Finland

Background:

Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.

Geography Finland

Location:
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia

Geographic coordinates:
64 00 N, 26 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 337,030 sq km
water: 31,560 sq km
land: 305,470 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries:
total: 2,628 km
border countries: Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km

Coastline:
1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations)

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
territorial sea: 12 NM (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 NM)
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden

Climate:
cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes

Terrain:
mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Halti 1,328 m

Natural resources:
timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone

Land use:
arable land: 6.98%
permanent crops: 0.01%
other: 93.01% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
640 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
NA

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

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants

Geography - note:
long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain

People Finland

Population:
5,214,512 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17.5% (male 466,036; female 448,339)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,760,472; female 1,719,917)
65 years and over: 15.7% (male 323,082; female 496,666) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 40.7 years
male: 39.1 years
female: 42.2 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.18% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
10.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
9.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
0.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 3.59 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 3.91 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 78.24 years
male: 74.73 years
female: 81.89 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.73 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1,200 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Finn(s)
adjective: Finnish

Ethnic groups:
Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Sami 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar 0.02%

Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Russian Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other 1%

Languages:
Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% (1980 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government Finland

Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Finland
conventional short form: Finland
local short form: Suomi
local long form: Suomen Tasavalta

Government type:
republic

Capital:
Helsinki

Administrative divisions:
6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani

Independence:
6 December 1917 (from Russia)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 6 December (1917)

Constitution:
1 March 2000

Legal system:
civil law system based on Swedish law; Supreme Court may request legislation interpreting or modifying laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003) and Deputy Prime Minister Antti KALLIOMAKI (since 17 April 2003); note - former Prime Minister Anneli JAATTEENMAKI resigned
cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 16 January 2000 and 6 February 2000 (next to be held NA February 2006); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed from the majority party by the president after parliamentary elections
note: government coalition - KESK, SDP, and SFP
election results: Tarja HALONEN elected president; percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 51.6%, Esko AHO (Kesk) 48.4%

Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - Kesk 24.7%, SDP 24.5%, Kok 18.5%, VAS 9.9%, VIHR 8%, KD 5.3%, SFP 4.6%; seats by party - Kesk 55, SDP 53, Kok 40, VAS 19, VIHR 14, KD 7, SFP 8, others 4
elections: last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held NA March 2007)

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president)

Political parties and leaders:
Center Party or Kesk [Matti VANHANEN]; Christian Democrats or KD [Bjarne KALLIS]; Green League or VIHR [Osmo SOININVAARA]; Left Alliance or VAS composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative [Suvi-Anne SIIMES]; National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Ville ITALA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Paavo LIPPONEN]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Jan-Erik ENESTAM]

International organization participation:
AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jukka Robert VALTASAARI
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York
FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800
chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14A, FIN-00140, Helsinki
mailing address: APO AE 09723
telephone: [358] (9) 616250
FAX: [358] (9) 174681

Flag description:
white with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag)

Economy Finland

Economy - overview:
Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy, with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important, with exports equaling one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Rapidly increasing integration with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 12 countries joining the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2003 was held back by the global slowdown but will pick up in 2004 provided the world economy suffers no further blows.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $141.7 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.5% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $27,300 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 29.4%
services: 67.5% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 4.2%
highest 10%: 21.6% (1991)

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
25.6 (1991)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.1% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
2.6 million (2000 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
public services 32%, industry 22%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%, agriculture and forestry 8%, transport and communications 8%, construction 6%

Unemployment rate:
9.2% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $36.1 billion
expenditures: $31 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)

Industries:
metal products, electronics, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing

Industrial production growth rate:
0.7% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
71.2 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 39%
hydro: 18.7%
other: 11.8% (2001)
nuclear: 30.4%

Electricity - consumption:
76.18 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
1.81 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
11.77 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
211,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
101,000 bbl/day (2001)

Oil - imports:
318,300 bbl/day (2001)

Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
4.557 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
4.567 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Agriculture - products:
barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish

Exports:
$54.28 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999)

Exports - partners:
Germany 11.8%, UK 9.6%, US 9%, Sweden 8.5%, Russia 6.6%, Netherlands 4.6%, France 4.5% (2002)

Imports:
$37.35 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains (1999)

Imports - partners:
Germany 14.5%, Sweden 10.9%, Russia 9.9%, UK 5.7%, France 4.3%, Denmark 4.2% (2002)

Debt - external:
$30 billion (December 1993)

Economic aid - donor:
ODA, $379 million (2001)

Currency:
euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries

Currency code:
EUR

Exchange rates:
euros per US dollar - 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Finland

Telephones - main lines in use:
2,725,600 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
4,516,800 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: modern system with excellent service
domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and an extensive cellular net provide domestic needs
international: country code - 358; 1 submarine cable; satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:
7.7 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999)

Televisions:
3.2 million (1997)

Internet country code:
.fi

Internet hosts:
1,220,062 (2002)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
3 (2002)

Internet users:
2.65 million (2002)

Transportation Finland

Railways:
total: 5,850 km
broad gauge: 5,850 km 1.524-m gauge (2,400 km electrified) (2002)

Highways:
total: 77,943 km
paved: 50,305 km (including 750 km of expressways)
unpaved: 27,688 km (2001)

Waterways:
6,675 km
note: includes Saimaa Canal; 3,700 km suitable for large ships

Pipelines:
gas 694 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:
Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Loviisa, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku, Uusikaupunki, Varkaus

Merchant marine:
total: 90 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,152,175 GRT/1,053,906 DWT
registered in other countries: 39 (2003 est.)
by type: bulk 9, cargo 26, chemical tanker 5, container 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 9, roll on/roll off 28, short-sea/passenger 10
foreign-owned: Estonia 1

Airports:
148 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 75
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 27
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 13 (2003 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 73
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 69 (2003 est.)

Military Finland

Military branches:
Army, Navy, Air Force

Military manpower - military age:
18 years of age (2004 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 1,226,890 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 1,013,961 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 32,058 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$1.8 billion (FY98/99)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2% (FY98/99)

Transnational Issues Finland

Disputes - international:
none