Finland, State of Northern Europe; 338 145 km2, of which 34 526 km2 water, 5 517 919 residents (2019).In Finland there are about 188,000 lakes with a surface area of at least 500 m 2. They account for 10 percent of the total area, while forest land accounts for 78 percent. The capital is Helsinki (645 179 residents, 2018).
Country facts
- Suomen Tasavalta / Republic of Finland
- Country abbreviation: FI (FIN)
- Area: 338 145 km2
- Population (2019): 5.5 million residents
- Capital: Helsinki
- Main languages: Finnish, Swedish
- State: Republic
- Head of State: Sauli Niinistö (President)
- Head of Government: Sanna Marin
- Per capita GDP (2018): US $ 49,648
- GNI per capita (2018): US $ 47,750
- Currency unit: euro
- Currency code: EUR
- Country number (telephony): 358
- Internet domain name: fi
- Time difference compared to Sweden: +1
- National Day: December 6 (Independence Day, 1917)
Nature
- Land use: forest (78%), agricultural land (8%), other (14%)
- Highest mountain: Halde mountains (1,324 m above sea level)
- Longest river: Chemistry river (483 km)
Population
- Population density (2019): 17 residents per km2
- Natural population growth (2019): –0.1%; birth rate 9 ‰, death rate 10 ‰
- Age structure (2019): 0-14 years (16%), 15-64 (62%), 65- (22%)
- Life expectancy (2019): men 79 years, women 84 years
- Infant mortality (2019): 2 per 1,000 live births
- Population forecast 2050: 6 million residents
- HDI (2017): 0.920 (place 15 of 189)
- Urbanization rate (2019): 70%
- Most populous cities (2018): Helsinki (645,179 residents), Espoo (279,529), Tampere (232,164)
Business
- Industry’s contribution to GDP (2017): agriculture (3%), industry (28%), service (69%)
- Exports (2017): US $ 67,730 million
- Main export products: electronic equipment, transport equipment, paper products
- Main exporting countries: Germany, Sweden, Netherlands
- Imports (2017): US $ 65 260 million
- Main import products: food, fuel, chemicals
- Main importing countries: Germany, Sweden, Russian Federation
- Railway network (2016): 5 900 km
Finland can be divided into the coastal country, the lake plateau region and Lappmarken, which is predominantly an elevation area in the north. The coastal land is covered by fertile sediments that have formed on the seabed. After the melting of the ice sheet, the land has risen and formerly sound and fjords have become fertile valleys. The Lake Plateau region comprises the inner parts of southern and central Finland, where the soil consists of moraine soil species. The area is wooded. To the south, the border goes to the coastal land at a very endmorning area with large amounts of gravel and sand deposits, Salpausselkä.
The Constitution, which came into force in 2000, states that state power “belongs to the people represented by the Riksdag”. Parliament members are elected for four years, while the president is elected for a six-year term.
Since the middle of the 1990s, the country’s economy has largely been favorable, mainly due to successful exports. The business sector has been widened with the electronics and IT sectors as spearheads. The growth came after a period of economic crisis in the early 1990s when the previously important export opportunities to the Soviet Union deteriorated. The forest industry is still important, but it has decreased somewhat in importance. The country’s largest and most successful company is the telecommunications and electronics group Nokia. Since the end of the 1990s, however, Finland has been hit by the international recession and government debt has increased. Nokia has also had difficulties and has had to dismiss many employees.