Statistical information Finland 1992

Finland in the World

Finland - Introduction 1992

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Background: Long ruled by foreign powers, including Sweden and the pre-revolutionary Russian Empire, Finland finally declared independence in 1917. During World War II, Finland fought the USSR twice and then the Germans toward the end of the war. In the following half-century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy. Per capita income has risen to the West European level.

Finland - Geography 1992

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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 337,030 km²
Land: 305,470 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries: 2,628 km; Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km

Coastline: 1,126 km; excludes islands and coastal indentations

Maritime claims
Contiguous zone: 6 nm
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
Territorial sea: 4 nm
Disputes: none

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

Natural resources: timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver

Land use

Land use:

arable land: 8%; permanent crops: 0%; meadows and pastures
NEGL%; forest and woodland 76%; other 16%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography

Finland - People 1992

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Population: 5,004,273 (July 1992), growth rate 0.3% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Finn(s; adjective - Finnish

Ethnic groups: Finn, Swede, Lapp, Gypsy, Tatar

Languages:

Finnish 93.5%, Swedish (both official) 6.3%; small Lapp- and
Russian-speaking minorities

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 12 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: permanently wet ground covers about 30% of land; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain
Current issues note: long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 6 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 72 years male, 80 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

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

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

Finland - Government 1992

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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Finland

Government type: republic

Capital: Helsinki

Administrative divisions:

12 provinces (laanit, singular - laani);
Ahvenanmaa, Hame, Keski-Suomi, Kuopio, Kymi, Lappi, Mikkeli, Oulu,
Pohjois-Karjala, Turku ja Pori, Uusimaa, Vaasa

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 December 1917 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday: Independence Day, 6 December (1917)

Constitution: 17 July 1919

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

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 18
Parliament:

last held 17 March 1991 (next to be held March 1995); results - Center Party 24.8%, Social Democratic Party 22.1%, National
Coalition (Conservative) Party 19.3%, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 10.1%,
Green League 6.8%, Swedish People's Party 5.5%, Rural 4.8%, Finnish
Christian League 3.1%, Liberal People's Party 0.8%; seats - (200 total)
Center Party 55, Social Democratic Party 48, National Coalition (Conservative) Party 40, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 19, Swedish People's
Party 12, Green League 10, Finnish Christian League 8, Rural 7, Liberal
People's Party 1

President:

last held 31 January - 1 February and 15 February 1988 (next to be held January 1994); results - Mauno KOIVISTO 48%, Paavo VAYRYNEN 20%,
Harri HOLKERI 18%

Communists: 28,000 registered members; an additional 45,000 persons belong to People's Democratic League

Executive branch:

president, prime minister, deputy prime minister,
Council of State (Valtioneuvosto)

Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (Eduskunta)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court (Korkein Oikeus)

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE,
CERN, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA (associate), FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MTCR, NAM (guest), NC, NEA,
NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation:

Ambassador Jukka VALTASAARI; Chancery at 3,216
New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,016; telephone (202) 363-2,430; there are Finnish Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York, and Consulates in Chicago and Houston

US:

Ambassador John H. KELLY (as of December 1991); Embassy at Itainen
Puistotie 14A, SF-00140, Helsinki (mailing address is APO AE 9,723); telephone 358 (0) 171,931; FAX 358 (0) 174,681

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

white with a blue cross that extends 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)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage

Finland - Economy 1992

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Economy overview:

Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free market economy, with per capita output nearly three-fourths the US figure. Its main economic force is the manufacturing sector - principally the wood, metals, and engineering industries. Trade is important, with the export of goods representing about 30% of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals,
Finland depends on imported raw materials, energy, and some components of manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic commodities. The economy, which experienced an average of 4.9% annual growth between 1987 and 1989, sank into a deep recession in 1991 as growth contracted by 6.2%. The recession - which is expected to bottom out in late 1992 - has been caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets, and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union in which
Soviet oil and gas had been exchanged for Finnish manufactured goods. The
Finnish Government has proposed efforts to increase industrial competitiveness and efficiency by an increase in exports to Western markets, cuts in public expenditures, partial privatization of state enterprises, and foreign investment and exchange liberalization. Helsinki tied the markkaa to the EC's European Currency Unit to promote stability but was forced to devalue the markkaa by about 12% in November 1991. The devaluation should improve industrial competitiveness and business confidence in 1992. Finland, as a member of EFTA, negotiated a European Economic Area arrangement with the EC that allows for free movement of capital, goods, services, and labor within the organization as of January 1993. Finland applied for full EC membership in March 1992.

GDP: purchasing power equivalent - $80.6 billion, per capita $16,200; real growth rate - 6.2% (1991)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounts for 8% of GDP (including forestry; livestock production, especially dairy cattle, predominates; forestry is an important export earner and a secondary occupation for the rural population; main crops - cereals, sugar beets, potatoes; 85% self-sufficient, but short of foodgrains and fodder grains; annual fish catch about 160,000 metric tons

Industries: metal products, shipbuilding, forestry and wood processing (pulp, paper), copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate - 8.6% (1991 est.)

Labor force: 2,533,000; public services 30.4%; industry 20.9%; commerce 15.0%; finance, insurance, and business services 10.2%; agriculture and forestry 8.6%; transport and communications 7.7%; construction 7.2%
Organized labor: 80% of labor force

Labor force

Unemployment rate: 7.6% (1991)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $35.8 billion; expenditures $41.5 billion, including capital expenditures of NA billion (1991)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $22.9 billion (f.o.b., 1991)
Commodoties: timber, paper and pulp, ships, machinery, clothing and footwear
Partners: EC 50.25%, Germany 15.5%, UK 10.4%, EFTA 20.7%, Sweden 14%, US 6.1%, Japan 1.5%, USSR/EE 6.71% (1991)

Imports: $21.6 billion (c.i.f., 1991)
Commodoties: foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, fodder grains
Partners:

EC 45.9% (Germany 16.9%), UK 7.7%, EFTA 19.9%, Sweden 12.3%,
US 6.9%, Japan 6%, USSR/EE 10.7%

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: markkaa (FMk) per US$1 - 4.2967 (January 1992), 4.0440 (1991), 3.8235 (1990), 4.2912 (1989), 4.1828 (1988), 4.3956 (1987)

Finland - Energy 1992

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Electricity
Production: 13,324,000 kW capacity; 49,330 million kWh produced, 9,857 kWh per capita (1991)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita

Finland - Communication 1992

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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Finland - Military 1992

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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp:

exchange rate conversion - $1.8 billion, 1.6% of
GDP (1989 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups

Finland - Transportation 1992

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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

159 total, 156 usable; 58 with permanent-surface runways; none
with runways over 3,659 m; 23
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 22
with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: natural gas 580 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 6,675 km total (including Saimaa Canal; 3,700 km suitable for steamers

Merchant marine:

80 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 794,094
GRT/732,585 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 9 short-sea passenger, 16 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 26 roll-on/roll-off, 12 petroleum tanker, 6 chemical tanker, 2 liquefied gas, 7 bulk

Civil air: 42 major transport

Ports and terminals

Finland - Transnational issues 1992

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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs

Finland
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