{
"Introduction": {
"Background": {
"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."
}
},
"Geography": {
"Location": {
"text": "Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia"
},
"Geographic coordinates": {
"text": "64 00 N, 26 00 E"
},
"Map references": {
"text": "Europe"
},
"Area": {
"total": {
"text": "338,145 sq km"
},
"land": {
"text": "303,815 sq km"
},
"water": {
"text": "34,330 sq km"
}
},
"Area - comparative": {
"text": "slightly more than two times the size of Georgia; slightly smaller than Montana"
},
"Land boundaries": {
"total": {
"text": "2,563 km"
},
"border countries": {
"text": "Norway 709 km; Sweden 545 km; Russia 1,309 km"
}
},
"Coastline": {
"text": "1,250 km"
},
"Maritime claims": {
"territorial sea": {
"text": "12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm)"
},
"contiguous zone": {
"text": "24 nm"
},
"continental shelf": {
"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"
},
"Elevation": {
"highest point": {
"text": "Halti (alternatively Haltia, Haltitunturi, Haltiatunturi) 1,328 m"
},
"lowest point": {
"text": "Baltic Sea 0 m"
},
"mean elevation": {
"text": "164 m"
}
},
"Natural resources": {
"text": "timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone"
},
"Land use": {
"agricultural land": {
"text": "7.5% (2018 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: arable land": {
"text": "arable land: 7.4% (2018 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: permanent crops": {
"text": "permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)"
},
"agricultural land: permanent pasture": {
"text": "permanent pasture: 0.1% (2018 est.)"
},
"forest": {
"text": "72.9% (2018 est.)"
},
"other": {
"text": "19.6% (2018 est.)"
}
},
"Irrigated land": {
"text": "80 sq km (2015)"
},
"Major lakes (area sq km)": {
"fresh water lake(s)": {
"text": "Saimaa - 1,760 sq km; Paijanne - 1,090 sq km; Inarijarvi - 1,000 sq km; Oulujarvi - 900 sq km; Pielinen - 850 sq km"
}
},
"Population distribution": {
"text": "the vast majority of people are found in the south; the northern interior areas remain sparsely populated"
},
"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"
}
},
"People and Society": {
"Population": {
"text": "5,614,571 (2023 est.)"
},
"Nationality": {
"noun": {
"text": "Finn(s)"
},
"adjective": {
"text": "Finnish"
}
},
"Ethnic groups": {
"text": "Finnish, Swedish, Russian, Estonian, Romani, Sami",
"note": "note: 91.5% of the population has a Finnish background"
},
"Languages": {
"Languages": {
"text": "Finnish (official) 86.5%, Swedish (official) 5.2%, Russian 1.6%, other 6.7% (2021 est.)"
},
"major-language sample(s)": {
"text": "
World Factbook, korvaamaton perustietolähde. (Finnish)
The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
}
},
"Religions": {
"text": "Lutheran 66.6%, Greek Orthodox 1.1%, other 1.7%, none 30.6% (2021 est.)"
},
"Demographic profile": {
"text": "
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.
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.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "16.25% (male 466,311/female 446,015)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "60.5% (male 1,726,110/female 1,670,981)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "23.25% (2023 est.) (male 575,259/female 729,895)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "62.1" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "25" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "37.1" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "2.7 (2021 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "42.8 years" }, "male": { "text": "41.3 years" }, "female": { "text": "44.4 years (2020 est.)" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "0.22% (2023 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "10.33 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "10.37 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "2.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "the vast majority of people are found in the south; the northern interior areas remain sparsely populated" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "85.8% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.42% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "1.338 million HELSINKI (capital) (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "1.03 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.79 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "0.97 male(s)/female (2023 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "29.5 years (2020 est.)" }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "8 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "2.11 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "male": { "text": "2.29 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "1.92 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "81.96 years" }, "male": { "text": "79.08 years" }, "female": { "text": "84.98 years (2023 est.)" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "1.74 children born/woman (2023 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "0.85 (2023 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "85.5% (2015)", "note": "note: percent of women aged 18-49" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "9.6% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physicians density": { "text": "4.64 physicians/1,000 population (2018)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "3.6 beds/1,000 population (2018)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 100% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 100% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 100% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 0% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 0% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "22.2% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "8.23 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "3.76 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "1.59 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "1.96 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "0.91 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "21.6% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "26.9% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "16.3% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "NA" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "57.2% (2023 est.)" }, "Child marriage": { "women married by age 18": { "text": "0% (2017 est.)" } }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "5.9% of GDP (2020 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "total population": { "text": "NA" }, "male": { "text": "NA" }, "female": { "text": "NA" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "19 years" }, "male": { "text": "18 years" }, "female": { "text": "20 years (2020)" } }, "Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)": { "total": { "text": "18.1%" }, "male": { "text": "19%" }, "female": { "text": "17.1% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "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" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "7.5% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 7.4% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 0.1% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "72.9% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "19.6% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "85.8% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "0.42% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "0.36% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "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.