
Business Profile of Finland essay
FINLAND (Suomi) is the sixth largest country in Europe, extending over 130, 159 square miles (337, 113 square kilometers) and exceeded in size only by France, Germany, Spain, Sweden, and European Russia. It is nearly 9,000 square miles greater than the combined area of the United Kingdom and Eire. Of this vast territory 69 per
cent is covered by forests, more than 9 per
cent by inland waters, and only 7?; per
cent constitutes agricultural land.
The main body of Finland may conveniently be divided into three separate geographical areas - in the south and west, a coastal plain; in the
centre, a great lake plateau; and the extensive and densely forested uplands of the north. The southern coastal plain is the most populous area of Finland, as well as the most intensely cultivated and here, also, is situated the capital Helsinki, together with many other, smaller,
centers of population. The great Salpaussalka ridge, running from east to west, separates it from the lake plateau to the north. The western coastland of Ostrobothnia rises more gradually towards the east, and is characterized by extensive areas of flat meadows and plough land. It is intersected by numerous rivers and streams flowing into the Gulf of Bothnia.