Scandinavian Geo-Neatos

Finland

-There are exactly 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands within the territory of Finland.

-The current president of Finland, Tarja Halonen, is a woman, as are 12 of the 20 government ministers.

-According to the 2007 UNICEF report on child well-being in rich countries, Finland has the highest level of academic achievements of all surveyed countries for reading, mathematics and sciences.

SAIMAA – Finland's largest lake

-76% of Finland is covered with forests or wooded areas.

Helsinki

SwedenSwedish people have the longest life expectancy in Europe (80.51 years in 2006).

Sweden a has the highest number of McDonald restaurants per capita in Europe (although that is only about half of the US ratio)

Sweden has the highest number of nuclear plants per capita, with 10 reactors for 9 million inhabitants.

The world-famous discount furniture chain IKEA was founded in Sweden in 1943

During Easter in Sweden, which is a well-known holiday here, children dress up and go from home to home asking for candy, similar to Halloween!

NorwayThe only Norwegian film to have won an Academy Award was Kon-Tiki.

The primary religion of Norway is Lutheran.

The 1994 Winter Olympics were held in Lillehammer, Norway.

Oslo

Restaurants may not charge for water unless it is accompanied by another item such as ice or a lemon slice.

The Danish fairy tales writer Hans Christian Andersen, is well known around the Western world, notably for such tales as "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid" (adapted by Disney), and "The Ugly Duckling".

Denmark has the highest employment rate in Europe (75%).

The Great Belt Fixed Link, a suspension bridge between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen, has the world's second longest free span (1.6 km), after the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge in Japan.

The world famous building toys Lego are from Denmark.

Denmark

Iceland is known as the Land of the Midnight Sun because there are almost 24 hours of daylight during June, July and August. Non-stop fun under the midnight sun occurs when Reykjavik nightlife explodes into a carnival-like atmosphere in the perpetual daylight of summer.

There are over 10,000 waterfalls in Iceland. In fact, there are so many, not all of them have names.

There are over 100,000 Viking horses in Iceland, many of which are wild and roam the countryside. The purebred horses have not changed since the Vikings rode them 1000 years ago. Importing horses is prohibited and if a horse leaves Iceland it cannot return so that this unique breed is not tampered with.  

There are 15 active volcanoes in Iceland.

Icelandic people have among the longest life expectancies in the world. 

Iceland has one of the lowest crime rates in the entire world. In fact, the policemen don’t even carry guns!Iceland

Rekjavik, the capital of Iceland, has sidewalks that are heated by geothermal heat in the winter. Maybe this takes care of snow-shoveling...