Background: Ruled by Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries
and by Russia from 1809, Finland finally won its independence in 1917.
During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and
fend off invasions by the Soviet Union and Germany. In the subsequent half
century, the Finns have made a remarkable transformation from a
farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita
income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European
Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its
initiation in January 1999.
Government type:
republic
Capital: Helsinki
Currency: 1 markka (FMk) or Finmark = 100 pennia
Geography of Finland
Location: Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf
of Finland, between Sweden and Russia
Geographic coordinates: 64 00 N, 26 00 E
Area:
total: 337,030 sq km
land: 305,470 sq km
water: 31,560 sq km
Land boundaries:
total: 2,628 km
border countries: Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km
Coastline: 1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations)
Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 6 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm)
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.
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low
hills
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m
Natural resources: timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver
Land use:
arable land: 8%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 76%
other: 16% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 640 sq km (1993 est.)
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.
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note: long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national
capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain.
More Geography
People of Finland
Population: 5,223,442 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18%
15-64 years: 66.97%
65 years and over: 15.03%
Population growth rate: 0.16%
Birth rate: 10.69 births/1,000 population
Death rate: 9.75 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate: 0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population
Infant mortality rate: 3.79 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 77.58 years
male: 73.92 years
female: 81.36 years
Total fertility rate: 1.7 children born/woman
Nationality:
noun: Finn(s)
adjective: Finnish
Ethnic groups: Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Sami 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar
0.02%
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Greek Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other 1%
Languages: Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Lapp- and
Russian-speaking minorities
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% (1980 est.)
SOURCE: The World Factbook |