"text":"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 gained complete independence in 1917. During World War II, Finland successfully defended its independence through cooperation with Germany and resisted subsequent invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, Finland transformed from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the EU since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro single currency at its initiation in January 1999. In the 21st century, the key features of Finland's modern welfare state are high quality education, promotion of equality, and a national social welfare system - currently challenged by an aging population and the fluctuations of an export-driven economy."
}
},
"Geography":{
"Location":{
"text":"Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia"
"text":"200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation"
},
"exclusive fishing zone":{
"text":"12 nm; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden, Estonia, and Russia"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"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":{
"text":"mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills"
"text":"the vast majority of people are found in the south; the northern interior areas remain sparsely poplulated"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"severe winters in the north"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain"
"text":"limited air pollution in urban centers; some water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Air pollutants":{
"particulate matter emissions":{
"text":"5.88 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)"
},
"carbon dioxide emissions":{
"text":"45.87 megatons (2016 est.)"
},
"methane emissions":{
"text":"4.46 megatons (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes"
"text":"the name may derive from the Swedish \"helsing,\" an archaic name for \"neck\" (\"hals\"), and which may refer to a narrowing of the Vantaa River that flows into the Gulf of Finland at Helsinki; \"fors\" refers to \"rapids,\" so \"helsing fors\" meaning becomes \"the narrows' rapids\""
"text":"proposed by Parliament; passage normally requires simple majority vote in two readings in the first parliamentary session and at least two-thirds majority vote in a single reading by the newly elected Parliament; proposals declared \"urgent\" by five-sixths of Parliament members can be passed by at least two-thirds majority vote in the first parliamentary session only; amended several times, last in 2018"
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 28 January 2018 (next to be held in January 2024); prime minister appointed by Parliament"
},
"election results":{
"text":"Sauli NIINISTO reelected president; percent of vote Sauli NIINISTO (independent) 62.7%, Pekka HAAVISTO (Vihr) 12.4%, Laura HUHTASAARI (PS) 6.9%, Paavo VAYRYNEN (independent) 6.2%, Matti VANHANEN (Kesk) 4.1%, other 7.7%"
"text":"unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; 199 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 1 member in the province of Aland directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms)"
"text":"percent of vote by party/coalition - SDP 17.7%, PS 17.5%, Kok 17.0%. Center Party 13.8%, Vihr 11.5%, Vas 8.2%, SFP 4.5%, KD 3.9%, other 5.9%; seats by party/coalition - SDP 40, PS 39, Kok 38, Centre Party 31, Vihr 20, Vas 16, SFP 9, KD 5; composition men 108, women 92, percent of women 46%"
"text":"Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (consists of the court president and 18 judges); Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 21 judges, including the court president and organized into 3 chambers); note - Finland has a dual judicial system - courts with civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with jurisdiction for litigation between individuals and administrative organs of the state and communities"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court judges appointed by the president of the republic; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 68"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"6 Courts of Appeal; 8 regional administrative courts; 27 district courts; special courts for issues relating to markets, labor, insurance, impeachment, land, tenancy, and water rights"
"text":"Aland Coalition (a coalition of several political parties on the Aland Islands)<br>Center Party or Kesk [Annika SAARIKKO]<br>Christian Democrats or KD [Sari ESSAYAH]<br>Finns Party or PS [Riikka PURRA]<br>Green League or Vihr [Maria OHISALO]<br>Left Alliance or Vas [Li ANDERSSON]<br>National Coalition Party or Kok [Petteri ORPO]<br>Social Democratic Party or SDP [Sanna MARIN]<br>Swedish People's Party or RKP or SFP [Anna-Maja HENRIKSSON]"
"text":"white with a blue cross extending 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); the blue represents the thousands of lakes scattered across the country, while the white is for the snow that covers the land in winter"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> in use since 1848; although never officially adopted by law, the anthem has been popular since it was first sung by a student group in 1848; Estonia's anthem uses the same melody as that of Finland"
"text":"Fortress of Suomenlinna (c), Old Rauma (c), Petäjävesi Old Church (c), Verla Groundwood and Board Mill (c), Bronze Age Burial Site of Sammallahdenmäki (c), High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago (n), Struve Geodetic Arc (c)"
