People - thisisFINLAND

Becoming Alan Wake: The Finnish face of a world-famous video game

When Ilkka Villi arrives at the office in the morning, he promptly suits up in a full-body spandex outfit and gets to work pretending to be an action hero.

Life & society Sports

Finnish racecar drivers excel at acceleration

Why does Finland produce so many great racecar drivers? We talk to two of them to find out: Emma Kimiläinen and William Alatalo.

Arts & culture Slideshows

Finnish wildlife photographers continue to garner international recognition

People in Finland often speak of a close connection to the natural world. That may be one reason why the country’s nature and wildlife photographers continue to gain followers and win awards. (See photo show.)

85.4%

of Finns live in urban areas

Source: UN World Urbanisation Prospects

Life & society Sports

Good chance of gold as Finnish Olympic and Paralympic athletes head for Beijing

With the 2022 Winter Olympics happening in China from February 4 to 20 and the Paralympics from March 4 to 13, here’s a quick summary of what to expect from the Finnish team, from snowboarding to men’s and women’s ice hockey and more.

Life & society People

Some extraordinary Finnish people you should know about (yes, they’re all women)

In honour of not only International Women’s Day (March 8), but every other day of the year, we bring you a list of remarkable Finnish women, past and present: artists, sports stars, musicians, politicians, writers and more.

5.5 million

Population of Finland

Source: Statistics Finland

Life & society Webpick

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin featured on TIME100 Next list

The American magazine TIME includes Sanna Marin in its annually published list of leaders who are emerging to shape the future.

Arts & culture Music

Operatic Finnish police officer’s performance resonates online

It sounds like some sort of modern fairy tale: Once upon a time, there was a police officer who turned into an opera singer. Years passed, and he turned back into a police officer. Later, he gained renewed renown on Youtube.

402,600

Amount of foreigners living in Finland

Source: Statistics Finland