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Finland rel96.jpg
Finland location.png
Flag of Finland.png
Arms of Finland.png
Flag Coat of Arms
Capital Helsinki
Government Parliamentary Democracy
Language Finnish, Swedish (official)
President Sauli Niinistö
Prime minister Jyrki Katainen
Area 130,558 sq mi
Population 5,296,128 (2007)
GDP per capita $40,197 (2005)
Currency euro

Republic of Finland (Suomi or Suomen tasavalta in Finnish, Republiken Finland in Swedish) is a country of northern Europe known for its largely social democratic economic system. The Finnish conservative party, the National Coalition led by Jyrki Katainen, is its principal conservative organization.

The state capital is Helsinki and the principal exports are machines, electronics (for example cellphones) and forestry products. Finnish is the principal language spoken, a Finno-Ugric language. Like many nations that do international business, or have a strong tourist trade, many Finns speak English to facilitate communication with other countries. The second official language is Swedish, which has the same status as Finnish in the country. Finland is known as "the land of lakes".


Mäntyluoto, Pori.

The area of Finland is approximately 338 000 square kilometers, with a north-south axis of 890 kilometers. Most of the landscape is covered with lakes and forests. Finland is often called the "Land of Thousands of Lakes", which is true, because the number of lakes in the country exceeds 188 000, of which about 56 000 have an area of one hectare or more. In the sea there are more than 3 000 islands. Cultivated land and habitation only account for 17% of the land area, rest being mainly Norway spruce forests.

Finland is bound by Sweden in the Northwest, Norway in the North, Russia in the East, the Gulf of Finland in the South and the Gulf of Bothnia in the West.


  • Population (September 2007): 5.29 million.
  • Population growth rate (2006): 0.4%.
  • Ethnic groups: Finns, Swedes, Lapps, Sami, Roma, Tatars.
  • Religions: Lutheran 82.5%, Orthodox 1.1%.
  • Health: Infant mortality rate--2.8/1,000 (2006). Life expectancy--males 75.8 yrs., females 82.8 yrs.


Yyteri beach during Yyteri Beachfutis.

Finnish people (Finns) are known for their love of nature. Nature is prominent in the works of Finnish artists, such as Jean Sibelius, Aki Kaurismäki, Alvar Aalto.

The great masters of Finnish literature include Mika Waltari, Väinö Linna, Johan Ludvig Runeberg. Finland is a bi-lingual country and has produced its literary heritage in both Finnish and Swedish. The beloved Moomintrolls were created by the writer and graphic artist Tove Jansson.

Another important facet of traditional Finnish culture is the love of the Finnish sauna.

Northern Finland is home to a culture called the Sami people, or Laplanders, which are known for wearing red clothing and herding reindeer. Santa Claus is based on this culture.

They are considered a high context culture.

Population of Finland, 1750–2000[1]
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


Finland currently numbers 5,302,778 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometer. 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, a phenomenon even more pronounced after 20th century urbanization.

The share of foreign citizens in Finland is 2.5 percent being among the lowest of the European Union countries. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden.


Helsinki, Lutheran Cathedral.

Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (81.7 percent). With approximately 4.6 million members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is one of the largest Lutheran churches in the world. A minority belong to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent; see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestantism denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significant.

The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are constitutional national churches of Finland with special roles such as in state ceremonies and schools. A university degree in theology is compulsory for Lutheran priests. Representatives at Lutheran Church assemblies are selected in church elections every four years.

Even though the membership in main Lutheran church is high, the population is not highly religious. Polls suggest that 28-60% of the population to be either agnostics or atheists. [2]


President and cabinet

Elected for a 6-year term, the president:






Judicial system


Administrative divisions

Gulf of Finland.





Political parties

Finland's proportional representation system encourages a multitude of political parties and has resulted in many coalition governments. Political activity by communists was legalized in 1944, and although four major parties have dominated the postwar political arena, none now has a majority position. In elections held in 2007, the Center Party (Keskusta), traditionally representing rural interests, kept its position as the biggest party. The then-opposition Conservative Party, however, came away as the biggest winner, gaining 10 seats and becoming the second-largest political party in the country. The Center then formed a four-party governing coalition with the Conservatives and the Swedish People's Party and the Greens. The Social Democratic Party (SDP) suffered a defeat in these elections and fell to the third position among the big parties. Of the other parties, the True Finns, the Green League, and the Swedish People’s Party were able to gain seats in parliament. The Conservative Party received the portfolios of foreign minister, finance minister, and defense minister, among others, and became an important player after a long interval.

