(Redirected from Finnland)
'Finland', officially the 'Republic of Finland' (), is a
Nordic country situated in
Northern Europe. It is bordered with
Sweden to the west,
Russia to the east,
Norway to the north while
Estonia lies to its south across the
Gulf of Finland. Its
capital city is
Helsinki.
Finland has a population of 5.3 million,
spread over an area of . The majority of the population is concentrated in the southern parts of the country. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 15.5 persons per square kilometre, making it
the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. As their
mother tongue, most
Finns speak
Finnish, one of the few official
languages of the European Union that is not of
Indo-European origin. The second official language,
Swedish, is spoken natively by a
5.5 percent minority.
[2]
Previously part of Sweden and from 1809
an autonomous Grand Duchy within the
Russian Empire, Finland
declared its independence in
1917. Today, Finland is a
democratic,
parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the
United Nations since 1955 and the
European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic
welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in
international comparisons of national performance.
Finland is eleventh on the United Nations'
Human Development Index[3] and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world.
[4] According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of
civil liberties,
freedom of the press, low
corruption levels and
political rights.
[5] Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the
Economist Intelligence Unit,
[6] and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting
neutrality in wartime.
History
Main articles: History of Finland
Prehistory and Swedish era until 1809
According to
archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was first settled around
8500 BCE during the
Stone Age as the ice shield of the last
ice age receded. The earliest people were
hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the
tundra and sea could offer.
Pottery is known from around the
5300 BCE (see
Comb Ceramic Culture).The arrival of the
Battle Axe culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around
3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of
agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late
third millenium BCE. Even with the introduction of agriculture,
hunting and
fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country. Scientists believe it is probable that speakers of a
Finno-Ugric language arrived in the region during the
Stone Age, around 2000 BCE at the latest (see
Finno-Ugric peoples).
[8]
The
Bronze Age (
1500–
500 BCE) and
Iron Age (500 BCE–
1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the
Fennoscandian and
Baltic regions. The first verifiable written documents appeared in the
twelfth century.
Sweden
secured its hold of Finland in the 13th century.
Swedish became the dominant language of administration and education;
Finnish was chiefly a language for the
peasantry,
clergy and local
courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The nobility was Swedish and small coastal towns were predominantly German. The
Bishop of Turku was usually the most important person in Finland during the Catholic era.
The
Middle Ages ended with the
Reformation when the Finns gradually converted to
Lutheranism. In the 16th century,
Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first
university in Finland,
The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the
Finns as the
Greater Wrath (
1714–
1721) and the
Lesser Wrath (
1742–
1743). By this time "Finland" was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border.
Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire (1809–1917)
Main articles: Grand Duchy of Finland
On
March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of
Alexander I of Russia in the
Finnish War, Finland became a semi-autonomous
Grand Duchy in the
Russian Empire until the end of
1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the
1860s onwards, as a result of a strong
nationalism, known as the
Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's
national epic, the ''
Kalevala'', in
1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in
1892.
Despite the
Finnish famine of 1866-1868, in which about 15 percent of the population died, political and economic development was rapid from the 1860s onwards.
In
1906,
universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland, the second country in the world where this happened. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish
autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was in practise nearly meaningless, since the emperor did not approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and socialists.
Civil War (1917–1918) and early independence
Main articles: Finland's declaration of independence,
Finnish Civil War
On
December 6,
1917, shortly after the
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,
Finland declared its independence, which was approved by
Bolshevist Russia.
In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter
Civil War that affected domestic politics for many decades afterwards. The Civil War was fought between "
the Whites", who were supported by
Imperial Germany, and "
the Reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The Reds consisted mostly of propertyless rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The White forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically to the right. Eventually, the Whites overcame the Reds. The deep social and political enmity between the Reds and Whites remained. The civil war and
activist expeditions (see
Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained eastern relations.
After
a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with
Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg elected as its first president in
1919. The Finnish–Russian border was determined by the
Treaty of Tartu in
1920, largely following the historic border but granting
Pechenga (
Finnish: ''Petsamo'') and its
Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme rightist
Lapua Movement and
Great Depression in the early
'30s. However, legislators tended to be
anti-communist and the relationship between Finland and the
Soviet Union was tense.
Finland during World War II (1939–1945)
Main articles: Military history of Finland during World War II
During
World War II, Finland fought the
Soviet Union twice: in the
Winter War of
1939–
1940 and in the
Continuation War of
1941–
1944, following
Operation Barbarossa in which
Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Finland also supplied soldiers to Germany who fought in the 5 SS Wiking division. Following German losses, heavy Finnish casualties and the Soviet advance Finland was forced to switch sides and ally itself to Russia. This was followed by the
Lapland War of 1944–
1945, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland.
The treaties signed in
1947 and
1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the
Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of
Finnish Karelia,
Salla, and
Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity.
400,000 evacuees, mainly women
and children, fled these areas. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as
Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily
agrarian economy to an
industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of
bilateral trade.
The post-war era and modern history
After the Second World War,
neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the
Western countries and the Soviet Union. The "
YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of ''Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance'') gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. This was extensively exploited by President
Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations, which gave him a status of ''"only choice for president"''. There was also a tendency of
self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name "
Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. ''suomettuminen''). However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a
market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union.
The post-war era was a period of rapid
economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with an extensive
social welfare system. When the
Soviet Union fell in
1991, the
bilateral trade disappeared overnight. Finland was simultaneously hit by a severe
depression originating from the Western markets and the Finnish economy itself that caused a
structural change of the economy. The depression lasted from 1990 to 1993, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate. Finland joined the
European Union in
1995, where it is an advocate of
federalism contrary to the other
Nordic countries which predominantly support
confederalism.
[9]
Etymology
Main articles: Origin of the name Finn
The name ''Suomi'' (''Finland'' in Finnish) has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word ''
★ zeme'' meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from ''suomaa'' (fen land) or ''suoniemi'' (fen cape).
The
exonym ''Finland'' has resemblance with e.g. the
Scandinavian placenames Finnmark,
Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with "Fin(n)" in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from ''finnr'', a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning
nomadic "
hunter-gatherers" or
slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. It is unknown how, why and when "Finnr" started to mean the people of
Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to mean the people of the whole country).
Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two runestones. There is one in Söderby, Sweden, with the inscription ''finlont'' (
U 582 †) and one in
Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription ''finlandi'' (
G 319 M) dating from the
eleventh century.
[10].
Geography and environment
Detailed map of Finland.
Topography and geology
Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands to be precise.
[11] One of these lakes,
Saimaa, is the fifth largest in
Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the
Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of
Lapland at the border between Finland and
Norway.
The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous
taiga forests and fens, with little
arable land. The most common type of rock is
granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover.
Moraine or
till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of
humus of biological origin. The greater part of the islands are found in southwest in the
Archipelago Sea, part of the
archipelago of the
Ã…land Islands, and along the southern coast in the
Gulf of Finland.
Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the
post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last
ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about a year.
[12]
The distance from the most Southern point –
Hanko – to the most northern point of Finland –
Nuorgam – is (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (
Land's End to
John o' Groats – and 16.5 h).
Flora and fauna
All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last
ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation.
Today, there are over 1,200 species of
vascular plant, 800
bryophytes and 1,000
lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish
ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting
seasons and
extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the
Scots Pine,
spruce,
birch and
oak, spread throughout Finland from
Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago.
Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native
mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago.
Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the
Brown Bear (the national animal),
Gray Wolf,
elk and
reindeer. Other common mammals include the
Red Fox,
Red Squirrel, and
Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the
flying squirrel,
Golden Eagle,
Saimaa Ringed Seal and the
Arctic fox, which is considered the most endangered.
Whooper Swan, the national bird of Finland, is a large Northern Hemisphere
swan. The most common breeding birds are the
Willow Warbler,
Chaffinch and
Redwing.
[13] Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the
northern pike,
perch and others are plentiful.
Salmon remains the favorite of
fly rod enthusiasts.
The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the
Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 270 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.
[14]
Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and
Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast
national parks.
Climate
The
climate in Southern Finland is a northern
temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the
Province of Lapland, a
subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the
Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a
maritime and a
continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the
Atlantic Ocean to be continuously warmed by the
Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute
latitude.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the
Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the
midnight sun can be experienced – for more days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter.
Provinces, regions, and municipalities
Main articles: Administrative divisions of Finland
Provinces
.png)
Provinces of Finland
,
Historical provinces of Finland
The state organisation is divided into
six administrative provinces ''(lääni,
pl. läänit)'' The provinces are further divided into ninety state local districts.
The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and has no elected officials. This system was created in
1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in
1997. Since then, the six provinces have been (see picture on the right):
#
Southern Finland
#
Western Finland
#
Eastern Finland
#
Oulu
#
Lapland
#
Ã…land
Dialects,
folklore,
customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with the
historical provinces of Finland, although the
re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during
World War II and
urbanisation in the latter half of the
twentieth century have made differences less pronounced. The present-day
regions are subdivisions of these provinces.
The
Ã…land Islands enjoy a degree of
autonomy.
Regions and municipalities
Main articles: Regions of Finland,
Sub-regions of Finland,
Municipalities of Finland
Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 416 municipalities (as of
January 1,
2007). Since
1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between
towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality.
Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four
sub-regions and twenty
regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The
Ã…land region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the
Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with regional elections.
Sami people have a semi-autonomous
Sami Domicile Area in
Lapland for issues on language and culture.
Largest municipalities
In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire
municipality (''kunta/kommun''), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in
km², and the density in inhabitants per km² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the
capital region – comprising
Helsinki,
Vantaa,
Espoo and
Kauniainen (see
Greater Helsinki) – forms a continuous
conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in
Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council.
:''Further information:
List of Finnish municipalities,
List of Finnish municipalities by population,
List of Finnish municipalities by area, and
Former municipalities of Finland''
Demographics
| Population of Finland, 1750–2000[15] |
|---|
| Year | Population | Year | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1750 | 421,000 | 1880 | 2,060,800 |
| 1760 | 491,000 | 1890 | 2,380,100 |
| 1770 | 561,000 | 1900 | 2,655,900 |
| 1780 | 663,000 | 1910 | 2,943,400 |
| 1790 | 705,600 | 1920 | 3,147,600 |
| 1800 | 832,700 | 1930 | 3,462,700 |
| 1810 | 863,300 | 1940 | 3,695,617 |
| 1820 | 1,177,500 | 1950 | 4,029,803 |
| 1830 | 1,372,100 | 1960 | 4,446,222 |
| 1840 | 1,445,600 | 1970 | 4,598,336 |
| 1850 | 1,636,900 | 1980 | 4,787,778 |
| 1860 | 1,746,700 | 1990 | 4,998,478 |
| 1870 | 1,768,800 | 2000 | 5,181,000 |
Main articles: Demographics of Finland
Population
Finland currently numbers 5,290,157 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per
square kilometre.
This makes it, after
Norway and
Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in
Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after twentieth-century
urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the
Greater Helsinki metropolitan area (including the cities of
Helsinki,
Vantaa,
Espoo and
Kauniainen),
Tampere,
Turku and
Oulu.
The share of
immigrants in Finland is among the lowest of the European Union countries. Foreign citizens comprise only 2.3 percent of the population.
[16] Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden.
Language
Main articles: Finnish language,
Finland Swedish
Most of the
Finnish people (92 percent
[17]) speak Finnish as their
mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the
Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the
Uralic languages and is
typologically between
inflected and
agglutinative languages. It modifies and
inflects the forms of
nouns,
adjectives,
pronouns,
numerals and
verbs, depending on their roles in the
sentence. In practice, this means that instead of
prepositions and
prefixes there is a great variety of different
suffixes and that
compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65–70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds.
[18] A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is
Estonian, which is obviously similar although not mutually intelligible. These languages, together with
Hungarian (all members of the
Uralic language family), are the primary non-
Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with
Estonia and
Hungary, is one of the three independent countries where an
Uralic language is spoken by the majority.
The largest minority language is
Swedish, which is the second official language in Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population.
[19] Other minority languages are
Russian (0.8 percent
[19]) and
Estonian (0.3 percent
[19]). To the north, in
Lapland, are also the
Sami people, numbering around 7,000
[22] and recognized as the
indigenous people. About a quarter of them speaks a
Finno-Ugric Sami language as the mother tongue.
There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland:
Northern Sami,
Inari Sami and
Skolt Sami. The rights of minority groups (in particular
Sami and
Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution.
[23]
The majority of Finns learn enough English in school and from media to be proficient in that language. Other common secondary languages are German and French. Education in the other domestic language is compulsory in Junior High School for both Finnish and Swedish speakers. The exception is the autonomous Ã…land Islands, where Finnish is not compulsory due to Swedish being the sole official language of the province.
Religion
Main articles: Religion in Finland,
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland,
Finnish Orthodox Church
Most
Finns are members of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (82.5 percent).
[ Kirkon väestötilastot tarkentuneet – Suomalaisista 82,4 prosenttia kuuluu luterilaiseen kirkkoon ] A minority belongs to the
Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent) (see
Eastern Orthodox Church). Other
Protestant denominations and the
Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the
Muslim,
Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.1 percent
[24] of the population is unaffiliated. The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are the
official churches of Finland. However, church attendance is much lower than these figures may suggest. Most of the population holds generally secular views. A majority of members of the state Lutheran Church do not participate actively, and even then it is mostly for occasions like weddings and funerals.
[25]
Family structure
Finnish family life is centered on the
nuclear family. Relations with the
extended family are often rather distant, and
Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to
UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in child well-being.
[26]
Education
Main articles: Education in Finland
The Finnish education system is a comparatively
egalitarian Nordic system, with no
tuition fees for full-time students. Attendance is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 16, and free meals are served to pupils at
primary and
secondary levels. The first nine years of education (primary and secondary school) are compulsory, and the pupils go to their local school. Secondary education is not compulsory; it is either a
trade school, or preparation for
tertiary education. In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the higher vocational schools and
universities.
In the
OECD's international assessment of student performance,
PISA, Finland has consistently been among the highest scorers worldwide; in
2003, Finnish 15-year-olds came first in reading
literacy,
science, and
mathematics; and second in
problem solving, worldwide. The
World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world.
[27]
Health
Finland has a developed
public health care system. 18.9 percent of health care is funded by households themselves, 76.6 percent is
publicly funded, and the rest of the funding comes from elsewhere. There are 307 residents for each doctor.
[28]
After having one of the highest death rates from
heart disease in the world in the
1970s, improvements in the Finnish
diet and
exercise have paid off. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world.
[29]
The
life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men.
Government and politics
Main articles: Politics of Finland
Political system
Finland has a
semi-presidential system with
parliamentarism. The
president is responsible for
foreign policy outside of the
European Union in cooperation with the
cabinet (the
Finnish Council of State) where most executive power lies, headed by the
Prime Minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet is granted to a person nominated by the President and approved of by the Parliament. This person also becomes Prime Minister after formal appointment by the President. Any minister and the cabinet as a whole, however, must have continuing trust of the parliament and may be
voted out, resign or be replaced. The Council of State is made up of the Prime Minister and the ministers for the various departments of the central government as well as an ex-officio member, the
Chancellor of Justice.
The 200-member
unicameral parliament is called the ''Eduskunta'' (Finnish) or ''Riksdag'' (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the
Constitution of Finland, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential
vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review.
Legislation may be initiated by the Council of State, or one of the Eduskunta members, who are elected for a four-year term on the basis of
proportional representation through
open list multi-member districts.
The
judicial system of Finland is divided between
courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Finnish law is codified and its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the
Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the
Supreme Administrative Court. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a
High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the Chancellor of Justice and the
Ombudsman of Parliament.
The parliament has, since
equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by
secular Conservatives,
the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and
Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65–80 percent of voters. After 1944
Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends.
Like the
Netherlands and the
United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament.
According to
Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of
corruption in all the countries studied in
its survey for the last several years.
[30] Also according to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world as of 2006.
President
Main articles: President of Finland
The
President of Finland is the
Head of State of Finland. Under the
Constitution of Finland, executive power is vested in the President and the government, with the President possessing extensive powers. The President is elected directly by the people for a term of six years. Since
1991, no President can be elected for more than two consecutive terms. The President must be a native-born
Finnish citizen. The office was established by the ''Constitution Act'' of
1919.
The current office-holder is
President Tarja Halonen. She began her first term of office in 2000 and was re-elected on
January 29,
2006. Her current term expires in
2012. She is the eleventh President of Finland and the
first woman to hold the office.
Parliament
Main articles: Parliament of Finland
The Finnish Parliament consists of one chamber with two hundred members. The members are elected for a four-year term by direct popular vote under a system of proportional representation. According to the
Constitution of Finland, the Parliament elects the
Prime Minister, who is appointed to office by the President. Other Ministers are appointed by the President on the Prime Minister's proposal. The current
Prime Minister of Finland, as well as Chairman of the
Centre Party is
Matti Vanhanen (who in the second half of 2006 was
President of the European Council).
After the
parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows:
Foreign relations
Main articles: Foreign relations of Finland
After the
collapse of the Soviet Union in
1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the
Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finno-Soviet
Agreement of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts.
Finland deepened its participation in the
European integration by joining the European Union with Sweden and Austria in
1995. It could be perhaps said that the country's
policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence.
Peacekeeping under the auspices of the
United Nations is the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertakes.
The President leads the Finnish foreign policy. The policy is implemented by the
Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The current
Minister for Foreign Affairs is
Ilkka Kanerva. Matters related to the European Union are usually not considered part of the foreign policy.
Finland's
foreign policy is based on the membership of the European Union with its
customs union, military non-alliance, and neutrality. Finland is also in the
Nordic Council, and has long traditions of co-operation with the
Nordic countries. Finland has good relations with all its neighbours,
Sweden,
Norway,
Russia and
Estonia, and is not involved in international conflicts or
border disputes.
The
military doctrine is strictly self-defensive, and indeed, the
Constitution of Finland allows participation only in
military operations authorised by the
UN or the
OSCE. Public opinion is against joining any
military alliances, such as
NATO, although Finland is involved in the
Partnership for Peace programme with NATO. Foreign trade is highly important, as about a third of the
gross domestic product comes from foreign trade, and Finland depends on imports for most raw materials.
Defence Forces
Finnish troops on skis. Most Finnish troopers receive
ski warfare training.
The Finnish Defence Forces is a
cadre army of 16,500, of which 8,700 professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 Army, 3,000 Navy, and 4,400 Air Force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4 percent of the
GDP. A universal male
conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve from six to twelve months. Inhabitants of Finland's
Ã…land Islands and
Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt, but there are no other general exemptions.
Non-military service for thirteen months is also possible. Since 1995, Finnish women have been able to do military service as volunteers. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the
Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000
reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts.
The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the
Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the
President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral
Juhani Kaskeala.
The military branches are
Finnish Army,
Finnish Navy and
Finnish Air Force. The
Border Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness.
Energy policy
The Ministry of Trade and Industry is responsible for the Government's
energy policy. Energy policy is of exceptional importance, for Finland needs a lot of energy because of its cold climate and the structure of its industry, but has no fossil fuel energy resources, like
oil or
coal. It has thus done pioneering work on developing more efficient ways of using energy. Also, Finland
refines oil for export (thirty-six percent of chemical exports
[31]) and to cover domestic needs. The Finnish corporation
Neste Oil has two oil refineries. Finland is connected to the
Nordpool, the Nordic electricity market.
Until the
1960s, Finnish energy policy relied on the electricity produced by
hydropower stations and extensive decentralised use of wood for energy. Finland's 187,888 lakes do not lie much above sea level – less than 80 metres in the case of the two biggest lakes,
Saimaa and
Päijänne. Consequently, Finland has less hydropower capacity than Sweden or Norway.
Finland started planning the introduction of
nuclear power in the
1950s. In
2001, eighteen percent of all electricity consumed in Finland was produced by the country's four
nuclear power plants.
[32] Energy policy became a burning issue in Finland when industry applied for permission to build a new nuclear power unit, the country's fifth. On
May 24,
2002, Parliament supported the application by 107 votes to 92. After the vote, the
The Green League resigned from the government where they had held the environment portfolio. All the other parties were divided over the nuclear issue. The fifth nuclear power station – world's largest at 1600
MWe – is currently under construction and is scheduled to be operational by
2011. It is being built by France's
AREVA and Germany's
Siemens AG. After general elections held on
March 18,
2007, two Finnish energy groups,
Fortum and Teollisuuden Voima (TVO) started the
environmental impact assessment (EIA) process concerning the sixth nuclear power plant unit.
[33]
Most of the energy is produced from
fossil fuels, mainly
coal and
oil. Fossil fuels are, however, all imported, because Finland doesn't have any fossil fuel sources, unlike neighboring
Norway with oil and
Estonia with
oil shale. Nevertheless, Finland fares exceptionally well with
renewable energy. About one fifth of all the energy consumed in Finland is wood-based. This is not a remnant of old ages: the
pulp and paper industry – Finland's third-largest industry – burns its byproducts, such as
black liquor residues and waste wood chippings, resulting in net production of energy. Many homeowners also own renewed forests, and use wood as an additional (but not primary) heat source. About seven percent of electricity is produced from
peat harvested from Finland's extensive
bogs.
Peat is "
bioenergy", but there is no consensus whether it is renewable (
carbon neutral) or not.
Currently, some electricity is imported to Finland. In recent years, a varying amount (5–17 percent) of power has been imported from Russia, Sweden and Norway. The Norwegian and Swedish
hydroelectric plants remain an important source for imported power. The current energy policy debate is centred on self-sustainability. There are plans to build an
submarine power cable from Russia, but this is also considered a
national security issue. The government has already rejected one plan for such a power cable.
Industry, economy and globalization
Headquarters of
Nokia, Finland's largest company.
Overview
Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a
per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as
Sweden, the
UK,
France and
Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7 percent, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4 percent.
Primary production is low at 2.9 percent, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country.
[34] With respect to
foreign trade, the key economic sector is
manufacturing. The largest industries
[35] are
electronics (21.6 percent), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1 percent), forest industry (13.1 percent), and chemicals (10.9 percent).
International trade is important, with
exports equalling almost 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 northern climate,
agricultural development is limited to maintaining
self-sufficiency.
Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population.
Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the
euro monetary system (
EMU) on
January 1,
1999. The national currency
markka (FIM), in use since
1860, was withdrawn and replaced by the euro (EUR) at the beginning of 2002 (see
Finnish euro coins).
The
World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most
competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003–2005) and four times since 2002.
[36] In recent years there has been national focus on
innovation and
research and development, with special emphasis on
information technology.
[37] Nokia, the
telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland's success.
Economic history
Finnish trade relationships and politics were by large determined by avoidance of provoking first the
feudally ruled
Imperial Russia and then the
totalitarian Soviet Union. However, the peaceful relationship with both the Soviet Union and Western powers was turned into an economic advantage. The Soviet Union conducted
bilateral trade with Finland, but Western countries remained Finland's main trading partners. After the Second World War, the growth rate of the
GDP was high compared to other
Europe, and Finland was often called "Japan of the North". In the beginning of the
1970s, Finland's GDP
per capita reached the level of
Japan and the UK.
In
1991, Finland experienced an
economic collapse and fell into a severe
depression caused by
economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the
barter system between Finland and the former Soviet Union. More than twenty percent of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. The growth in the
1980s was based on debt, and when the defaults began rolling in, an avalanche effect increased the
unemployment from a virtual full employment to one fifth of the workforce. However, civil order remained and the state alleviated the problem of funding the
welfare state by taking massive debts. 1991 and again in
1992, Finland
devalued the
markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the depression bottomed out in
1993, with continued growth through
1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of
OECD countries, and
national debt has been reduced to 41.1 percent (fulfilling the EU's
Stability and Growth Pact requirement). Unfortunately, the
unemployment has been persistent, and is currently at 7.7 percent.
Notable corporations
Notable Finnish companies include
Nokia, the market leader in mobile telephony;
Stora Enso, the largest paper manufacturer in the world;
Neste Oil, an oil refining and marketing company;
UPM-Kymmene, the third largest paper manufacturer in the world;
Aker Finnyards, the manufacturer of the world's largest cruise ships (such as
Royal Caribbean's ''
Freedom of the Seas'');
KONE, a manufacturer of elevators, escalators and engines for ships; and
Finnair, an
airline.
[38]
Public transport
Main articles: Transport in Finland
Finland's
transport network is developed.
As of 2005, the country's network of main roads has a total length of 13,258 km, and is mainly centred on the capital city of
Helsinki. The total length of all public roads is 78,186 km, of which 50,616 km are paved. The
motorway network is still to a great extent under development, and currently totals 653 km. There are 5,865 km of
railways in the country. Helsinki has an urban rail network, and
light rail systems are currently being planned in
Turku and
Tampere. Finland also has a considerable number of airports and large ports.
The national railway company is
VR (Valtion Rautatiet, or State Railways). It offers
InterCity and
express trains throughout the country and the faster
Pendolino trains connecting the major cities. There are large discounts (usually fifty percent) available for children (7–16 yr), students, senior citizens and
conscripts. There are international trains to
St. Petersburg (Finnish and Russian day-time trains) and
Moscow (Russian over-night train),
Russia. Connections to
Sweden are by bus due to
rail gauge differences. It's possible to take the
★
Silja Line and
Viking Line ferries from Helsinki and
Turku to
Mariehamn and
Långnäs,
Stockholm (Sweden) and
Tallinn (Estonia),
★
Tallink ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and
Rostock (Germany)
★
Eckerö Line ferries from Helsinki to Tallinn (Estonia) and from
Eckerö to
Grisslehamn (Sweden).
There are about 25
airports in Finland with scheduled passenger services.
Finnair,
Blue1 and
Finncomm Airlines provide air services both domestically and internationally.
Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is Finland's global gateway with scheduled non-stop flights to such places as
Bangkok,
Beijing,
Delhi,
Guangzhou,
Nagoya,
New York,
Osaka,
Shanghai,
Hong Kong and
Tokyo. Helsinki has an optimal location for
great circle airline traffic routes between
Western Europe and the
Far East. Hence, many foreign tourists visit Helsinki on a stop-over while flying from
Asia to
Europe or vice versa.
Tourism
Main articles: Tourism in Finland
Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its
economy. In
2005, Finnish tourism grossed over €6.7 billion with a five percent increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the
globalisation and
modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005.
The Finnish landscape is covered with thick
pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and
inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the
Gulf of Finland to the high
fells of
Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities.
Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the
Baltic region, including
Helsinki,
Turku,
Tallinn,
Stockholm and
Travemünde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry.
Tourism in winter
Although many tourists visit for the ideal weather during the
summer,
winter also attracts hundreds of thousands for its
Christmas festivities and winter sports and activities such as
skiing, dog sledding and
Nordic walking. Finland is regarded as the home of Saint Nicholas or
Santa Claus. ''Santa’s Post Office'' is also located in Finland, up in the northern
Lapland region. Above the
Arctic Circle, there is a
polar night, a period when the sun doesn't rise for days or weeks.
Lapland, the extreme north of Finland, is so far north that the
Aurora Borealis, atmospheric
fluorescence, is seen regularly in winter. This exquisite spectacle draws people from around the globe, particularly from Japan.
Tourism in summer
Throughout the
summer there are a range of international festivals, markets and performing arts including song and dance. The receding snow and everlasting sunlight also provide an opportunity for an array of outdoor activities. These activities range from
golf,
fishing,
yachting, lake cruises,
hiking,
kayaking among many others. At Finland's northernmost point, in the heart of summer, the Sun does not completely set for 73 consecutive days. Wildlife is abundant in Finland.
Bird-watching is popular for those fond of flying fauna, however
hunting is also popular.
Elk,
reindeer and
hare are all common game in Finland. The sport is highly regulated and also helps the economy.
Cultural attractions
Finland is also a place rich in culture for
history,
tradition and
religion. There are and scattered all across Finland reflecting the strong
Finnish Lutheran following. There are also and examples of ancient
architecture remaining from the reign of the Swedish Empire over much of Finland. These sites allure thousands for their significance and historical insight. from the Swedish reign are found, for example in
Turku,
Hämeenlinna and
Savonlinna. The Turku Castle is a museum.
Olavinlinna in
Savonlinna hosts the annual
Savonlinna Opera Festival. The capital city of Helsinki, on the other hand, is famous for its
Grand Duchy era architecture, which resembles that of imperial
St. Petersburg.
Culture
Main articles: Culture of Finland
Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area's prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from
North America are prominent. Into the
twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in
Asia and
Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study.
There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the
Sami,
Finland Swedes,
Romani, and
Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Finland comfortably won the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007.
Literature
Main articles: Finnish literature
Though Finnish written language could be said to exist since
Mikael Agricola translated the
New Testament into Finnish in the
sixteenth century as a result of the
Protestant Reformation, few notable works of literature were written until the
nineteenth century, which saw the beginning of a Finnish national
Romantic Movement. This prompted
Elias Lönnrot to collect Finnish and Karelian folk poetry and arrange and publish them as ''
Kalevala'', the Finnish
national epic. The era saw a rise of poets and novelists who wrote in Finnish, notably
Aleksis Kivi and
Eino Leino.
After Finland became independent there was a rise of modernist writers, most famously
Mika Waltari. The
second World War prompted a return to more national interests in comparison to a more international line of thought, characterized by
Väinö Linna. Literature in modern Finland is in a healthy state, with detective stories enjoying a particular boom of popularity.
Ilkka Remes, a Finnish
author of
thrillers, is very popular.
Visual arts
Finns have made major contributions to
handicrafts and
industrial design. Finland's best-known sculptor of the twentieth century was
Wäinö Aaltonen, remembered for his monumental
busts and
sculptures. Finnish architecture is famous around the world. Among the top of the twentieth century Finnish architects to win international recognition are
Eliel Saarinen (designer of the widely recognised
Helsinki Central railway station and many other public works) and his son
Eero Saarinen.
Alvar Aalto, who helped bring the
functionalist architecture to Finland, is also famous for his work in
furniture and
glassware.
Music
Main articles: Music of Finland
Folk music
Much of the music of Finland is influenced by traditional
Karelian melodies and lyrics, as comprised in the ''
Kalevala.'' Karelian culture is perceived as the purest expression of the
Finnic myths and beliefs, less influenced by
Germanic influence, in contrast to Finland's position between
the East and
the West. Finnish
folk music has undergone a
roots revival in recent decades, and has become a part of
popular music.
'Sami music'
Main articles: Sami music
The people of northern Finland, Sweden and Norway, the
Sami, are known primarily for highly spiritual songs called
Joik. The same word sometimes refers to
lavlu or
vuelie songs, though this is technically incorrect.
Classical and opera
The first Finnish opera was written by the
German composer
Fredrik Pacius in
1852. Pacius also wrote
''Maamme/VÃ¥rt land'' (Our Land), Finland's
national anthem. In the
1890s Finnish
nationalism based on the ''Kalevala'' spread, and
Jean Sibelius became famous for his vocal symphony ''
Kullervo''. He soon received a grant to study ''runo singers'' in Karelia and continued his rise as the first prominent Finnish musician. In 1899 he composed
Finlandia, which played its imp
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