"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. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland opted to join NATO; it became the organization's 31st member in April 2023."
"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":"long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain"
"text":"<p>Finland has a relatively high fertility rate for Europe at about 1.75 children per woman in 2023. Finnish women have high labor force participation rates, and their educational attainment is higher than that of Finnish men. Finland’s family policy, like other Nordic countries, puts an emphasis on reconciling work and family life. Both parents can stay at home with an earnings-based allowance until the baby is about 11 months old. Finland also has a publicly subsidized childcare system. Alternatively, parents can choose to take care of a small child through home care leave with a flat allowance rate. These benefits have encouraged fathers to do a greater share of housework and childcare, although women still perform the lion’s share of domestic work. In other instances, women have reduced the burden of household work by outsourcing domestic chores, rather than men taking on more of the responsibilities. Finland has high family size ideals compared to other European countries, and childlessness and one-child families are not favored. The proportion of couples having at least three children has been growing since the 1970s.</p> <p>Finland has historically been a country of emigration. In the 20th century, Finns emigrated largely in two waves. Before World War II, the majority of Finns went to North America, and after World War II most went to Sweden, where industrialization was generating much-needed jobs that offered higher salaries and a better standard of living. In the 1980s and early 1990s, Finnish returnees (mainly from Sweden) began to outnumber Finnish emigrants. Also arriving in Finland between April 1990 and 2010, were Ingrian Finns – descendants of ethnic Finns who settled near St. Petersburg, Russia, in the 17th century – who immigrated to Finland under the Right of Return Law. In addition, the country has absorbed immigrants from Russia, Estonia, the former Yugoslavia, and Sweden for a variety of reasons, most commonly for marriage and family reunification. Finland has also accepted refugees and asylum seekers from Somalia, Iraq, China, and Thailand.</p>"
"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"
}
},
"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 <em>helsing</em>, an archaic name for \"neck\" (<em>hals</em>), and which may refer to a narrowing of the Vantaa River that flows into the Gulf of Finland at Helsinki; <em>fors</em> refers to \"rapids,\" so <em>helsing fors</em> 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"
"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 - Kok 24%, PS 23%, SDP 21.5%. Center Party 11.5%, Vihr 6.5%, Vas 5.5%, SFP 4.5%, KD 2.5%, Aland 0.5%; Movement Now 0.5%; seats by party/coalition - Kok 48, PS 46, SDP 43, Center Party 23, Vihr 13, Vas 11, SFP 9, KD 5; Aland 1; Movement Now 1; 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 [Sofia VIRTA]<br>Left Alliance or Vas [Li ANDERSSON]<br>Movement Now or Liike Nyt [Harry HARKINO]<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":"highly industrialized, export-based EU economy and euro user; high per capita GDP; major timber, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries; manageable public debts; rigid labor laws impose higher regulatory burdens"
"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 the more progressive in Europe, with operators having been at the forefront in deploying technologies and with the regulator being among the first to auction spectrum for 5G use; these efforts have been supported by the government which is working towards its target of providing a broadband service of at least 100Mb/s by 2025; 5G services were available to more than 40% of the population by early 2021, and take-up among subscribers has been strong although most will remain with LTE in the short term; the country enjoys one of the highest broadband and mobile subscription rates in the region, with customers able to make use of the latest iterations of technologies including DOCSIS3.1, LTE-A, 5G, and GPON fiber infrastructure; Finland has emerged as one of the pioneers in 5G; the auction of spectrum in the 700MHz and 3.5GHh bands has enabled network operators to extend the availability of LTE services nationally and to prepare for 5G services; Spectrum in the 2.5GHz band was auctioned in mid-2020 and has since enabled the MNOs to widen their 5G footprint considerably; there is an ongoing shift away from DSL to fiber and mobile networks (2021)"
"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)"
"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"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control"
"text":"8,000 km (2013) (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"
"text":"Finland operates icebreakers in the Baltic Sea including seven PC 3 or 4 class medium icebreakers and two PC 5 or 6 class light icebreakers<br>note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 3 - year-round operation in second-year ice which may include multi-year ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 2.5 m); PC 4 - year-round operation in thick first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 120 cm); PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)"
"text":"Finnish Defense Forces (FDF; Puolustusvoimat): Army (Maavoimat), Navy (Merivoimat), Air Force (Ilmavoimat) (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the Border Guard (Rajavartiolaitos) and National Police are under the Ministry of the Interior; the Border Guard becomes part of the FDF in wartime"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> active-duty figures include about 21,000 conscripts carrying out their obligated military service (approximately 17,000 Army; 3,500 Navy; 1,000 Air Force)"
"text":"the military's inventory consists of a wide mix of mostly modern US, European, Israeli, South Korean, and domestically produced weapons systems; in recent years, the Netherlands and the US have been the leading suppliers; the Finnish defense industry produces a variety of military equipment, including wheeled armored vehicles and naval vessels (2023)"
"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); 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 (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note 1:</strong> the military trains approximately 21,000 conscripts each year; women have served on a voluntary basis since 1995, and as of 2022 made up about 19% of the military's full-time personnel<br><br><strong>note 2: </strong>Finland has had conscription since 1951"
"text":"Finland joined NATO in April 2023; Finland had been part of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program since 1994, and Finnish Armed Forces participated in NATO-led military operations and missions in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq<br><br>Finland is a signatory of the EU’s Common Security and Defense Policy (CSDP) and actively participates in CSDP crisis management missions and operations<br><br>the Finnish Armed Forces cooperate closely 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 (2023)"
"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>"
