]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia ^# 64 00 N, 26 00 E ^$ Europe ^% `! 338,145 sq km `" 304,473 sq km `# 33,672 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Montana ^' `! 2,681 km `U Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km ^( 1,250 km ^) `$ 12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm) `J 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation `a 12 nm; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden ^* cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes ^+ mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills ^, `% Baltic Sea 0 m `& Haltiatunturi 1,328 m ^- timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone ^. `' 7.19% `( 0.03% `) 92.78% (2001) ^/ 640 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 NA ^1 air pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations _J `K Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling `L none of the selected agreements ^2 long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain 
]# ^3 5,223,442 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 17.3% (male 460,977/female 443,859) `+ 66.8% (male 1,764,874/female 1,723,385) `, 15.9% (male 328,952/female 501,395) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 40.97 years `- 39.43 years `. 42.52 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.16% (2005 est.) ^7 10.5 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 9.79 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.04 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 1.02 male(s)/female `, 0.66 male(s)/female `1 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 3.57 deaths/1,000 live births `- 3.89 deaths/1,000 live births `. 3.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 78.35 years `- 74.82 years `. 82.02 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.73 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> less than 0.1% (2003 est.) ^? 1,500 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2003 est.) ^A `2 Finn(s) `3 Finnish ^B Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Russian 0.4%, Estonian 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Sami 0.1% ^C Lutheran National Church 84.2%, Greek Orthodox in Finland 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 13.5% (2003) ^D Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003) ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 100% (2000 est.) `- 100% `. 100% 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Finland `5 Finland `V Suomen Tasavalta `W Suomi ^H republic ^I Helsinki ^J 6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani ^K 6 December 1917 (from Russia) ^L Independence Day, 6 December (1917) ^M 1 March 2000 ^N civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000) `7 Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003) and Deputy Prime Minister Eero HEINALUOMA (since 24 September 2005) `8 Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to parliament `9 president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 16 January 2000 and 6 February 2000 (next to be held February 2006); the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister from the majority party or the majority coalition after parliamentary elections and the parliament must approve the appointment `: Tarja HALONEN elected president; percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 51.6%, Esko AHO (Kesk) 48.4% note: government coalition - Kesk, SDP, and SFP ^Q unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year terms) `9 last held 16 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007) `: percent of vote by party - Kesk 24.7%, SDP 24.5%, Kok 18.5%, VAS 9.9%, VIHR 8%, KD 5.3%, SFP 4.6%; seats by party - Kesk 55, SDP 53, Kok 40, VAS 19, VIHR 14, KD 7, SFP 8, others 4 ^R Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president) ^S Center Party or Kesk [Matti VANHANEN]; Christian Democrats or KD [Paivi RASANEN]; Green League or VIHR [Tarja CRONBERG]; Left Alliance or VAS composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative [Suvi-Anne SIIMES]; National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Jyrki KATAINEN]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eero HEINALUOMA]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Jan-Erik ENESTAM] ^U AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC ^V `N Ambassador Jukka Robert VALTASAARI `O 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 298-5800 `Q [1] (202) 298-6030 `R Los Angeles and New York ^W `N Ambassador Earle I. MACK `Z Itainen Puistotie 14B, 00140 Helsinki `[ APO AE 09723 `P [358] (9) 616250 `Q [358] (9) 6162 5800 ^X white with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag) 
]% ^Y 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 two-fifths of GDP. Finland excels in high-tech exports, e.g., mobile phones. 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 picked up in 2004. High unemployment remains a persistent problem. ^Z $151.2 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 3% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2004 est.) ^] `; 3.3% `< 30.2% `= 66.5% (2004 est.) ^^ 2.66 million (2004 est.) ^_ agriculture and forestry 8%, industry 22%, construction 6%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%, transport and communications 8%, public services 32% ^` 8.9% (2004 est.) ^a NA _! `> 4.2% `? 21.6% (1991) _d 25.6 (1991) _" 0.7% (2004 est.) _P 18.3% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $96.43 billion `A $91.95 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _Q 46.8% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish _% metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing _& 2% (2004 est.) _' 71.59 billion kWh (2002) _( 78.58 billion kWh (2002) _) 1.5 billion kWh (2002) _* 13.5 billion kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 211,400 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- 101,000 bbl/day (2001) _. 318,300 bbl/day (2001) _S 0 cu m (2001 est.) _T 4.557 billion cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 4.567 billion cu m (2001 est.) _X $11.39 billion (2004 est.) _/ $61.04 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999) _1 Sweden 11.1%, Germany 10.7%, Russia 8.9%, UK 7%, US 6.4%, Netherlands 5.1% (2004) _2 $45.17 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains (1999) _4 Germany 16.2%, Sweden 14.3%, Russia 12.8%, Netherlands 6.3%, Denmark 5.2%, UK 4.6%, France 4.3% (2004) _Y $11.17 billion (2003) _5 $30 billion (December 1993) _Z ODA, $379 million (2001) _7 euro (EUR) 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 _8 euros per US dollar - 0.81 (2004), 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 2.548 million (2003) _; 4.7 million (2003) _< `B modern system with excellent service `C digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs `D country code - 358; 1 submarine cable (Finland Estonia Connection); satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) _= AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998) _> 120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999) _? .fi _@ 1,219,173 (2004) _A 2.65 million (2002) 
]' _e `! 5,851 km `e 5,851 km 1.524-m gauge (2,400 km electrified) (2004) _B `! 78,197 km `E 50,539 km (including 794 km of expressways) `F 27,658 km (2004) _b 7,842 km note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2004) _[ gas 694 km (2004) _C Hamina, Hanko, Helsinki, Kotka, Naantali, Pori, Porvou, Raahe, Rauma, Turku _K `! 94 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,152,175 GRT/1,053,906 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 27, chemical tanker 6, container 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 25 `S 2 (Norway 1, United States 1) `\ 42 (2005) _D 148 (2004 est.) _E `! 75 `] 2 `G 27 `^ 10 `_ 23 `T 13 (2004 est.) _L `! 73 `_ 4 `T 69 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Finnish Defense Forces: Army, Navy (includes Coastal Defense Forces), Air Force (2003) _M 18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service (October 2004) _] males age 18-49: 1,121,275 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 913,617 (2005 est.) _^ `` 32,040 (2005 est.) _N $1.8 billion (FY98/99) _O 2% (FY98/99) 
]) _H various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands 