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Entry Year in EU: |
1995 |
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Seats: |
14 |
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Seats Percentage of EU: |
2 |
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Votes: |
7 |
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Votes Percentage
of EU: |
2.1 |
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Population: |
5.2 |
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Population Percentage of EU: |
1.1 |
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Area: |
337030 |
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Area Percentage
of EU: |
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Density: |
15 |
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Budget Contribution: |
1544832284 |
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Budget Contribution of EU: |
1.47 |
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GDP: |
168348 |
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GDP Capita: |
32154 |
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GDP Nominal: |
36753 |
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Finland
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Finland (Finnish: Suomi, Swedish: Finland), officially the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta, Swedish: Republiken Finland), is one of the Nordic countries. It is situated in northern Europe, bounded by the Baltic Sea with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. Finland has land frontiers with Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east. The Åland Islands, off the south-western coast, are under Finnish sovereignty while enjoying extensive autonomy.
Finland has a population of five million people spread over more than 330,000 square kilometres (127,000 sq. mi) making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world (see List of countries by population density).
Finland is ranked thirteenth on the 2005 United Nations Human Development Index.
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History
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According to archaeological evidence, the area now comprising Finland was first settled around 8500 BC during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were probably hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around 5300 BC (see Comb Ceramic Culture). The existence of an extensive exchange system during the mesolithic is indicated by the spread of asbestos and soapstone from eastern Finland, and by finds of flint from southern Scandinavia and Russia and slate from Lake Onega and northern Scandinavia. It has been postulated and held probable that the speakers of the Finno-Ugric language arrived in the area during the Stone Age, and were possibly even among the first Mesolithic settlers [1]. |
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Etymology
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The name Suomi has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the Baltic word zeme meaning "ground, earth, country". In another approach, Finnish suo means "fen", which is one of the characteristic biotypes of Finland; it is thought that Finland might have been called Suomaa by the early Finns. In Finnish, suomaa means Fen Land (Land of the Fens). Some etymologists have proposed that Suomi is derived from the word suoma, which means "god-given" or "a gift of mercy".
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Politics
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Finland has a semi-presidential system with Parliamentarism. The President of Finland is formally responsible for foreign policy. Most executive power lies in the cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) headed by the prime minister. Responsibility for forming the cabinet out of several political parties and negotiating its platform is granted to the leader of the party gaining largest support in the elections for the parliament. This person also becomes prime minister of the cabinet. Any minister and the cabinet as 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.
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Administrative Divisions
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The state organization is divided into 6 administrative provinces (lääni, pl. läänit) The provinces are further divided into 90 state local districts. The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and is not democratically controlled except through the national parliament. 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:
Southern Finland
Western Finland
Eastern Finland
Oulu
Lapland
Åland
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Geography
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Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands to be precise. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the 5th largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Haltitunturi at 1,328 metres (4,357 ft), is found in the extreme north of Lapland. Beside the many lakes the landscape is dominated by extensive boreal forests (about 68 per cent of land area) and little arable land. The greater part of the islands are found in south-west, part of the archipelago of the Åland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world that are still growing. Owing to the isostatic uplift that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about 7 square kilometres (2.7 sq mi) a year.
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Education
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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. 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 and science, and second in mathematics, worldwide.
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Economy and globalisation
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In the past, 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. Despite the hindrance caused by an influential neighbouring country, Finland eventually became one of the most globalised nations in the world.
For decades now, Finland has had a highly industrialised, largely free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as for example Sweden, UK, France and Germany. Its key economic sector is manufacturing of principally wood, metal, engineering, telecommunication and electronic products. 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.
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Demographics
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There are two official languages in Finland: Finnish, spoken by 92% of the population, and Swedish, mother tongue for 5.5% of the population. Ethnic Finns and Finland Swedes are generally considered to comprise a common nation. The Finland-Swedes are concentrated in the coastal areas, and there is a slight cultural difference between the culture of the Ethnic Finns, focused on lakes and woods, and the more outward-oriented coastal culture of the Finland-Swedes. This difference may be considered as an ethnic division, but the difference is slight and not more pronounced than the difference between East Finnish and West Finnish culture.
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Culture
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Finnish culture has been influenced by western European culture (particularly Sweden and Germany) and, more recently, American culture. Especially in Eastern Finland and Karelia, many influences from Russian (Orthodox) culture are present, too. Many Finns, particularly young, are also in increasing contact with cultures outside the nearby cultural sphere.
There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities maintain own cultural characteristics, such as Sami culture and Finland Swedes culture. Many Finns are emotionally connected to countryside and nature, because urbanization is relatively late phenomenon.
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