Local name: Suomi Capital: Helsinki Government: republic Currency: euro (EUR) Official language: Finnish, Swedish Famous people: Linus Torvalds
Brief History. Finland was a province, before it became a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th cenuturies, and finally an autonoous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. Full independence was acquired in 1917. During World War II, it successfuly defended its freedom, and resistet invasion by the Soviet Union. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy. Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.
