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The Finnish population elected Tarja Halonen in the 2000 Presidential election, making her the first female President of Finland.[86] Financial crises paralyzed Finland's exports in 2008, resulting in weaker economic growth throughout the decade.[87][88] Sauli Niinistö has subsequently been elected the President of Finland since 2012.[89]
Finland's support for NATO rose enormously after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Prior to February 2022, polling showed a narrow but definitive majority in opposition to NATO membership;[90] by April, a supermajority were in favor of membership.[91][92][93][94] On 11 May 2022, Finland entered into a mutual security pact with the United Kingdom.[95] On 12 May, Finland's president and prime minister called for NATO membership "without delay".[96] Subsequently, on 17 May, the Parliament of Finland decided by a vote of 188–8 that it supported Finland's accession to NATO.[97] Finland became a member of NATO on 4 April 2023.[98]
Lying approximately between latitudes 60° and 70° N, and longitudes 20° and 32° E, Finland is one of the world's northernmost countries. Of world capitals, only Reykjavík lies more to the north than Helsinki. The distance from the southernmost point – Hanko in Uusimaa – to the northernmost – Nuorgam in Lapland – is 1,160 kilometres (720 mi).
Finland has about 168,000 lakes (of area larger than 500 m2 or 0.12 acres) and 179,000 islands.[99] Its largest lake, Saimaa, is the fourth largest in Europe. The Finnish Lakeland is the area with the most lakes in the country; many of the major cities in the area, most notably Tampere, Jyväskylä and Kuopio, are located near the large lakes. The greatest concentration of islands is found in the southwest, in the Archipelago Sea between continental Finland and the main island of Åland.
Much of the geography of Finland is a result of the Ice Age. The glaciers were thicker and lasted longer in Fennoscandia compared with the rest of Europe. Their eroding effects have left the Finnish landscape mostly flat with few hills and fewer mountains. Its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres (4,344 ft), is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway. The highest mountain whose peak is entirely in Finland is Ridnitšohkka at 1,316 m (4,318 ft), directly adjacent to Halti.
The retreating glaciers have left the land with morainic deposits in formations of eskers. These are ridges of stratified gravel and sand, running northwest to southeast, where the ancient edge of the glacier once lay. Among the biggest of these are the three Salpausselkä ridges that run across southern Finland.