So Suomi! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Russian

Finnish is the first language for 90% of Finns, but a minority speak the country's other official language, Swedish, as their first choice at home. Sami is the language of the native population of Lapland, which spreads across parts of northern Finland, Norway, Sweden and the extreme northwest of Russia.

The Sami language is an official language in Sweden and in parts of Norway, and is recognized as a minority language in several municipalities of Finland. The 1991 Sami Language Act granted the Sami people the right to use their own languages for government services, recognizing three three Sami languages: Northern, Skolt and Inari Sami.

The 2003 Act then made Sami an official language in the municipalities of Enontekiö, Inari, Sodankylä and Utsjoki.

Answer: Germany

Finland is the world's 65th-largest country, between Republic of Congo and Vietnam. In 63rd place and only 7,000 square miles larger is Germany.
The alternatives are all significantly larger: at 173,000 square miles, in U.S. comparison terms, Sweden is larger than Montana and California. At 195,000 square miles, Spain is also larger than California but still smaller than Texas. France, including its overseas regions but not its overseas territories, has an area of 247,000 square miles, which is just a little smaller than Texas (268,000 sq miles).

Answer: Estonia

The Gulf of Finland is an arm of the Baltic Sea, stretching eastwards as far as St Petersburg in Russia. It is 250 miles from St Petersburg to where the Gulf enters the Baltic. On the northern shore of the Gulf lies Finland, and on the southern shore is Estonia. The Gulf is 43 miles across at its narrowest point and 81 miles at its widest.

Answer: Småland

The 19 regions of Finland are called "maakunta" in Finnish ("landskap" in Swedish). Ostrobothnia was one of the original six historic provinces into which Finland was divided and is now one of the 19 regions. It lies on the Swedish border in western Finland and is one of the country's regions with a Swedish-speaking majority (Aland is the other). Vaasa is the capital and the largest city in Ostrobothnia. Uusimaa is by far the most populous region in Finland. Located on the southern coast, both the capital, Helsinki, and the country's second-largest city, Espoo, are located in Uusimaa. Known in Norse sagas as Kvenland, the Kainuu region is in eastern Finland and borders Russia. Kajaani is the capital and largest city in the Kainuu region. The odd one out is Småland, which is one of the historic provinces of southern Sweden.

Answer: Lion

The coat of arms of Finland depicts a crowned lion on a red background. Created in the late 16th century, the lion is shown brandishing a sword and trampling on a sabre. The lion is a common symbol in Nordic heraldry, dating back to the Danish coat of arms in the 1100s.

Answer: Lake Mjøsa

Lake Saimaa is Finland's largest lake with a surface area of 1,700 square miles, which is a little larger than the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Formed by glacial melting at the end of the Ice Age, it is the fourth-largest natural sweetwater lake in Europe. It has a shoreline stretching a remarkable 8,500 miles and contains 3,507 islands. Lake Päijänne has an area of 420 square miles, which is about the size of Hong Kong. It is 75 miles from one end of the lake to the other and some 25 passenger ships operate daily ferry services on the lake. Lake Inari in northern Lapland is usually frozen over from September to June. It has a surface area of just over 400 square miles and contains 3,308 islands.

Lake Mjøsa is tiny by comparison, with a surface area of 140 square miles, about the size of the U.S. Virgin Islands. It is, though, the largest lake in Norway. With a maximum depth of over 1,500 feet it is also one of the deepest lakes in Europe.

Answer: Arla Foods

Headquartered in Espoo, Neste Oil was founded in 1948 as Finland's state oil company. The state retained a 50.1% share in 2013. Nokia Corporation is Finland's telecommunications giant, employing around 100,000 people in 2013. From 1998-2012 it was the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer. Based in Vantaa, Finland, Vaisala makes instruments for meteorological and hydrological measurement.

The odd one out is Arla Foods, Scandinavia's largest producer of dairy products, and the seventh-largest in the world. It is, though, a Danish/Swedish company, not Finnish.

Answer: Lemmenjoki National Park

Located in Lapland in northern Finland, Lemmenjoki National Park was one of the country's first National Parks, established in 1956 along with five others. It has been expanded twice since them, and covers 1,100 square miles (a bit bigger than Luxembourg), making it not only Finland's largest National Park but one of the largest in Europe. The park borders Øvre Anarjóhka National Park in Norway.

Established in 1983 and named for a former President of Finland, Urho Kekkonen National Park covers 985 square miles of Lapland. Ekenäs Archipelago National Park is a 20-square mile region of rock islets near Helsinki. It was established as a National Park in 1989 to protect aquatic birds' nesting areas. Pallas-Yllästunturi in Lapland is Finland's most visited at National Park, with in excess of 400,000 visitors annually. Covering 394 square mile of primeval forest, it is particularly popular with hikers.

Answer: Brown Bear

All four alternatives are widespread in Finland, but the brown bear is the country's national animal. The whooper swan is the national bird. Finland is home to more than 60 mammal species and some 250 species of breeding birds.

Answer: Russia

The border between Finland and Russia is 816 miles long. Finland has a 452-mile border with Norway and a 382-mile border with Sweden. Finland and Denmark have no shared border.