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 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.

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.)

Natural hazards: NA

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

Population: 5,190,785 (July 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 0.14% (2003 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 Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.7% (male 468,077; female 450,785)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 1,753,760; female 1,719,253)
65 years and over: 15.4% (male 312,883; female 486,027) (2003 est.)

Median age
Total: 40.3 years
Male: 38.8 years
Female: 41.8 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 0.14% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 10.54 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 9.82 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.63 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 est.)

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

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 (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 3.73 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 3.23 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 4.21 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 77.92 years
Male: 74.28 years
Female: 81.68 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 1200 (2001 est.)
Deaths: less than 100 (2001 est.)

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

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
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 (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]

International organization participation: AfDB AsDB Australia Group BIS CBSS CE CERN EAPC EBRD ECE 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 PCA PFP UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNFICYP UNHCR UNIDO UNIKOM UNMEE UNMIBH UNMIK UNMOGIP UNMOP UNTSO UPU WCO 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 14A, FIN-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) 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)

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 European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on 1 January 1999 - 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.

Real gdp growth rate: 1.6% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $25,800 (2002 est.)

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.)

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)

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

Fiscal year: calendar year

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

Exports: $40.1 billion f.o.b. (2002)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals metals; timber paper pulp (1999)
Partners: Germany 11.8% UK 9.6% US 9% Sweden 8.5% Russia 6.6% Netherlands 4.6% France 4.5% (2002)

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 (1999)
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)

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

Electricity
Production: 71.2 billion kWh (2001)
Production by source fossil fuel: 39%
Production by source hydro: 18.7%
Production by source other: 11.8% (2001)
Production by source nuclear: 30.4%
Consumption: 76.18 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 1.81 billion kWh (2001)
Imports: 11.77 billion kWh (2001)

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.)

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)

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

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

Airports: 150 (2002)
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)

Pipelines: gas 694 km (2003)

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

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

Merchant marine
Total: 93 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,181,687 GRT/1,185,653 DWT
Ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 24, chemical tanker 5, container 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off 32, short-sea passenger 9
Note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Sweden 1 (2002 est.)

Disputes international: none