History
The Finnish flag features a blue cross on a white background. (Finnish Tourist Board/Tim Bird)
Independent now for almost 90 years, Finland was part of the Swedish realm for some 700 years up to 1809 when it became attached to the Russian empire for just over a century. Finnish nationalism gained momentum during the Russian period and Finland declared independence on 6 December 1917.
The years after the Second World War were a period of strong growth and Finland, earlier a mainly rural country, took major steps on the path to industrialisation. The 1960s marked the beginning of a vast movement of people from rural to urban areas.
Finland joined the European Free Trade Association, EFTA, in 1961, became member of the European Union in 1995 and was one of the founding members of the euro zone in 1999.
