PROFILE
OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of
Finland
Geography
Area: 338,144 sq. km. (130,558 sq. miles); about the size of New
England, New Jersey, and New York combined.
Cities: Capital--Helsinki (pop. 561,000). Other cities--Espoo
(232,000), Tampere (204,000), Vantaa (187,000), Turku (175,000).
Terrain: Low but hilly, more than 70% forested; 188,000 lakes
and 179,584 islands, 98,050 of which are in the lakes.
Climate: Northern temperate.
People
Nationality: Noun--Finn(s). Adjective--Finnish.
Population (August 2006): 5.27 million.
Population growth rate: 0.14% (2006 est).
Ethnic groups: Finns, Swedes, Lapps, Sami, Roma, Tatars.
Religions: Lutheran 83.1%, Orthodox 1.1%.
Languages: Finnish 91.6%, Swedish 5.5% (both official); small
Lapp- (0.03%) and Russian-speaking (0.75%) minorities.
Education: Years compulsory--9. Attendance--almost
100%. Literacy--almost 100%.
Health: Infant mortality rate--3.6/1,000 (2005). Life
expectancy--males 75.5 yrs., females 82.3 yrs.
Work force (2.8 million; of which 2.6 million are employed):
Public services--32.2%; industry--19%; commerce--16%;
finance, insurance, and business services--13.5%;
agriculture and forestry--5%; transport and
communications--7.2%; construction--7.1%.
Government
Type: Constitutional republic.
Constitution: July 17, 1919.
Independence: December 6, 1917.
Branches: Executive--president (chief of state), prime
minister (head of government), Council of State (cabinet).
Legislative--unicameral parliament. Judicial--Supreme
Court, regional appellate courts, local courts.
Subdivisions: Six provinces, provincial self-rule for the Aland
Islands.
Political parties: Social Democratic Party, Center Party,
National Coalition (Conservative) Party, Leftist Alliance,
Swedish People's Party, Green Party.
Suffrage: Universal at 18.
Economy (2005)
GDP: $195.8 billion (EUR 157.4 billion).
GDP growth rate: 2.9%.
Per capita income: $37,330 (EUR 30,005).
Inflation rate: 0.9% (2005 average); 1.9% (Aug 2006).
Natural resources: Forests, minerals (copper, zinc, iron),
farmland.
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (2.8% of GDP):
Products--meat (pork and beef), grain (wheat, rye, barley,
oats), dairy products, potatoes, rapeseed.
Industry (25.4% of GDP): Types--metal (including
electronics and electrical equipment) and engineering, forest
products, chemicals, shipbuilding, foodstuffs, textiles.
Trade: Exports--$65.3 billion. Major markets--EU
57%, Russia 11%, U.S. 5.8%, China 3%. Imports--$58.5
billion. Major suppliers--EU 59%, Russia 14%, China 6%,
U.S. 4.2%.
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
The origins of the Finnish people are still a matter of
conjecture, although many scholars argue that their original
home was in what is now west-central Siberia. The Finns arrived
in their present territory thousands of years ago, pushing the
indigenous Lapps into the more remote northern regions. Finnish
and Lappish--the language of Finland's small Lapp minority--both
are Finno-Ugric languages and are in the Uralic rather than the
Indo-European family.
Finland's nearly 700-year association with the Kingdom of Sweden
began in 1154 with the introduction of Christianity by Sweden's
King Eric. During the ensuing centuries, Finland played an
important role in the political life of the Swedish-Finnish
realm, and Finnish soldiers often predominated in Swedish
armies. Finns also formed a significant proportion of the first
"Swedish" settlers in 17th-century America.
Following Finland's incorporation into Sweden in the 12th
century, Swedish became the dominant language, although Finnish
recovered its predominance after a 19th-century resurgence of
Finnish nationalism. Publication in 1835 of the Finnish national
epic, The Kalevala--a collection of traditional myths and
legends--first stirred the nationalism that later led to
Finland's independence from Russia.
In 1809, Finland was conquered by the armies of Czar Alexander I
and thereafter remained an autonomous grand duchy connected with
the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. On December 6, 1917,
shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland
declared its independence. In 1918, the country experienced a
brief but bitter civil war that colored domestic politics for
many years. During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union
twice--in the Winter War of 1939-40 and again in the
Continuation War of 1941-44. This was followed by the Lapland
War of 1944-45, when Finland fought against the Germans as they
withdrew their forces from northern Finland.
Treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included
obligations and restraints on Finland vis-a-vis the U.S.S.R. as
well as territorial concessions by Finland; both have been
abrogated by Finland since the 1991 dissolution of the Soviet
Union (see Foreign Relations).
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Finland has a mixed presidential/parliamentary system with
executive powers divided between the president, who has primary
responsibility for national security and foreign affairs, and
the prime minister, who has primary responsibility for all other
areas, including EU issues. Also under the new Constitution,
which took effect on March 2000, the established practice for
managing foreign policy is that the President keeps in close
touch with the Prime Minister, the Minister for Foreign Affairs
and other ministers responsible for foreign relations.
Constitutional changes strengthened the prime minister--who must
enjoy the confidence of the parliament (Eduskunta)--at the
expense of the president. Finland's 1995 accession to the
European Union (EU) has blurred the line between foreign and
domestic policy; the respective roles of the president and prime
minister are evolving, and plans are under consideration to
rewrite the constitution to clarify these and other issues.
Finns enjoy individual and political freedoms, and suffrage is
universal at 18. The country's population is relatively
ethnically homogeneous. Immigration to Finland has significantly
increased over the past decade, although the foreign-born
population, estimated at only 2.2% of the total population, is
still much lower than in any other EU country. Few tensions
exist between the Finnish-speaking majority and the
Swedish-speaking minority.
