Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and adopted an official policy of neutrality. After World War II, the country rapidly industrialised and developed an advanced economy, while building an extensive welfare state based on the Nordic model, resulting in widespread prosperity and a high per capita income. After the wars, Finland lost parts of its territory, including the culturally and historically significant town of Vyborg, but maintained its independence.ДЇinland largely remained an agrarian country until the 1950s. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War and the Continuation War, and Nazi Germany in the Lapland War. In 1918, the fledgling state was divided by the Finnish Civil War. Nicholas II, the last Tsar of Russia, tried to russify Finland and terminate its political autonomy, but after the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared independence from Russia. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant universal suffrage, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office. In 1809, as a result of the Finnish War, Finland was annexed by Russia as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland, during which Finnish art flourished and the idea of independence began to take hold. From the late 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden as a consequence of the Northern Crusades. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in Fennoscandia and the Baltic region. The Stone Age introduced several different ceramic styles and cultures. ДЇinland was inhabited around 9000В BC after the Last Glacial Period. The land cover is primarily a boreal forest biome, with more than 180,000 recorded lakes.

The climate varies relative to latitude, from the southern humid continental climate to the northern boreal climate. Finnish, the native language of the Finns, is among the few Finnic languages in the world. Helsinki is the country's capital and largest city, but together with the neighboring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa, it forms a larger metropolitan area. Finland covers an area of 338,455 square kilometres (130,678В sqВ mi), with a population of 5.5 million. It shares land borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, Norway to the north, and is defined by the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, and the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea across Estonia to the south.

eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.ДЇinland ( Finnish: Suomi ( listen) Swedish: Finland ( listen), Finland Swedish: ), officially the Republic of Finland ( Finnish: Suomen tasavalta, Swedish: Republiken Finland ( listen to all)), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe.

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