In my opinion as someone who grew up inside it, the factors that created this fertile ground in Finland for young computer hackers in the 1980s and '90s were:

In my opinion as someone who grew up inside it, the factors that created this fertile ground in Finland for young computer hackers in the 1980s and '90s were: - High-quality educational system, but without pressures to perform (unlike e.g. many Asian countries). There are no standard exams in Finnish schools except a single national one at the end of high school. Teachers all have a master's degree, it's usually a lifelong career, and they have (had?) lots of latitude to create their own curriculums. - An economic boom in 1984-89 that enabled many households to acquire home computers. - Long and dark winters that left kids with plenty of time. Combined with the aforementioned educational system, you had teenagers who were already pretty good at math and English playing around with computers on ample free time.