1995 Edition

Area

total area: 337,030 sq km land area: 305,470 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Montana

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

Coastline

1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations)

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 natural hazards: NA international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification, Law of the Sea

International disputes

none

Irrigated land

620 sq km (1989 est.)

Land boundaries

total 2,628 km, Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km

Land use

arable land: 8% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 76% other: 16%

Location

Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 6 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm territorial sea: 4 nm

Natural resources

timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver

Note

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

Terrain

mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills

Age structure

0-14 years: 19% (female 469,666; male 491,484) 15-64 years: 67% (female 1,683,371; male 1,716,307) 65 years and over: 14% (female 457,061; male 267,317) (July 1995 est.)

Birth rate

12.22 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate

9.77 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Finn, Swede, Lapp, Gypsy, Tatar

Infant mortality rate

5.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Labor force

2.533 million by occupation: public services 30.4%, industry 20.9%, commerce 15.0%, finance, insurance, and business services 10.2%, agriculture and forestry 8.6%, transport and communications 7.7%, construction 7.2%

Languages

Finnish 93.5% (official), Swedish 6.3% (official), small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 76.22 years male: 72.51 years female: 80.11 years (1995 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1980 est.) total population: 100%

Nationality

noun: Finn(s) adjective: Finnish

Net migration rate

0.59 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Population

5,085,206 (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate

0.3% (1995 est.)

Religions

Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Greek Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other 1%

Total fertility rate

1.79 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Administrative divisions

12 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Ahvenanmaa, Hame, Keski-Suomi, Kuopio, Kymi, Lappi, Mikkeli, Oulu, Pohjois-Karjala, Turku ja Pori, Uusimaa, Vaasa

Capital

Helsinki

Constitution

17 July 1919

Digraph

FI

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Jukka VALTASAARI chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800

Executive branch

chief of state: President Martti AHTISAARI (since 1 March 1994); election last held 31 January-6 February 1994 (next to be held January 2000); results - Martti AHTISAARI 54%, Elisabeth REHN 46% head of government: Prime Minister Paavo LIPPONEN (since 13 April 1995); Deputy Prime Minister Sauli NIINISTO (since 13 April 1995) cabinet: Council of State (Valtioneuvosto); appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament

FAX

[1] (202) 298-6030 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

[358] (0) 174681

Flag

white with a blue cross that extends 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)

Independence

6 December 1917 (from Soviet Union)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (Korkein Oikeus)

Legal system

civil law system based on Swedish law; Supreme Court may request legislation interpreting or modifying laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

Legislative branch

unicameral

Member of

AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EBRD, ECE, EFTA, ESA (associate), EU, FAO, G- 9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MTCR, NACC (observer), NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMOGIP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Finland conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen Tasavalta local short form: Suomi

National holiday

Independence Day, 6 December (1917)

Other political or pressure groups

Finnish Communist Party-Unity, Yrjo HAKANEN; Constitutional Rightist Party; Finnish Pensioners Party; Communist Workers Party, Timo LAHDENMAKI

Parliament (Eduskunta)

elections last held 19 March 1995 (next to be held March 1999); results - Social Democratic Party 28.3%, Center Party 19.9%, National Coalition (Conservative) Party 17.9%, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 11.2%, Swedish People's Party 5.1%, Green League 6.5%, Ecology Party 0.3%, Rural 1.3%, Finnish Christian League 3.0%, Liberal People's Party 0.6%, Young Finns 2.8%; seats - (200 total) Social Democratic Party 63, Center Party 44, National Coalition (Conservative) Party 39, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 22, Swedish People's Party 11, Green League 9, Ecology Party 1, Rural 1, Finnish Christian League 7, Young Finns 2, Aaland Islands 1

Political parties and leaders

government coalition: Social Democratic Party, Paavo LIPPONEN; National Coalition (conservative) Party, Sauli NIINISTO; Leftist Alliance (Communist) People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative, Claes ANDERSON; Swedish People's Party, (Johan) Ole NORRBACK; Green League, Pekka HAAVISTO other: Center Party, Esko AHO; Finnish Christian League, Toimi KANKAANNIEMI; Rural Party, Tina MAKELA; Liberal People's Party, Tuulikki UKKOLA; Greens Ecological Party (EPV); Young Finns

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Type

republic

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Derek N. SHEARER embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14A, FIN-00140, Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (0) 171931

Agriculture

accounts for 7% of GDP (including forestry); livestock production, especially dairy cattle, predominates; main crops - cereals, sugar beets, potatoes; 85% self-sufficient, but short of foodgrains and fodder grains; annual fish catch about 160,000 metric tons

Budget

revenues: $21.7 billion expenditures: $31.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1993 est.)

