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| The Flag |
Let's take an adventure to a land filled with deep, green forests, sparkling lakes and snowy landscapes.
It's geographic coordinates are
64º N, 26º E.
This country gained it's independence from Russia on 6 December 1917
Currency: Euro
Products: Barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes, dairy cattle, fish; metals, electronics, machinery, ships, paper, chemicals
Natural resources: timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone
Environment current issues:air pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations.
Trade is important, with exports accounting for over one-third of GDP in recent years. (GDP or Gross Domestic Product is a broad measurement of a nation’s overall economic activity.)
We found out that this country is historically competitive in manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries.
It excels in the export of technology for mobile phones as well as promotion of startups in the ICT, gaming, clean tech, and biotechnology sectors.
Except for timber and several minerals, it depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods.
Because of its climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products.
Forestry, an important export industry and provides a secondary occupation for the rural population
Food
Interesting fact is that Reindeer is a major diet staple and is eaten domestically in a variety of ways like reindeer stew, reindeer roast, reindeer pate and reindeer pasta carbonara. Remember we found out that this country is known for it's many lakes. So it stands to reason that fish is another major food and even during the winter. Ice-fishing is a very popular past time. The fish found here are Whitefish, Herring, Salmon and the Artic Char. I wonder how good the sushi is?
Not exported but this country has some of the best chocolate in the world. The market is dominated by "Karl Fazer" which produces 65 million kilos of chocolate per year in a huge variety of flavors and all contain real milk and can be purchased in giant slabs.
Education
Since this country implemented a huge education reform 40 years ago, the school system has consistently come at the top for the international rankings for education systems. Teachers must hold a Master's Degree and the highly regarded field is compared to that of Doctors and Lawyers. They have four hours of classroom instruction and 2 days of professional development. The children had 75 minutes of recess less with less classroom instruction, no homework and no testing until High School age. 
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| This country is home to one of the most famous and unique hotel resorts in all of Europe –Kakslauttanen igloo village. You can stay in one of their amazing glass igloos over night while watching Northern Lights. |