Finland (pronounced Audio-IPAen-us-Finland.ogg/?f?nl?nd/), officially the Republic of FinlandAudioSuomi_Finland.oggFinnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland, is a Nordic country (Nordic countries) situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden on the west, Norway on the north and Russia on the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.

Around 5.4 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern part of the country. It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area (List of European countries in order of geographical area) and the most sparsely populated (List of countries by population density) country in the European Union. Finland is a parliamentary (Parliamentary system) republic (Republicanism) with a central government based in Helsinki and local governments in 342 municipalities. A total of about one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area (which includes Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa), and a third of the countrys GDP is produced there. Other larger cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyv�skyl�, Kuopio and Lahti.

Finland was historically a part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy (Grand Duchy of Finland) within the Russian Empire. Finlands declaration of independence from Russia in 1917 was followed by a civil war (Finnish civil war), wars against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany (Military history of Finland during World War II), and a period of official neutrality during the Cold War. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955, the OECD in 1969, the European Union in 1995, and the eurozone since its beginning. Finland has been ranked the second most stable country in the world (List of countries by Failed States Index#Sustainable), in a survey based on social, economic, political and military indicators.

Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialization, remaining a largely agrarian (Agriculture) country until the 1950s. Thereafter, economic development was rapid, and the country reached the worlds top income levels in the 1970s. Between 1970 and 1990, Finland built an extensive welfare state. In the aftermath of the countrys severe depression in the early 1990s, successive governments have changed the Finnish economic system through some privatisation, deregulation and tax cuts.

Finland is well placed in international comparisons of national performance (Finland#International rankings) such as the share of high-technology manufacturing and health care. The country is ranked 1st in the 2009 Legatum Prosperity (Legatum Prosperity Index) rating, which is based on economical performance and quality of life.