The People

The people who live in the land of winter snow and endless summer nights are warm and genuine. Finns regard themselves as equals, they respect each other, and democracy - equality is considered to be more important than cultural hierarchy. Finnish society operates in two languages, Finnish and Swedish, even though Swedish is only spoken as a mother tongue by six per cent of the population.

	The Kalevala - The Finnish National Epic The Kalevala is the Finnish work with the largest number of translations. It has been translated into five languages but not all of these editions have been published. More than 150 different translations and compilations now exist. First published in 1835, the Kalevala was the work of Elias Lönn Read more
	The Sami in Finland The Sami ("sapmelas" in Sami) are one of the indigenous peoples of Europe, just as the Inuit in Greenland. There are over 75 000 Sami. They have their own history, language, culture, livelihoods, way of life and identity. The Sami homeland ("Sapmi" in Sami) reaches from Central Norway and Sweden thr ... Read more
	Tribes Even though Finns are usually thought of as a single nation, distinctions between the different tribes do exist. By tradition, we think of ourselves as belonging to one of four tribes, Pohjola, Savo, Karelia and Häme. Read more
	Education That Finnish literacy rates are among the highest - if not the highest - in the world is a tribute to the effectiveness of the Finnish education system. The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), which evaluates the educational achievement of children of school age in the OECD Read more
	Equality Citizens: Finns regard themselves as equals, they respect each other, and democracy - equality is considered to be more important than cultural hierarchy. Two languages: Finnish society operates in two languages, Finnish and Swedish, even though Swedish is only spoken as a mother tongue by six Read more
	Famous Finns For a country with a relatively small population, Finland has made an impressive mark on the world. Finns have excelled – and continue to excel - on the international fields of sports, music, architecture, design, literature and industry. Much credit for the success of Nokia, for instance, goes to Read more
	Sisu The harsh conditions in which they live has made Finns tough and unyielding. This attitude is called sisu (a combination of grit and guts). The short word sisu contains all of the power and strength that enabled farmers to turn forest into fields, felling tree after tree, shifting stone after sto Read more