Finland recently celebrated 100 years since declaring independence on December 6, 1917. In honor of this very exciting birthday, I wanted to share some of my favorite facts about one of our favorite destinations.
1. There are an estimated two million saunas in Finland
Saunas are a way of life in Finland. For a country of 5.5 million people, that number is massive. In fact, Burger King even got in on the action by opening a full-service sauna in one of its Helsinki restaurants.
2. There are more reindeer than people in Finnish Lapland
Only around 3.4% of Finland's population lives in Lapland. So, while there are an estimated 200,000 reindeer in Finnish Lapland, there are only 180,000 people. This makes your chances of encountering reindeer very, very high.
3. The locals are very athletic
In fact, the Finns hold the world record for the most Olympic medals won per capita. With an impressive 303 medals, that is approximately 2.3 medals for every million people in the country.