Country Facts - Finland

Nationality
Finn(s)

Ethnic Composition

Religious Composition

Languages Spoken

Finnish (official), English (spoken by most every citizen and used as the language of commerce), Swedish (official second language), Lapp, Russian.

Education and Literacy

Education is compulsory for nine years. Adult literacy is 100 percent.

Labor Force

Total:  2.6 million (2000)
By occupation:

Geography

Land Mass Total

130,128 sq mi (337,030 sq km)

Land

117,942 sq mi (305,470 sq km)

Water

12,185 sq mi (31,560 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 1,632 mi (2,628 km)
Border countries: Norway 452 mi (729 km), Sweden 364 mi (586 km), Russia 815 mi (1,313 km)

Coastline

699 mi (1,126 km), excludes islands and coastal indentations

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 6 nm
Continental shelf: 656 ft (200 m) depth or to the depth of exploitation
Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
Territorial sea : 12 nm (3 nm in the Gulf of Finland)

Climate/Weather

Cold to temperate; potentially sub-Arctic, but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes.

Terrain

Mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Baltic Sea 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Haltiatunturi 4,356 ft (1,328 m)

Natural Resources

Timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver.

Land use

(1998)

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.

Geography Note

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

Demographics

Population

Age structure

Growth Rate

Life Expectancy

GDP Per Capita

Infant Mortality

Sex ratio

Net migration rate

Economy & Trade

Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy, with per capita output roughly that of the U.K., France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important, with exports equaling almost one-third 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. Rapidly increasing integration with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 11 countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on 1 January 1999 - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2001 was held back by the global slowdown, which carried over into the beginning of  2002. Imports dropped by 4 percent in 2002 and the year ended posting an 8.1 percent unemployment rate. The collapse of the telecommunications market hit Finland's flagship Nokia very hard with the shock rippling through the whole economy.

Unemployment

Inflation Rate

Industries

Exports

Imports

Total Trade

Top Export Partners

Top Import Partners

Top Exports

Top Imports

Foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, fodder grains.

Debt - external

Economic aid

Fiscal Year:

Business Workweek

Note : Business hours are greatly affected by the lengthy periods of darkness in more northern regions of the country, as well as by local custom........

Holidays

Official Holidays