5
F i n l and and Åbo Ak ademi Un i ve r s i t y
1. Finland and Åbo
Akademi University
Fast facts about Finland
Population
: 5.4 million
Area:
338,424 km² (the fifth-largest country in
Western Europe)
Capital:
Helsinki (1.25 million inhabitants in
metropolitan area)
Languages
: Official languages are Finnish
(spoken by 91%) and Swedish (5.4%). Sámi is
an official regional language and the mother
tongue of about 1,700 people, members of the
indigenous Sámi people of northern Lapland
Form of government
: Republic, parliamentary
democracy
Head of State
: President of the Republic,
currently Mr Sauli Niinistö
International cooperation
: Member of the
United Nations since 1955 and the European
Union since 1995
Currency unit
: Euro
Climate
: Great contrasts - cold winters and fairly
warm summers (2013 extremes: coldest day
in Sodankylä -39.7 C/-39.5 F, warmest day in Liperi
32.4 C/90.3 F)
1.1 Åbo Akademi University
Åbo Akademi University is the only
multidisciplinary Swedish-language
university
in Finland. The university was founded in 1918
in order to provide higher education for the
Swedish-speaking minority in Finland. The main
language of teaching and administration is
Swedish, but an increasing number of courses
are taught in English (see the catalogue Study in
English 2014-2015).
Åbo Akademi University has a strong
international profile. Out of our total student
population (7 000 students) about 1 000 students
are international students and out of these
some 300 are international exchange students.
Åbo Akademi University is one of the most
international universities in Finland when looking
at the student population and we are happy to
be able to offer an international environment for
both our international and our domestic students.
Åbo Akademi University is currently undergoing
a structural reform. From 1.1.2015 the university
will be divided into four faculties:
Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology
Faculty of Education and Welfare Studies (located
in Vasa)
Faculty of Social Sciences, Business and
Economics
Faculty of Science and Engineering
For more information about this reform, please
see
Åbo Akademi University has two main
campuses, Åbo/Turku and Vasa/Vaasa, as
well as two smaller
campuses in Jakobstad/
Pietarsaari and Helsingfors/Helsinki.
1.2 The City of Åbo/Turku
Åbo, or Turku in Finnish, is situated on the
southwest coast of Finland and is the sixth largest
city in Finland with a population of approximately
182,000. Founded in the 13th century, it is also the
oldest city.
Åbo is one of the officially bilingual towns in
Finland (approx. 5% speak Swedish). Åbo was the
provincial capital of Finland until 1812, when it
was moved to Helsinki/Helsingfors after Finland
became an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia.
Åbo is an important Baltic port both for goods
and passenger traffic, and is one of the centres for
the shipbuilding industry in Finland. Other major
industries include pharmaceuticals, electronics
and high technology. The areas of top expertise
in Åbo are biosciences, ICT, logistics and tourism.
Åbo is a large university town with more than
35,000 students. It is the official Christmas city of
Finland and was the European Capital of Culture
in 2011. Just outside of Åbo you find the beautiful
archipelago with more than 20,000 islands.
For more information about what to do and see in
Åbo you can visit
.
