Finland
Republic of Finland
Capital: Helsinki
History
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 among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999. In the 21st century, the key features of Finland's modern welfare state are a high standard of education, equality promotion, and national social security system - currently challenged by an aging population and the fluctuations of an export-driven economy.
Geography
Metric Units
|
Total Area
|
338,145
sq km
|
| Land Boundaries |
2,654
km
|
| Border Countries |
Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,313 km |
| Coastline |
1,250
km
|
| Terrain |
mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills |
| Minimum Elevation |
0
m
|
| Maximum Elevation |
1,328
m
|
| 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 |
| Natural Resources |
timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone |
| Arable Land |
6.65% |
| Permanent Crops |
0.01% |
Economy
Budget & Debt
Trade
| Exports |
$72.7 billion |
| Export Items |
electrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals |
| Export Partners |
Sweden 11.8%, Germany 10%, Russia 9.2%, Netherlands 6.8%, UK 5.2%, US 4.9%, China 4.7% (2011) |
| Imports |
$72.23 billion |
| Import Items |
foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, computers, electronic industry products, textile yarn and fabrics, grains |
| Import Partners |
Russia 17.6%, Sweden 13.6%, Germany 13.6%, Netherlands 7.6%, China 4.2% (2011) |
People
| Population |
5,266,114 |
| Population Growth |
0.06% |
| Ethnic Groups |
Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006) |
| Religion |
Lutheran Church of Finland 82.5%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 15.1% (2006) |
| Life Expectancy |
79.55 years |
| Infant Mortality |
0.96 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Maternal Mortality |
0.6 deaths/100,000 live births |
Energy
