Finland, is one of the Nordic countries. It is situated in northern Europe, bounded by the Baltic Sea with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. Finland has land frontiers with Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east. The Åland Islands, off the southwestern coast, are under Finnish sovereignty while enjoying extensive autonomy.
Finland has a population of five million people spread over more than 127,000 square miles making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.