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Travel to Finland — Unbiased reviews and great
deals from TripAdvisorFinland
| Republic of Finland National
name: Suomen Tasavalta—Republiken Finland President: Tarja Halonen (2000) Prime Minister: Matti Vanhanen
(2003)
Current government officials
Land area: 117,942 sq mi (305,470 sq km);
total area: 130,558 sq mi (338,145 sq km) Population (2007 est.): 5,238,460 (growth
rate: 0.1%); birth rate: 10.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 3.5/1000;
life expectancy: 78.5; density per sq mi: 44
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Helsinki, 1,162,900 (metro. area), 582,600 (city
proper) Other large cities:
Espoo, 229,500; Tampere, 201,200; Vantaa, 189,200; Turku,
178,100 Monetary unit: Euro (formerly
markka)
Languages:
Finnish 92%, Swedish 6% (both official); small
Sami- (Lapp) and Russian-speaking minorities
Ethnicity/race:
Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Sami (Lapp) 0.1%, Roma
0.2%, Estonian 0.2%
Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran 84%, Greek Orthodox 1%,
other Christian 1%, none 14% Literacy
rate: 100% (2000 est.) Economic
summary: GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $185.5 billion; per capita
$35,300. Real growth rate: 4.4%. Inflation: 1.6%.
Unemployment: 6.8%. Arable land: 7%. Agriculture:
barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish. Labor
force: 2.68 million; agriculture and forestry 8%, industry 22%,
construction 6%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business
services 10%, transport and communications 8%, public services 32%.
Industries: metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and
scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs,
chemicals, textiles, clothing. Natural resources: timber, iron
ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone.
Exports: $92.62 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and
equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999).
Imports: $76.36 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): foodstuffs,
petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron
and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains. Major
trading partners: Sweden, Germany, Russia, UK, U.S., Netherlands,
Denmark, China (2006) . Communications:
Telephones: main lines in use: 1.92 million (2006); mobile
cellular: 5.67 million (2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM 2,
FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 120
(plus 431 repeaters) (1999). Internet hosts: 2.323 million
(2007). Internet users: 2.925 million (2006). Transportation: Railways: total: 5,741 km
(2006). Highways: total: 78,189 km; paved: 50,633 km (including
653 km of expressways); unpaved: 27,556 km (2006). Waterways:
7,842 km note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part
leased from Russia (2004). Ports and harbors: Hamina, Hanko,
Helsinki, Kotka, Naantali, Pori, Porvou, Raahe, Rauma, Turku.
Airports: 148 (2007). International
disputes: various groups in Finland advocate restoration of
Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish
Government asserts no territorial demands.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Finland is three times the size of Ohio. It is heavily forested and
contains thousands of lakes, numerous rivers, and extensive areas of
marshland. Except for a small highland region in the extreme northwest,
the country is a lowland less than 600 ft (180 m) above sea level. Off the
southwest coast are the Swedish-populated Åland Islands (581 sq mi; 1,505
sq km), which have had an autonomous status since 1921.
Government
Republic.
History
The first inhabitants of Finland were the Sami (Lapp) people. When
Finnish speakers migrated to Finland in the first millennium B.C., the Sami were forced to move northward to the
arctic regions, with which they are traditionally associated. The Finns'
repeated raids on the Scandinavian coast impelled Eric IX, the Swedish
king, to conquer the country in 1157. It was made a part of the Swedish
kingdom and converted to Christianity.
By 1809 the whole of Finland was conquered by Alexander I of Russia,
who set up Finland as a grand duchy. The period of Russification
(1809–1914) sapped Finnish political power and made Russian the country's
official language. When Russia became engulfed by the March Revolution of
1917, Finland seized the opportunity to declare independence on Dec. 6,
1917.
The USSR attacked Finland on Nov. 30, 1939, after Finland refused to
give in to Soviet territorial demands. The Finns staged a strong defense
for three months before being forced to cede the Soviets 16,000 sq mi
(41,440 sq km). Under German pressure, the Finns joined the Nazis against
Russia in 1941, but they were defeated again and forced to cede the
Petsamo area to the USSR. In 1948, a treaty of friendship and mutual
assistance was signed by the two nations. Finland continued to pursue a
foreign policy of nonalignment throughout the cold-war era.
Running on a platform to revitalize the economy, Ahtisaari, a Social
Democrat, won the country's first direct presidential election in a runoff
in Feb. 1994. Previously, presidents had been chosen by electors. Finland
became a member of the European Union in Jan. 1995. On Jan. 1, 1999,
Finland, along with ten other European countries, adopted the euro as its
currency. In 2000, Tarja Halonen, who had been Finland's foreign minister,
became its first woman president.
Since 1998, Finland has been judged to be the world's least corrupt
country, according to the annual survey by the Berlin-based organization
Transparency International. In April 2003, Finland appointed its first
female prime minister, making it the only country in Europe with both a
female president and prime minister. But Prime Minister Jaatteenmaki
resigned after only two months in office when it was revealed that she had
used leaked classified information against her rival in the election (she
was acquitted of the charges the following year). In June, Defense
Minister Matti Vanhanen was selected by parliament to replace her. In Jan.
2006, President Halonen was reelected. Vanhanen's Centre Party narrowly
won parliamentary elections in March 2007, and he was reelected to a
second term.
See also Encyclopedia: Finland.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Finland
Statistics Finland www.stat.fi/index_en.html .
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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