Finland in Brief
Finland is perhaps best known for its peacefulness and beautiful
nature. Vast forests, a unique archipelago and thousands of lakes
present a striking mixture of wooded hills and waters.
In addition to its mystical northern nature, Finland is also a
modern Nordic country with a high standard of living and advanced
economy and technology.
This is a nutshell introduction to the language, the people, the
history and other useful information about Finland.
Geography
Total area: 338,000 square kilometres, of which 10% is water and 69% forest;
187,888 lakes, 5,100 rapids and 179,584 islands;
Europe's largest archipelago, including the semi-autonomous province of Åland
Distances: 1,160 km north to south, 540 km west to east
Finland's land border with Russia (1,269 km) is the eastern border of the European Union.
Climate
The climate of Finland is marked by cold
winters and fairly warm summers. In the far north of the country the
sun does not set for about 73 days, producing the white nights of
summer. In winter the sun remains below the horizon for 51 days in the
far north.
In summer the temperature quite often rises to +20 Celsius or more
and occasionally goes close to +30 in southern and eastern parts of the
country. In winter, temperatures of -20 Celsius are not uncommon in
many areas. Finnish Lapland invariably has the lowest winter
temperatures. The mean temperature in Helsinki in July is +17 Celsius
and in February -5.7 Celsius.
People
Population: 5.2 million, 17 inhabitants per square kilometre
67% live in towns or urban areas, 33% in rural areas
Finland has a Sami (Lapp) population of 6,500.
Principal cities
Helsinki (560,000), Espoo
(227,000), Tampere (203,000), Vantaa (185,000), Turku (174,000) and
Oulu (124,000). About one million people live in the Helsinki
metropolitan area.
Languages
Finland has two official languages: Finnish and Swedish.
Finnish, a Finno-Ugric language, is spoken by 91,3% and Swedish by
5,4 % of the population. Sami (Lappish) is the mother tongue of about
1,700 people.
Religion
85,6% Lutheran and about 1% Orthodox
Christianity reached Finland about 1,000 years ago, more or less
simultaneously from the East and West. As a consequence, both the
Evangelical-Lutheran Church and Orthodox Church have the status of
official religions. Some 86% of the population belong to the former and
1% or so to the latter. People have the freedom of religion stated in
the law.
History and governance
Some important events in the history of Finland:
1155 The first crusade to Finland by the Swedes. Finland becomes part of the Swedish realm.
1809 Finland is handed over to Russia by Sweden and becomes a autonomous Grand Duchy under the Russian emperor.
1917 Finland's declaration of independence on December 6.
1919 The present constitution is adopted and Finland becomes a republic
1955 Finland joins the United Nations
1995 Finland becomes a member of the European Union
The head of state is the President of the Republic. The President is
elected for a six-year term by direct popular vote. The incumbent,
President Mrs. Tarja Halonen, was elected in 2000 and again in 2006.
Parliament consists of one chamber with 200 members. The members are
elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of
proportional representation.
The Economy
In 2002, Finland's GNP per capita was around 26 800 euros.
Exports
There are three almost equally important
exports sectors in the Finnish economy: electronics and
electrotechnical goods account for about 27.5% of exports, metal and
engineering products account for about 27.1% and forest industry
products account for about 26.5%. The fourth biggest export sector is
the chemical industry. The volume of exported goods grew by 6%. Trade
with developing countries accounted for 13.2% of total exports.
Imports
Finnish industry is particularly
dependent on imports of raw materials, machinery and components that it
needs for manufacturing products for both domestic and export markets.
Consumer goods, including textiles, clothing and cars, make up almost
25% of total imports. During the period 1997-2001, the electronics
industry experienced rapid growth, which required a significant
increases in production. In 2002, imports decreased by 1%. The main
reason was the big 11% drop in imports of investment goods. Trade with
developing countries accounted for 10.4% of imports.
Currency
The Finnish currency unit is the euro. Finland was one of the 12 EU countries that started using euro cash in 2002.
Source: http://virtual.finland.fi/
More information about Finland can be found on the Virtual Finland website