Map of Finland | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | 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 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.


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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: 338,145 km²
Land: 304,473 km²
Water: 33,672 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 2,681 km
Border countries: (3) Norway 727 km; , Sweden 614 km; , Russia 1,340 km

Coastline: 1250 km

Maritime claims
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
Extremes highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 7.19%
Permanent crops: 0.03%
Other: 92.78% (2001)

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: 5,223,442 (July 2005 est.)
Growth rate: 0.16% (2005 est.)
Below poverty line: NA

Nationality
Noun: Finn
Adjective: Finnish

Ethnic groups: Finn 93.4% Swede 5.7% Russian 0.4% Estonian 0.2% Roma 0.2% Sami 0.1%

Languages: Finnish 92% (official) Swedish 5.6% (official) other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003)

Religions: Lutheran National Church 84.2% Greek Orthodox in Finland 1.1% other Christian 1.1% other 0.1% none 13.5% (2003)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.3% (male 460,977/female 443,859)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 1,764,874/female 1,723,385)
65 years and over: 15.9% (male 328,952/female 501,395) (2005 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 40.97 years
Male: 39.43 years
Female: 42.52 years (2005 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.16% (2005 est.)

Birth rate: 10.5 births/1000 population (2005 est.)

Death rate: 9.79 deaths/1000 population (2005 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.89 migrant(s)/1000 population (2005 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-Persistent Organic Pollutants, 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
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.04 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.04 male/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.66 male/female
Total population: 0.96 male/female (2005 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.57 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 3.89 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.24 deaths/1000 live births (2005 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78.35 years
Male: 74.82 years
Female: 82.02 years (2005 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.73 children born/woman (2005 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2003 est.)
People living with hivaids: 1500 (2003 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (2003 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% (2000 est.)
Male: 100%
Female: 100%

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 long form: Suomen Tasavalta
Local short form: Suomi

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: 1 March 2000

Legal system: civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review 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 Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003) and Deputy Prime Minister Eero HEINALUOMA (since 24 September 2005)
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 February 2006); the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister from the majority party or the majority coalition after parliamentary elections and the parliament must approve the appointment
Election results: Tarja HALONEN elected president; percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 51.6%, Esko AHO (Kesk) 48.4%
Note: government coalition - Kesk, SDP, and SFP

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007)
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

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 [Paivi RASANEN]; Green League or VIHR [Tarja CRONBERG]; Left Alliance or VAS composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative [Suvi-Anne SIIMES]; National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Jyrki KATAINEN]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eero HEINALUOMA]; 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 MIGA 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 WTO ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jukka Robert VALTASAARI
In the us chancery: 3,301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 298-5,800
In the us fax: [1] (202) 298-6,030
In the us consulates general: Los Angeles and New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Earle I. MACK
From the us embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14B, 00140 Helsinki
From the us mailing address: APO AE 9,723
From the us telephone: [358] (9) 616,250
From the us fax: [358] (9) 6,162 5,800

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 two-fifths of GDP. Finland excels in high-tech exports e.g. mobile phones. 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 picked up in 2004. High unemployment remains a persistent problem.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $151.2 billion (2004 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 3% (2004 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2004 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.3%
Industry: 30.2%
Services: 66.5% (2004 est.)

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

Industries: metals and metal products electronics machinery and scientific instruments shipbuilding pulp and paper foodstuffs chemicals textiles clothing

Industrial production growth rate: 2% (2004 est.)

Labor force: 2.66 million (2004 est.)
By occupation agriculture and forestry: 8%
By occupation industry: 22%
By occupation construction: 6%
By occupation commerce: 14%
By occupation finance insurance and business services: 10%
By occupation transport and communications: 8%
By occupation public services: 32%

Unemployment rate: 8.9% (2004 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA

Gini index

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)

Budget
Revenues: $96.43 billion
Expenditures: $91.95 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 46.8% of GDP (2004 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.7% (2004 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: $11.39 billion (2004 est.)

Exports: $61.04 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals metals; timber paper pulp (1999)
Partners: Sweden 11.1% Germany 10.7% Russia 8.9% UK 7% US 6.4% Netherlands 5.1% (2004)

Imports: $45.17 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Commodities: foodstuffs petroleum and petroleum products chemicals transport equipment iron and steel machinery textile yarn and fabrics grains (1999)
Partners: Germany 16.2% Sweden 14.3% Russia 12.8% Netherlands 6.3% Denmark 5.2% UK 4.6% France 4.3% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $11.17 billion (2003)

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 - 0.81 (2004) 0.89 (2003) 1.06 (2002) 1.12 (2001) 1.09 (2000)


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Electricity
Production: 71.59 billion kWh (2002)
Consumption: 78.58 billion kWh (2002)
Exports: 1.5 billion kWh (2002)
Imports: 13.5 billion kWh (2002)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 4.557 billion m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 4.567 billion m³ (2001 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 2.548 million (2003)
Mobile cellular: 4.7 million (2003)

Telephone system
General assessment: modern system with excellent service
Domestic: digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs
International: country code - 358; 1 submarine cable (Finland Estonia Connection); 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
Hosts: 1,219,173 (2004)
Users: 2.65 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: 18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service (October 2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 148 (2004 est.)
With paved runways total: 75
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: 13 (2004 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 73
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 69 (2004 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 694 km (2004)

Railways
Total: 5,851 km
Broad gauge: 5,851 km 1.524-m gauge (2,400 km electrified) (2004)

Roadways

Waterways
Note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2004)

Merchant marine
Total: 94 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,152,175 GRT/1,053,906 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 27, chemical tanker 6, container 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 25
Foreign owned: 2 (Norway 1, United States 1)
Registered in other countries: 42 (2005)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs