Finland

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Republic of Finland
Suomen tasavalta (Finnish)
Republiken Finland (Swedish)
Location of Finland in Europe
Location of Finland in Europe
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Maamme (Finnish)
Vårt land (Swedish)
"Our Land"
CapitalHelsinki
Official language(s) Finnish, Swedish
Ethnic groups (2022) 85.9% Finns, 5.2% Swedish
Demonym Finns, Finnish
Government Parliamentary republic
 -  President Alexander Stubb
 -  Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NC)
Independence from Russian Empire
 -  Autonomy March 29, 1809 
 -  Independence declared December 4, 1919 
 -  Independence ratified December 6, 1917 
Area
 -  Total 338 485 km2 (64)
Expression error: Unexpected number. sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 10.2
Population
 -  2022 census 5,564,000 
 -  Density 18/km2 (201)
46.6/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2022 estimate
 -  Total 274,576,000,000[1] (59)
 -  Per capita 49,400[1] (21)
GDP (nominal) 2007 estimate
 -  Total 246,350,000,000 (31)
 -  Per capita 46,856 (9)
Currency Euro (EUR)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 -  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Date formats dd.mm.yyyy
Internet TLD .fi, .ax
Calling code +358


Finland (Finnish: Suomi), officially the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. Country is member of European Union and it's East border is also border between EU and Russia. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north. The capital city is Helsinki.

Finland.

Finland has a population of 5,541,309 people, spread over an area of to 338,465 km2. Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in terms of area, with a low population density of 18 people per square kilometer, making it the third most sparsely populated country in Europe. The majority of the population is concentrated in the south-west part of the country. As their mother tongue, most Finns speak Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken natively by a 5.5 percent minority.

Previously part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire, Finland declared its independence in December 1917. Today, Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic and has been a member state of the United Nations since 1955 and the European Union since 1995. Finland has thriving services and manufacturing sectors and is a highly democratic welfare state with low levels of corruption, consistently ranking at or near the top in international comparisons of national performance.

Finland is eleventh on the United Nations' Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and political rights. Finland is rated the sixth most peaceful country in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and since 1945, Finland has been at peace, adopting neutrality in wartime.

Finland was rated the best country to live in by Reader's Digest study released in October 2007, which looked at issues such as quality of drinking water and greenhouse gas emissions as well as factors such as education and income.

Geography

  • Area: 338 485 km2. [2]
  • Land area: 303 985 km2.
  • Fresh water: 52 420 km2.
  • Greatest length from north to south: 1,157 km. [3]
  • Greatest width from east to west: 542 km.
  • Climate: Great contrasts – cold winters and fairly warm summers

Climate

The Finnish climate is cold temperate, it would be subarctic but the moderating affect of the Atlantic Gold Stream, the Baltic Sea and more than 187 888 lakes.

History

Early history

  • 98 A.D.: The Roman historian Tacitus writes about the Fenni, a people of the north. This is the first reference to the Finns in recorded history.
  • 600-800 Christianity came by some sources to Finland by trade routes and vikings in the seventh century or at the latest, in the ninth century where signs of the new faith can be seen from graves.[4]

Under Swedish rule (1249-1809)

In 1150s King Erik of Sweden and the English-born Bishop Henry (Swedish: Henrik) lead a crusade to south-western Finland. The goal was to attach Finland Proper to Sweden and to stabilize the status of the church in the new region. In the beginning christianity was mixed with Finnic paganism but later the paganism faded. Finland became a borderland between the west and east to where christianity became from two opposite directions. Orthodoxism was stronger at the beginning, but after the crusades to the provinces of Häme and Karelia, the Church of Rome became stronger. Also the Franciscan and the Dominican Order gained foothold. During the middle ages in Finland (1100-1520) many young students studied in the best universities in Europe.[4]

In the 12th century christianity established itself in Finland proper and Satakunta, with the people of Häme it was tougher. The Pope wrote in 1237 that the people of Häme have "returning to the deceitfulness of their old error, that they have utterly destroyed the plantings of the new church of God in Häme", eventually the status of the church slowly stronger. The first churches which was build from wood havn't survived but 80 stone churches from the middle ages have.[4]

  • 1323 The peace treaty of Pähkinäsaari (Nöteborg, Schlusselburg) is signed by Sweden and Novgorod. The signatories divide up the territory of Finland. The border established by the peace treaty becomes a dividing line between states, religions and cultures. Finnish was spoken on both sides of the border.
  • 1362 Finns granted the right to send representatives to vote in Sweden's royal election.
  • 1493 Finland is mentioned for the first time on a printed map of Europe in the book "Liber Chronicarum" authored by Hartmann Schedel in Germany.
  • 1527 The Diet of Västerås approves the Lutheran Reformation and the confiscation of ecclesiastical property. The Swedish state changed the official religion from Catholic Church to Luteranism.
  • 1543 Bishop Mikael Agricola who was a student of Martin Luther produces the first Finnish-language book, a volume of Finnish grammar.
  • 1617 Under the Peace of Stolbova, Sweden becomes supreme ruler of the Baltic Sea with control of the entire Gulf of Finland.
  • 1642 The first complete Finnish translation of the Bible appears.

In the 1750s it was estimated that nowhere else in the Swedish kingdom the literacy and the teaching of the christian faith was of a higher level than in Finland Proper and Satakunta.[4]

Under Russian rule (1809-1917)

  • 1808-1809 Sweden is defeated by Russia in the Finnish War and loses Finland, which becomes an autonomous Grand Duchy with the Czar as its ruler. Finland´s position is confirmed in its first separate Diet. Finland retains its own legislation and its old form of society, including the free status of the peasantry, the Lutheran religion and the old Swedish system of law and government.
  • 1860 Finland acquires its own currency, the markka or Finnish mark.
  • 1902 More than 23,000 Finns apply for passports to America. This is the crest of the wave, which brought over 320,000 Finns to the United States and Canada in 1864-1914.

Independent (1917-)

  • 1917 800px-Flag of Finland.png Revolution in Russia; Finland declares itself independent on December 6; Russia's Bolshevik government recognises Finnish independence on December 31.
  • 1921 An act is passed by the Finnish parliament granting autonomy to the Åland Islands.
  • 1939-40 Soviet Union attacks Finland. In the Winter War (30.11.1939 - 13.3.1940) the Finnish defence forces, commanded by Marshal C.G. Mannerheim, though greatly outnumbered, fight alone against the Soviet would-be invaders for 105 days. Finland's stubborn resistance against a fifty-times larger nation seizes the attention of the world press, which writes about the "Miracle of the Winter War". In the ensuing peace of Moscow, Finland is forced to cede a large part of the Viipuri province, in the south-east, shrinking by 12% and evacuating 420,000 people (11% of the population).
  • 1941-1944 Fighting resumes in the Continuation War, during which a defiant Finland aligns itself with Germany against the Soviet Union in order to regain the lost territory. Finland is a cobelligerent with Germany but fighting a separate war that coincides with, but is not part of, the conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union. Nazi ideology is firmly rejected in Finland despite German efforts to promote it. In July the Finnish army halts a massive Soviet offensive before it reaches the 1940 border. The Red Army's aim is to occupy Finland, but once the offensive is stopped Stalin orders his forces to regroup for defence. An armistice agreement is signed in Moscow in September. The peace terms restore the frontier of 1940, except in the far north where the Soviet Union annexes the Petsamo province with its nickel mines and ice-free port on the Arctic Ocean. Finland has to pay huge war reparations to the Soviet Union in the form of manufactured goods. The entire population of the ceded areas - about 450,000 people - choose to leave their homes rather than live under Soviet rule. They are resettled in Finland. The peninsulta of Porkkala is forced to be rented to the Soviets for 50 years as a naval base but returned in 1955.
  • 1944-45 Lapland War. In accordance with the peace terms agreed with Russia, Finland drives north some 200,000 German soldiers out of Finnish Lapland and into neighbouring Norway.
  • 1948 Finland and the Soviet Union sign a Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance.
  • 1989 Finland becomes a member of the Council of Europe.
  • 1991-1993 The Finnish economy in deep recession, following Soviet Union's collapse and the end of trade with it.
  • 1995 Eu flag.JPG Finland becomes a member of the European Union.
  • 2002 Finland and 11 other member states of the European Union began using euro coins and banknotes and phasing out their own currencies, ending 142 years of the use of Finnish markka.
  • 2022 Finland joins Nato, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Demographics

  • Population: 5.6 million. [5]
  • Population growth rate: 0.3%.
  • Population density: 18.3 km2.
  • Ethnic groups: Finns, Swedes, Sami, Russians & Estonians.
  • Languages: Finnish 85.9%, Swedish 5.2%, Sami 0.04% & Russian 1.7%.
  • Average age: males 42.4, females 45.
  • Marital status: single 49.5%, married 34.7%, divorced/widowed 15.8%.
  • Religions: Lutheran 65.2%, Orthodox 1.1%, Pentecostal 0.9%, Islam 0.02%. In practice society is fairly secularised.
  • Life expectancy: males 79.2 yrs, females 79.2 yrs.
  • Capital: Helsinki (1.4 million inhabitants in metropolitan area).

Politics

  • Form of government: Republic, parliamentary democracy
  • Parliament: 200 members in one chamber, elected every 4 years in a direct vote
  • Cabinet: Multiparty coalition cabinet.
  • Head of State: President of the Republic, elected every 6 years, two-term maximum.

Military

The Finnish defence forces consist of 30,000 men (22,000 Army; 5,000 Navy; 3,000 Air Force). at age 18, all Finnish men are obligated to serve 5.5-12 months of service, women 18-29 may volunteer for service, alternatively civil service lasts for 8.5 or 11.5 months. After the military service, men are part of the reserve till age of 50/60. Yearly conscript is 21,0000. The military budget is 2.5% of GDP. Finland joined Nato in 2022.

Economy

  • Economy structure: services 74%, industry 21%, agriculture 4%. [6]
  • GDP: 268 billion €.
  • GDP per capita: 42,441 €.
  • Inflation: 7.1%. [7]
  • unemployment: 6.8%.
  • Average salary 3 349 €.
  • Main exports: Electrotechnical goods, metal products, machinery, transport equipment, wood and paper products, chemicals
  • Main imports: Raw materials, investment goods, energy, consumer goods (for example cars and textiles)
  • Main import partners: Germany 12.9%, Sweden 12.6%.
  • Main export partners: Germany 11.6%, Sweden 10.8%.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/finland/summaries
  2. ↑ 2022 https://tilastokeskus.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_alue_en.html
  3. ↑ 2023 https://finland.fi/facts-stats-and-info/finland-in-facts/
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 https://www.seurakuntalainen.fi/uutiset/kristinuskon-merkitys-suomen-historiassa-kristinusko-toi-tullessaan-vapauden-kohtalonuskosta-epatoivosta-tarkoituksettomuudesta-ja-henkivaltojen-pelosta/
  5. ↑ 2022 https://tilastokeskus.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_vaesto_en.html
  6. ↑ 2022 https://tilastokeskus.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_kansantalous_en.html
  7. ↑ 2022 https://tilastokeskus.fi/tup/suoluk/suoluk_yritykset_en.html

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