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 won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns 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.
Country name: Republic of Finland (local: Suomen Tasavalta).
Capital: Helsinki. It is northernmost national capital on European continent.
Government type: republic.
Administrative divisions: 6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani.
Terrain: mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills .
Total area: 337,030 km².
Coastline: 1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations).
Highest point: Halti 1,328 m.
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.
Ports and harbors: Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Loviisa, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku, Uusikaupunki, Varkaus.
Economy
Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy, with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important, with exports equaling one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Rapidly increasing integration with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 12 countries joining the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2003 was held back by the global slowdown but will pick up in 2004 provided the world economy suffers no further blows.
Currency: euro. Note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries.
GDP (purchasing power parity): US$ 141,7 billion (2003 est.).
GDP per capita (purchasing power parity): US$ 27,300 (2003 est.)
People
Population: 5,2 million (July 2004 est.), concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain.
Population growth rate: 0.18 % (2004 est.).
Life expectancy at birth: 78.2 years.
Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Russian Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other 1%.
Ethnic groups: Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Sami 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar 0.02%.
Language: Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities .
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