Volunteering in Finland

Finland

Finland; Suomi in Finnish, is situated between Sweden to the west, the tip of Norway in the north, a long border with Russia to the east, and Estonia to the south, across the Gulf of Finland. Finland is the northernmost country in the world after Iceland.

The climate is not as freezing as that might suggest, partly because of the warming influence of the Gulf Stream. During summer sunbathing is even possible as temperatures range from 16°C to 25°C. There may be some rainy and chilly days, and therefore the volunteers should have proper outfit for working outdoors. The short but spectacular spring and autumn seasons help to counterbalance the effect of the winter.

Finland has a long coastline. The archipelago to the south and south west of the country contains around 30,000 islands. Finland is also the land of lakes, almost 200,000 at the last count. Two thirds of the country is covered by forest. In terms of land area, Finland is the seventh largest country in Europe while the population is only about 5,5 million.

Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish.

The currency unit in Finland is the Euro.

Useful links

• http://virtual.finland.fi (General information about Finland including links for local travel options)
• http://www.visitfinland.com/
• http://wikitravel.org/en/Finland
• http://www.lonelyplanet.com/finland
• https://www.facebook.com/AllianssiYouthExchanges  (Our official Facebook page in English)


•