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "2.738 million tons (2015 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "769,926 tons (2015 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "28.1% (2015 est.)" } }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Saimaa - 1,760 sq km; Paijanne - 1,090 sq km; Inarijarvi - 1,000 sq km; Oulujarvi - 900 sq km; Pielinen - 850 sq km" } }, "Total water withdrawal": { "municipal": { "text": "1 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "industrial": { "text": "2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" }, "agricultural": { "text": "500 million cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Total renewable water resources": { "text": "110 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)" } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "Republic of Finland" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Finland" }, "local long form": { "text": "Suomen tasavalta (Finnish)/ Republiken Finland (Swedish)" }, "local short form": { "text": "Suomi (Finnish)/ Finland (Swedish)" }, "etymology": { "text": "name may derive from the ancient Fenni peoples who are first described as living in northeastern Europe in the first centuries A.D." } }, "Government type": { "text": "parliamentary republic" }, "Capital": { "name": { "text": "Helsinki" }, "geographic coordinates": { "text": "60 10 N, 24 56 E" }, "time difference": { "text": "UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" }, "daylight saving time": { "text": "+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October" }, "etymology": { "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\"" } }, "Administrative divisions": { "text": "19 regions (maakunnat, singular - maakunta (Finnish); landskapen, singular - landskapet (Swedish)); Aland (Swedish), Ahvenanmaa (Finnish); Etela-Karjala (Finnish), Sodra Karelen (Swedish) [South Karelia]; Etela-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Sodra Osterbotten (Swedish) [South Ostrobothnia]; Etela-Savo (Finnish), Sodra Savolax (Swedish) [South Savo]; Kanta-Hame (Finnish), Egentliga Tavastland (Swedish); Kainuu (Finnish), Kajanaland (Swedish); Keski-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Mellersta Osterbotten (Swedish) [Central Ostrobothnia]; Keski-Suomi (Finnish), Mellersta Finland (Swedish) [Central Finland]; Kymenlaakso (Finnish), Kymmenedalen (Swedish); Lappi (Finnish), Lappland (Swedish); Paijat-Hame (Finnish), Paijanne-Tavastland (Swedish); Pirkanmaa (Finnish), Birkaland (Swedish) [Tampere]; Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Osterbotten (Swedish) [Ostrobothnia]; Pohjois-Karjala (Finnish), Norra Karelen (Swedish) [North Karelia]; Pohjois-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Norra Osterbotten (Swedish) [North Ostrobothnia]; Pohjois-Savo (Finnish), Norra Savolax (Swedish) [North Savo]; Satakunta (Finnish and Swedish); Uusimaa (Finnish), Nyland (Swedish) [Newland]; Varsinais-Suomi (Finnish), Egentliga Finland (Swedish) [Southwest Finland]" }, "Independence": { "text": "6 December 1917 (from Russia)" }, "National holiday": { "text": "Independence Day, 6 December (1917)" }, "Constitution": { "history": { "text": "previous 1906, 1919; latest drafted 17 June 1997, approved by Parliament 11 June 1999, entered into force 1 March 2000" }, "amendments": { "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" } }, "Legal system": { "text": "civil law system based on the Swedish model" }, "International law organization participation": { "text": "accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction" }, "Citizenship": { "citizenship by birth": { "text": "no" }, "citizenship by descent only": { "text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Finland" }, "dual citizenship recognized": { "text": "yes" }, "residency requirement for naturalization": { "text": "6 years" } }, "Suffrage": { "text": "18 years of age; universal" }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { "text": "President Sauli NIINISTO (since 1 March 2012)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Petteri ORPO (since 20 June 2023)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament" }, "elections/appointments": { "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": "2018: 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%.fi
", "note": "note - Aland Islands assigned .ax" }, "Internet users": { "total": { "text": "5.115 million (2021 est.)" }, "percent of population": { "text": "93% (2021 est.)" } }, "Broadband - fixed subscriptions": { "total": { "text": "1.846 million (2020 est.)" }, "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": { "text": "33 (2020 est.)" } } }, "Transportation": { "National air transport system": { "number of registered air carriers": { "text": "3 (2020)" }, "inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": { "text": "77" }, "annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": { "text": "13,364,839 (2018)" }, "annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": { "text": "957.64 million (2018) mt-km" } }, "Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": { "text": "OH" }, "Airports": { "text": "148 (2021)" }, "Airports - with paved runways": { "total": { "text": "74" }, "civil airports": { "text": "11" }, "military airports": { "text": "2" }, "joint use (civil-military) airports": { "text": "2" }, "other airports": { "text": "59" }, "note": "note: 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.)" }, "Airports - with unpaved runways": { "text": "74", "note": "note: 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" }, "Pipelines": { "text": "1,288 km gas transmission pipes, 1,976 km distribution pipes (2016)" }, "Railways": { "total": { "text": "5,918 km (2020) 3,349 km electrified" } }, "Roadways": { "total": { "text": "454,000 km (2012)" }, "highways": { "text": "78,000 km (2012) (50,000 paved, including 700 km of expressways; 28,000 unpaved)" }, "private and forest roads": { "text": "350,000 km (2012)" }, "urban": { "text": "26,000 km (2012)" } }, "Waterways": { "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" }, "Merchant marine": { "total": { "text": "278" }, "by type": { "text": "bulk carrier 9, container ship 1, general cargo 74, oil tanker 5, other 189 (2022)" } }, "Ports and terminals": { "major seaport(s)": { "text": "Helsinki, Kotka, Naantali, Porvoo, Raahe, Rauma" }, "LNG terminal(s) (import)": { "text": "Hamina, Inkoo (operational 2023), Pori, Tornio Manga" } }, "Transportation - note": { "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
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
" }, "Refugees and internally displaced persons": { "refugees (country of origin)": { "text": "9,175 (Iraq) (mid-year 2022); 55,600 (Ukraine) (as of 11 July 2023)" }, "stateless persons": { "text": "3,546 (2022)" } } } }