"text":"<p>Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy with per capita GDP almost as high as that of Austria and the Netherlands and slightly above that of Germany and Belgium. Trade is important, with exports accounting for over one-third of GDP in recent years. The government is open to, and actively takes steps to attract, foreign direct investment.</p><p></p><p>Finland is historically competitive in manufacturing, particularly in the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Finland excels in export of technology as well as promotion of startups in the information and communications technology, gaming, cleantech, and biotechnology sectors. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the cold climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export industry, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population.</p><p></p><p>Finland had been one of the best performing economies within the EU before 2009 and its banks and financial markets avoided the worst of global financial crisis. However, the world slowdown hit exports and domestic demand hard in that year, causing Finland’s economy to contract from 2012 to 2014. The recession affected general government finances and the debt ratio. The economy returned to growth in 2016, posting a 1.9% GDP increase before growing an estimated 3.3% in 2017, supported by a strong increase in investment, private consumption, and net exports. Finnish economists expect GDP to grow a rate of 2-3% in the next few years.</p><p></p><p>Finland's main challenges will be reducing high labor costs and boosting demand for its exports. In June 2016, the government enacted a Competitiveness Pact aimed at reducing labor costs, increasing hours worked, and introducing more flexibility into the wage bargaining system. As a result, wage growth was nearly flat in 2017. The Government was also seeking to reform the health care system and social services. In the long term, Finland must address a rapidly aging population and decreasing productivity in traditional industries that threaten competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth.</p>"
"text":"metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment; debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions"
"text":"Finland’s telecom market is among most progressive in Europe through favorable regulatory action and competitive technological innovation; orientation towards high technology, research, and development with high investment in information and communication sectors; large proportion of population on 5G and most on LTE; high broadband and mobile penetration; fixed-voice density falling; government provided universal 5Mb/s broadband (2020)"
"text":"country code - 358; landing points for Botnia, BCS North-1 & 2, SFL, SFS-4, C-Lion1, Eastern Lights, Baltic Sea Submarine Cable, FEC, and EESF-2 & 3 submarine cables that provide links to many Finland points, Estonia, Sweden, Germany, and Russia; satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"text":"a mix of 3 publicly operated TV stations and numerous privately owned TV stations; several free and special-interest pay-TV channels; cable and satellite multi-channel subscription services are available; all TV signals are broadcast digitally; Internet television, such as Netflix and others, is available; public broadcasting maintains a network of 13 national and 25 regional radio stations; a large number of private radio broadcasters and access to Internet radio"
"text":"8,000 km (includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia; water transport used frequently in the summer and widely replaced with sledges on the ice in winter; there are 187,888 lakes in Finland that cover 31,500 km); Finland also maintains 8,200 km of coastal fairways (2013)"
"text":"Finnish Defense Forces (FDF): Army (Maavoimat), Navy (Merivoimat), Air Force (Ilmavoimat); Ministry of the Interior: Border Guard (Rajavartiolaitos) (2021)",
"text":"the inventory of the Finnish Defense Forces consists of a wide mix of mostly modern US, European, and domestically-produced weapons systems; the Finnish defense industry produces a variety of military equipment, including wheeled armored vehicles and naval vessels (2021)"
"text":"at age 18, all Finnish men are obligated to serve 5.5-12 months of service within a branch of the military or the Border Guard (length of service depends on the type of duty), and women 18-29 may volunteer for service; there is also an option to perform non-military service which lasts for 8.5 or 11.5 months; after completing their initial conscript obligation, individuals enter the reserves and remain eligible for mobilization until the age of 50 for rank-and-file and 60 for non-commissioned and commissioned officers (2021)",
"note":"note(s) - the military trains approximately 21,000 (20,000 Army) conscripts each year; since 2017, between 1,000 and 1,700 women have volunteered for military service annually; as of 2019, women made up about 4% of the military's full-time personnel"
"text":"<p>Finland is not a member of NATO, but the two actively cooperate in peace-support operations, exercise together, and exchange analysis and information; Finland joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace program in 1994; Finnish Armed Forces participated in NATO-led military operations and missions in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq</p> <p>Finland is a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) and actively participates in CSDP crisis management missions and operations</p> <p>the Finnish Armed Forces closely cooperate with the militaries of other Nordic countries through the Nordic Defense Cooperation (NORDEFCO), which consists of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden; areas of cooperation include armaments, education, human resources, training and exercises, and operations; NORDEFCO was established in 2009</p>"
"text":"<p>various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the former Soviet Union, but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands</p>"
