Where to Go - Europe (exc UK)

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Finland

Population : 5,167,486

Literacy rate : 100%

Life expectancy at birth : male –73.74 yrs, female –81.2 yrs

Infant mortality rate : 3.82 deaths/1,000 live births

Population growth rate : 0.17%

GDP growth rate : 3.5%

GDP per capita : £14,000

Unemployment : 10%

Inflation : 1%

TI index: 10.0 (highest recorded)

Climate : cold temperate; potentially subarctic, but comparatively mild.

Time : GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Saturday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Electricity : 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Continental 2-pin plugs are standard.

Websites : The US Library of Congress page is at http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/fitoc.html

The Finnish Embassy in London is at http://www.finemb.org.uk/

Virtual Finland, a site with cultural info and news is at http://virtual.finland.fi/

In spite of Monty Python’s songs this isn’t really such a bad place to live and work. Do try to look for work in the spring – its being very cold otherwise is not the only reason – things tend to shut down in the winter. The cost of living is high. Finland is in the EMU, which is good as they use the Euro. The language is related to Hungarian and Estonian; you could try learning it if you feel courageous. Swedish is the second language and English the third. After Iceland and Norway this is the third most sparsely inhabited country in Europe. There are 60,000 lakes and forest covers 65% of the land. A strange fact is that Finland is slowly rising out of the sea; its land area increases by about 7km² each year.

Finland is a major supplier of wood pulp to Western Europe, the page you are now reading probably came from a tree grown there.

The Finns drink a lot, although alcohol is very expensive. Restaurants are classified as to which grade of alcoholic drinks they can serve. Alcohol is only served at certain times. Drinking and driving is strictly out – the level of alcohol permitted for drivers is 0%. Public drunkenness is severely censured but when Finns get together to drink, they do so until falling over. Try to find the Finnish sense of humour, many others have with varying degrees of success.

Entry requirements

EU nationals have no problems. Non-EU nationals must apply for a permit once a job is found. This could take up to three months. There is a US placement service (InterExchange, 161 Sixth Avenue, Suite 902, New York NY 10013), which will help graduates with experience find jobs.).

Vaccinations

Unless someone has invented one against cold weather, nothing special here.

Tax and Insurance

Excellent health care is available. The tax rate is 25% and you may be responsible for arranging payment.

Getting Around

Click here for further information on great value rail passes with Scanrail

Gap Year Programmes

Click here to find gap year programmes and placements in Finland

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