Principal Government Officials

  • President--Sauli Niinistö
  • Prime Minister--Jyrki Katainen
  • Foreign Minister--Alexander Stubb
  • Ambassador to the United States--Pekka Lintu
  • Ambassador to the United Nations--Kirsti Lintonen

Foreign Relations


Previous relations with the Soviet Union, and today with Russia

The Uspenski cathedral of Helsinki; with its golden cumpolas and redbrick façade, the cathedral is one of the clearest symbol of the Russian impact on Finnish history.







Multilateral Relations






Logs in Yyteri.

Finland has an industrial economy based on abundant forest resources, capital investments, and high technology.

The Finnish economy has made enormous strides since the severe recession of the early 1990s. Finland successfully joined the euro zone and has outperformed euro-area partners in terms of economic growth and public finance. In the last few years, the Finnish economy has performed reasonably well. Total output was 5% higher in 2006 than in 2005, but economic activity leveled off in the latter half of the year. GDP is predicted to grow by 4.4% in 2007, while 2008 is likely to show a slower rate of growth, estimated at 3.3%. Despite the current favorable outlook, there is a degree of uncertainty in the Finnish economy caused by the large fluctuations in electronics industry production, together with resource constraints. Cost and price pressures have increased, and there is a threat of industry’s price competitiveness starting to weaken.

Unemployment decreased significantly from 1994 to 7.7% in 2006 and is expected to drop to 6.7% in 2007. A relatively inflexible labor market and high employer-paid social security taxes hamper growth in employment. Labor bottlenecks are becoming more common in certain sectors, and this will increasingly restrict growth in output in the future. The main constraint to medium-term economic growth will be the drop in the population of working age once the post-war baby boomers reach retirement age.

The headquarters of Nokia Corporation in Keilaniemi, Espoo, 2005.

Exports of goods and services contribute 32% of Finland's GDP. Metals and engineering (including electronics) and timber (including pulp and paper) are Finland's main industries. The United States is Finland's third most important trading partner outside of Europe. With a 3.8% share of imports in 2006, the United States was Finland's seventh-largest supplier. The total value of U.S. exports to Finland in 2006 was $2.6 billion. Major exports from the United States to Finland continue to be machinery, telecommunications equipment and parts, aircraft and aircraft parts, computers, peripherals and software, electronic components, chemicals, medical equipment, and some agricultural products. The primary competition for American companies comes from Russia, Germany, Sweden, and China. The main export items from Finland to the United States are electronics, machinery, ships and boats, paper and paperboard, refined petroleum products, telecommunications equipment and parts. In 2006, the United States was Finland's fourth-largest customer after Germany (11.3%), Sweden (10.5%), and Russia (10.1%), with an export share of 6.5%, or $5 billion. However, trade is only part of the totality: the 10 biggest Finnish companies in the United States have a combined turnover that is three times the value of Finland's total exports to the United States. About 2.3% of the Finnish GDP comes from exports to the United States.


  • GDP: $210.8 billion (EUR 167.9 billion).
  • GDP growth rate: 5%.
  • Per capita income: $40,036 (EUR 31,886).
  • Inflation rate: 1.6% (2006 average); 2.6% (September 2007).
  • Natural resources: Forests, minerals (copper, zinc, iron), farmland.
  • Trade: Exports--$77.08 billion. Major markets--EU 56.9%, Russia 10.1%, U.S. 6.5%, China 3.2%. Imports--$68.9 billion. Major suppliers--EU 55.3%, Russia 14.1%, China 7.5%, U.S. 3.8%.


Johan Ludvig Runeberg statue.





During the Continuation War (1941-1944) Finland was a co-belligerent with Germany. However, Finnish Jews were not persecuted. Of the approximately 500 Jewish refugees who arrived in Finland, eight were handed over to the Germans, for which Finland submitted an official apology in 2000.[3] Also during the war, approximately 2,600 Soviet prisoners of war were exchanged for 2,100 Finnish prisoners of war from Germany. In 2003, the Simon Wiesenthal Center submitted an official request for a full-scale investigation by the Finnish authorities of the prisoner exchange. It was established there were about 70 Jews among the extradited prisoners but none was extradited as a result of ethnic background or religious belief.


Copyright Details
Source: File available from the United States Federal Government.


  1. Aunesluoma, Juhana; Heikkonen, Esko; Ojakoski, Matti (2006). Lukiolaisen yhteiskuntatieto (in Finnish). SanomaWSOY. 
  3. Jews in Finland During World War II