世界各国

Finland

Introduction to Finland

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.

Government

Capital:

Helsinki

Independence:

6 December 1917 (from Russia) 

National holiday:

Independence Day, 6 December (1917)

Economy

Economy overview:

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.

GDP:

purchasing power parity -$42.2 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 4.3%
industry: 32.7%
services: 62.9% (2004 est.)

Agriculture products:

barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish 

Industries:

metal products, electronics, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing

Transportation

Waterways:

7,842 km
note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2004)

Pipelines:

gas 694 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:

Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Loviisa, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku, Uusikaupunki, Varkaus

Merchant marine:

total: 90 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,152,175 GRT/1,053,906 DWT
registered in other countries: 39 (2003 est.)
by type: bulk 9, cargo 26, chemical tanker 5, container 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 9, roll on/roll off 28, short-sea/passenger 10
foreign-owned: Estonia 1

Airports:

148 (2003 est.)