Werid Finland Facts

How many of these weird Finland facts did you know? Share with your friends and family to spread the Finnish weirdness!

- 338,440 km² (131,991 square miles), the fifth-largest country in Western Europe

- Great contrasts – cold winters and fairly warm summers (2019 extremes: coldest day in Utsjoki -39.1 C/-38.4 F, warmest day in Porvoo 33.7 C/92,7 F)

- Official languages are Finnish (spoken by 87.3%) and Swedish (5.2%). Sámi is the mother tongue of about 2,000 people, members of the indigenous Sámi people of northern Lapland

- In every Finnish kitchen, there’s a cabinet above the sink, called “astiankuivauskaappi” in Finnish (torkskåp in Swedish). It has empty slotted shelves where you put dishes to dry and the water droplets fall into the sink. The perfect solution for saving counter space!

- Finns love their personal space. When on a bus, for example, Finns only sit next to another person when all the window seats are taken, and you have to start filling up the aisle seats. From a Finnish perspective, you could say it makes them feel they’re being polite and not disturbing other people.

- Small talk is weird. When getting into an elevator, you don’t need to say, “Hello” or talk about the weather if there’s someone else there. Just go to your floors and pretend you were never in contact with another human :)

- Santa is from Finland. Finns are super serious about the fact that Santa Claus lives in Finland and not the North Pole.

- Finns are crazy punctual. If you have a meeting with a Finn, be there on time.

- Babies sleeping in boxes?? In Finland, expecting mamas receive a maternity package (äitiyspakkaus/moderskapsförpackning) as a gift from the government. The baby box includes baby clothes and other baby care products. The contents are generally the same year to year, but for example the colors and motifs vary, and sometimes brand new products are included. There are about 50 different products in the package and the box itself can be used as a crib! This tradition is over 80 years old and is believed to be one reason why Finland has such a low infant mortality rate.

- Speeding can be super expensive. In Finland, a traffic tickets are issued according to your annual salary.

- Sisu means grit, courage, determination, and bravery in the face of obstacles and challenges. Sometimes it’s translated as “Finnish spirit”. Having sisu allows a person to keep persevering when others would consider the task impossible or give up entirely.