbering is a major industry, and manufacturing is highly developed; service industries are also notable. It is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Recent archaeological discoveries have led some to suggest that human habitation in Finland dates back at least 100,000 years. Ancestors of the Sami apparently were present in Finland by about 7000 BC. The ancestors of the present-day Finns came from the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland in the 1st millennium BC. The area was gradually Christianized from the 11th century. From the 12th century Sweden and Russia contested for supremacy in Finland, until in 1323 Sweden ruled most of the country. Russia was ceded part of Finnish territory in 1721; in 1808 Alexander I of Russia invaded Finland, which in 1809 was formally ceded to Russia. The subsequent period saw the growth of Finnish nationalism. Russia's losses in World War I and the Russian Revolution of 1917 set the stage for Finland's independence in 1917. It was defeated by the Soviet Union in the Russo-Finnish War (1939-40) but then sided with Nazi Germany against the Soviets during World War II and regained the territory it had lost. Facing defeat again by the advancing Soviets in 1944, it reached a peace agreement with the U.S.S.R., ceding territory and paying reparations. Finland's economy recovered after World War II. It joined the European Union in 1995.
