7 March 2012 Last updated at 12:37 ET

Finland country profile

Around two-thirds of Finland is covered in forest and about a tenth by water.

In the far north, the sun does not set for around 10 weeks during the 'White Nights' of summer, while in winter it does not rise above the horizon for nearly eight weeks.

Hundreds of years of Swedish rule were followed by a further century of Russian control before independence in 1917, and the country displays distinctive elements of the Scandinavian and Russian legacy.

Independence failed to stem the demands of Finland's giant Soviet neighbour, and World War II saw fierce fighting along Finland's eastern border.

Finnish troops mounted a vigorous response to Soviet forces and stalled their advance, but the country was eventually forced to cede 10% of its territory and pay extensive war reparations to Moscow.

Throughout the Cold War Finland's neutrality depended on a de-facto Soviet veto on its foreign and defence policy, a status dubbed "Finlandisation".

The collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s allowed Finland to step out of the Cold War shadow. It applied for membership of the EU soon after its friendship treaty with the Soviet Union became void in 1991, becoming a full member in 1995.

Finland is the only Nordic EU member to use the euro as the national currency.

The country spends heavily on education, training and research - investment which pays dividends by delivering one of the best-qualified workforces in the world.

This has been a key factor in the development of a modern, competitive economy in which an advanced telecommunications sector has been added to the traditional timber and metals industries.