Currency

1 markka (FMk) or Finmark = 100 pennia

Economic aid

donor: ODA and OOF commitments (1970-89), $2.7 billion

Electricity

capacity: 13,360,000 kW production: 58 billion kWh consumption per capita: 12,196 kWh (1993)

Exchange rates

markkaa (FMk) per US$1 - 4.7358 (January 1995), 5.2235 (1994), 5.7123 (1993), 4.4794 (1992), 4.0440 (1991), 3.8235 (1990)

Exports

$23.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: paper and pulp, machinery, chemicals, metals, timber partners: EC 53.2% (Germany 15.6%, UK 10.7%), EFTA 19.5% (Sweden 12.8%), US 5.9%, Japan 1.3%, Russia 2.8% (1992)

External debt

$30 billion (December 1993)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for Latin American cocaine for the West European market

Imports

$18 billion (c.i.f., 1993) commodities: foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, fodder grains partners: EC 47.2% (Germany 16.9%, UK 8.7%), EFTA 19.0% (Sweden 11.7%), US 6.1%, Japan 5.5%, Russia 7.1% (1992)

Industrial production

growth rate 5% (1993 est.); accounts for 28% of GDP

Industries

metal products, shipbuilding, forestry and wood processing (pulp, paper), copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

2.1% (1992)

National product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $81.8 billion (1994 est.)

National product per capita

$16,140 (1994 est.)

National product real growth rate

3.5% (1994 est.)

Overview

Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free market economy, with per capita output two-thirds of the US figure. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, and engineering industries. Trade is important, with the export of goods representing about 30% 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. The economy, which experienced an average of 4.9% annual growth between 1987 and 1989, sank into deep recession in 1991 as GDP contracted by 6.5%. The recession - which continued in 1992 with GDP contracting by 4.1% - has been caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets, and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union under which Soviet oil and gas had been exchanged for Finnish manufactured goods. The Finnish Government has proposed efforts to increase industrial competitiveness and efficiency by an increase in exports to Western markets, cuts in public expenditures, partial privatization of state enterprises, and changes in monetary policy. In June 1991 Helsinki had tied the markka to the European Union's (EU) European Currency Unit (ECU) to promote stability. Ongoing speculation resulting from a lack of confidence in the government's policies forced Helsinki to devalue the markka by about 12% in November 1991 and to indefinitely break the link in September 1992. The devaluations have boosted the competitiveness of Finnish exports. The recession bottomed out in 1993, and Finland participated in the general European upturn of 1994. Unemployment probably will remain a serious problem during the next few years; the majority of Finnish firms face a weak domestic market and the troubled German and Swedish export markets. The Finns voted in an October 1994 referendum to enter the EU, and Finland officially joined the Union on 1 January 1995. Increasing integration with Western Europe will dominate the economic picture over the next few years.

Unemployment rate

22% (1993)

Radio

broadcast stations: AM 6, FM 105, shortwave 0 radios: NA

Telephone system

3,140,000 telephones; good service from cable and microwave radio relay network local: NA intercity: cable and microwave radio relay international: 1 submarine cable; INTELSAT satellite transmission service via Swedish earth station and a receive-only INTELSAT earth station near Helsinki for TV programs

Television

broadcast stations: 235 televisions: NA

Airports

total: 159 with paved runways over 3,047 m: 3 with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 21 with paved runways under 914 m: 94 with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 5

Highways

total: 76,755 km paved: bituminous concrete, bituminous treated soil 47,588 km (318 km of expressways) unpaved: gravel 29,167 km (1992)

Inland waterways

6,675 km total (including Saimaa Canal); 3,700 km suitable for steamers

Merchant marine

total: 93 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,050,270 GRT/1,080,150 DWT ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 20, chemical tanker 5, liquefied gas tanker 3, oil tanker 12, passenger 3, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 31, short-sea passenger 10, vehicle carrier 1

Pipelines

natural gas 580 km

Ports

Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Loviisa, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku, Uusikaupunki, Varkaus

Railroads

total: 5,864 km broad gauge: 5,864 km 1.524-m gauge (1,710 km electrified; 480 km multiple track)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air Force, Frontier Guard (includes Sea Guard)

Defense expenditures

exchange rate conversion - $1.86 billion, about 1.9% of GDP (1994) ________________________________________________________________________ FRANCE

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,318,231; males fit for military service 1,083,749; males reach military age (17) annually 33,085 (1995 est.)