Map of Finland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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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 finally won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II it was able to successfully defend its freedom and fend off invasions by the Soviet Union and Germany. In the subsequent half century the Finns have 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.


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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 reference: Europe

Area
Total: 337,030 km²
Water: 31,560 km²
Land: 305,470 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 2,628 km
Border countries: (3) Norway 729 km; , Sweden 586 km; , Russia 1,313 km

Coastline: 1126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations)

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden
Territorial sea: 12 NM (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 NM)

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
Extremes highest point: Halti 1,328 m

Natural resources: timber copper zinc iron ore silver

Land use
Arable land: 6.98%
Permanent crops: 0.01%
Other: 93.01% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 640 km² (1998 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: NA

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


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Population: 5,183,545 (July 2002 est.)
Growth rate: 0.14% (2002 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Finn
Adjective: Finnish

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

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

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

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.9% (male 471,920; female 454,082)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 1,752,493; female 1,717,544)
65 years and over: 15.2% (male 306,216; female 481,290) (2002 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.14% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 10.6 births/1000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 9.78 deaths/1000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.62 migrant(s)/1000 population (2002 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male/female
Total population: 0.95 male/female (2002 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 3.76 deaths/1000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.75 years
Female: 81.52 years (2002 est.)
Male: 74.1 years

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.05% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 1100 (1999 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 100% (1980 est.)
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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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

Dependent areas

Independence: 6 December 1917 (from Russia)

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: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000)
Head of government: Prime Minister Paavo LIPPONEN (since 13 April 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Ville ITALA (since 31 August 2001)
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 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 - SDP, Kok, Leftist Alliance (People's Democratic Union and Democratic Alternative), SFP, and Green League
Election results: Tarja HALONEN elected president; percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 51.6%, Esko AHO (Kesk) 48.4%

Legislative branch
Election results: percent of vote by party - SDP 22.9%, Kesk 22.5%, Kok 21.0%, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 10.9%, SFP 5.1%, Green League 7.2%, SKL 4.2%; seats by party - SDP 51, Kesk 48, Kok 46, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 20, SFP 11, Green League 11, SKL 10, other 3
Elections: last held 21 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003)

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

Political parties and leaders: Center Party or Kesk [Esko AHO]; Finnish Christian Democratic Party or SKL [C. P. Bjarne KALLIS]; Green League [Osmo SOININVAARA]; Leftist Alliance (Communist) 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]; True Finns [Timo SOINI]

International organization participation: AfDB AsDB Australia Group BIS CBSS CCC CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECE EIB EMU ESA EU FAO G- 9 IADB IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC 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 PCA PFP UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNIKOM UNMEE UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOGIP UNMOP UNMOVIC UNTSO UPU WEU (observer) WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTrO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jukka Robert VALTASAARI
In the us consulates general: Los Angeles and New York
In the us fax: [1] (202) 298-6,030
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 298-5,800
In the us chancery: 3,301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Bonnie McELVEEN-HUNTER
From the us embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14B, FIN-00140, Helsinki
From the us mailing address: APO AE 9,723
From the us telephone: [358] (9) 171,931
From the us fax: [358] (9) 174,681

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)

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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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 almost 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 11 countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on 1 January 1999 - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2002 was held back by the global slowdown but will pick up in 2003 provided the world economy suffers no further blows.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 1.1% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $26,200 (2002 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4%
Industry: 34%
Services: 62% (2002 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate: 5% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 2.6 million (2000 est.)
By occupation public services: 32%
By occupation industry: 22%
By occupation commerce: 14%
By occupation finance insurance and business services: 10%
By occupation agriculture and forestry: 8%
By occupation transport and communications: 8%
By occupation construction: 6%

Unemployment rate: 8.5% (2002 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 4%
Highest 10: 22% (1991) (1991)

Distribution of family income gini index: 26 (1991)

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

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.9% (2002 est.)

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: $40.1 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals metals; timber paper pulp
Partners: Germany 12.4% US 9.7% UK 9.6% Sweden 8.4% Russia 5.9% France 4.6% (2001)

Imports: $31.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: foodstuffs petroleum and petroleum products chemicals transport equipment iron and steel machinery textile yarn and fabrics grains
Partners: Germany 14.5% Sweden 10.2% Russia 9.6% US 6.9% UK 6.4% France 4.5% (2001)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $30 billion (December 1993)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: euros per US dollar - 1.1324 (January 2002) 1.1175 (2001) 1.0854 (2000) 0.9386 (1999); markkaa per US dollar - 5.3441 (1998) 5.1914 (1997)


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Electricity
Production: 75.356 billion kWh (2000)
Production by source fossil fuel: 41%
Production by source hydro: 19%
Production by source other: 12% (2000)
Production by source nuclear: 28%
Consumption: 81.961 billion kWh (2000)
Exports: 326 million kWh (2000)
Imports: 12.206 billion kWh (2000)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 2,847,900 (2001)
Mobile cellular: 3,728,600 (2001)

Telephone system
General assessment: modern system with excellent service
Domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and an extensive cellular net provide domestic needs
International: 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)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .fi
Service providers isps: 3 (2002)
Users: 2.69 million (2002)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $1.8 billion (FY98/99)
Percent of gdp: 2% (FY98/99)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 160 (2001)
With paved runways total: 74
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 27
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 10
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 23
With paved runways under 914 m: 12 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 76
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 72 (2002)

Heliports

Pipelines: natural gas 580 km

Railways
Total: 5,865 km
Broad gauge: 5,865 km 1.524-m gauge (2,234 km electrified; 480 km double- or multiple-track) (2000 est.)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: includes Saimaa Canal; 3,700 km suitable for large ships

Merchant marine
Total: 98 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,172,404 GRT/1,144,139 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 26, chemical tanker 5, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off 36, short-sea passenger 10
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Sweden 1 (2002 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs