Finland


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The Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomi, Swedish: Finland) is a Nordic
country, bound by the Baltic Sea to the southwest, the Gulf of Finland to
the southeast and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west, bordering Sweden, Norway
and Russia.

History                                 Official         Finnish and
                                        languages        Swedish
                                        Capital          Helsinki
Conclusive archaeological evidence      President        Tarja Halonen
exists that the area now comprising     Prime minister   Matti Vanhanen
Finland was settled during the Stone
Age, as the inland ice of the last ice  Area             Ranked 63rd
age receded. The earliest inhabitants   Ę- Total         337,030 km2
are thought to have been hunters and    Ę- % water       9.4%
gatherers, living primarily off what    Population [1]   Ranked 106th
the forests and sea could offer.        Ę- Total (2003)  5,211,311
                                        Ę- Density       17.1/km²
Finland's nearly 700-year association   Independence     From Russia
with the Kingdom of Sweden began in     Ę- Declared      December 6, 1917
1154 with the introduction of           Ę- Recognized    January 4, 1918
Christianity by Sweden's King Erik.
Swedish became the dominant language of Currency         Euro¹,
administration and education, although                   Finnish euro coins
Finnish recovered its predominance      Time zone        UTC +2
after a 19th century resurgence of      National anthem  Maamme (VŒrt land)
Finnish nationalism (fennomania)
following the publication of Finland's  Internet TLD     .FI
national epic, the Kalevala.            Calling Code     358
In 1808, Finland was conquered by the   (1) Prior to 1999: Finnish markka -
armies of Czar Alexander I and            NB: Only the banking system used
thereafter remained an autonomous Grand Euro before 2002, which is the year
Duchy in personal union with the          when the actual changeover took
Russian Empire until the end of 1917.                  place.
On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,
Finland declared its independence.

The social frontier between the ruling and the working class has been
broader in Finland than in most comparable countries. Into the 19th century
there was a most obvious language barrier; then during the 19th century
Finland developed a proud University-educated meritocracy that felt as being
the true representation of "the people" since they spoke the people's
language and since a great deal of their ancestors really had been poor
peasants.

In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that coloured
domestic politics for many years. The Civil War was chiefly fought between
the educated class, supported by Germany and the big class of independent
small farmers, against propertyless rural and industrial workers who despite
universal suffrage in 1906 had found themselves without political influence.

During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter
War of 1939-1940 (with some support from Sweden) and again in the
Continuation War of 1941-1944 (with considerable support from Germany). This
was followed by the Lapland War of 1944-1945, when Finland forced the
Germans out of northern Finland.

Treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included obligations
and restraints on Finland vis-a-vis the Soviet Union as well as further
territorial concessions by Finland (compared to the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940).

After the Second World War, Finland was in the grey zone between western
countries and Soviet Union. So called YYA treaty (Finno-Soviet Pact of
Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave Soviet Union some right
of determination to Finnish domestic politics. Many politicians used their
Soviet Union relations to solve party controversies, which of course meant
that Soviet Union got more power. The others while on other hand did
single-minded work to oppose the communists.

When the Soviet Union fell down in 1991 Finland was fully surprised, but
they used it immediately as their advantage. Finland was free to follow her
own course and joined the European Union in 1995. Even today Russia's
influence can be seen; Finland supports federal country development more
than other Nordic Countries.

Politics and Government

Finland has a primarily parliamentary system, although the president also
has some notable powers. Most executive power lies in the cabinet (Council
of State) headed by the prime minister chosen by the parliament. 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.

Constitutionally, the 200-member, unicameral parliament, the Eduskunta
(Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish), is the supreme authority in Finland. It may
alter the constitution, 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 on the basis of proportional
representation for a four-year term.

The judicial system is divided between courts with regular civil and
criminal jurisdiction and special courts with responsibility for litigation
between the public and the administrative organs of the state. Finnish law
is codified and its court system consists of local courts, regional
appellate courts, and a Supreme Court.

The parliament has, since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906,
been dominated by Agrarians, Social Democrats and Communists; although all
of the political spectrum is more influenced by anti-Socialist currents than
in similar countries having less contacts with the Soviet Union.

Provinces

Finland consists of 6 provinces (lŠŠni, lŠŠnit or lŠn). The province
authority is part of the central government's executive branch; a system
that hasn't changed drastically since its creation in 1634. The six
provinces are:

   * Southern Finland
   * Western Finland
   * Eastern Finland
   * Oulu
   * Lapland
   * land

The land Islands enjoy a high degree of autonomy, according to
international treaties and Finnish laws, why the regional government for
land handles some matters which belong to the province authority in
mainland-Finland.

Another kind of provinces are the echoing the pattern of colonialization of
Finland. Dialects, folklore, customs and people's feeling of affiliation are
associated with these historical provinces, although the re-settlement of
400,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanization in the latter half of
the 20th century have made differences less pronounced.

Local government is further organized in 450 municipalities of Finland.
Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns,
cities and other municipalities. The municipalities cooperate in 20 regions
of Finland.

Geography

Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes and
179,584 islands to be precise. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few
hills and its highest point, the Haltitunturi at 1,328 m, is found in the
extreme north of Lapland. Beside the many lakes the landscape is dominated
by extensive boreal forests and little arable land. The greater part of the
islands are found in southwest, part of the archipelago of the land
Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one
of the few countries in the world that is still growing. Owing to the
isostatic adjustment that has been taking place since the last ice age, the
surface area of the country is growing by about 7 sq. kilometres a year.

The climate is a northern temperate climate, characterised by cold,
occasionally severe winters and relatively warm summers. A quarter of
Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the
sun does not set for 73 days during summer, and does not rise for up to 51
days during winter.

Economy

Finland has a highly industrialised, 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 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 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 11 countries
joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999 - will dominate
the economic picture over the next several years. Growth was anemic in 2002,
but slowed down in 2003 because of global depression.

Demographics

There are two official languages in Finland: Finnish, spoken by 93% of the
population, and Swedish, mother tongue for 6% of the population. Other
minority languages include Russian, Estonian, Somali and Albanian. To the
north, in Lapland, are found the Sami, numbering less than 7,000, who like
the Finns speak a Finno-Ugric language (Saami). There are over 20 languages
which have over thousand users.

Most Finns (89%) are members of the Lutheran Church of Finland, with a
minority of 1% belonging to the Finnish Orthodox Church (see Eastern
Orthodoxy). The remainder consist of relatively small groups of other
Protestant denominations, Roman Catholics, Muslims and Jews beside the 9%
who are unaffiliated.

After the Winter War (confirmed by the outcome of the Continuation War) 12%
of Finland's population had to be re-settled. War reparations, unemployment
and uncertainity regarding Finland's chances to remain sovereign and
independent of the Soviet Union contributed to considerable emigration,
abating first in the 1970s. Now, since the late 1990s, Finland receives
refugees and immigrants in a rate comparable with the Scandinavian
countries, although the accumulated number remains far lower in Finland. A
considerable share of the immigrants has come from the former Soviet Union
claiming ethnic (Finnic) kinship.

International rankings

   * Worldwide press freedom index Rank 1 out of 139 countries (4 way tie)
   * OECD literacy 2002 Rank 1 out of all countries
   * Information Technology 2003 Rank 1 out of all countries
   * Global Competitiveness 2002 Rank 2 out of all countries
   * The least corrupted countries 2002 Rank 1 out of all countries
   * Environmental Sustainability Index 2002 Rank 1 out of all countries
   * Education index 2000 Rank 1 out of all countries
   * Children's (and women's) well-being index 2003 Rank 5 out of all
     countries
   * Seats in parliament held by women 2002 Rank 3 out of all countries