Map of Finland
Finland
Excerpted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia
The Republic of Finland
(Finnish: Suomi, Swedish: Finland) is a
Nordic country, bound by the Baltic
Sea to the southwest, the Gulf of
Finland to the southeast and the
Gulf of Bothnia to the west, bordering
Sweden, Norway and Russia (sea border with Estonia).
Republiken Finland.
Official languages; Finnish and Swedish
Capital; Helsinki
President; Tarja Halonen (September 2003)
Prime minister; Matti Vanhanen September 2003)
Area; 337,030 kmē
Population (2003); 5,211,311
Independence - Declared December 6, 1917
Independence - Recognised From Russia January 4, 1918
Currency Euro; Finnish euro coins (Prior to 1999: Finnish markka -
NB: Only the banking system used Euro before 2002,
which is the year when the actual changeover took place).
Time zone; UTC +2
National anthem; Maamme (Vårt land)
Internet TLD; .FI
Phone Calling Code; 358
History
Finland's nearly 700-year association with
the Kingdom of Sweden began in 1154 with the
introduction of Christianity by Sweden's
King Erik. Swedish became the dominant
language of administration and education,
although Finnish recovered its predominance
after a 19th century resurgence of Finnish
nationalism (fennomania) following the
publication of Finland's national epic,
the Kalevala.
In 1808, Finland was conquered by the armies of
Czar Alexander I and thereafter remained an
autonomous Grand Duchy in personal union with
the Russian Empire until the end of 1917.
On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik
Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence.
The social frontier between the ruling and the
working class has been broader in Finland
than in most comparable countries.
Into the 19th century there was a most
obvious language barrier; then during the
19th century Finland developed a proud
University-educated meritocracy that felt
as being the true representation of "the people"
since they spoke the people's language and
since a great deal of their ancestors
really had been poor peasants.
In 1918, the country experienced a brief
but bitter Civil War that coloured
domestic politics for many years.
The Civil War was chiefly fought between
the educated class, supported by Germany
and the big class of independent small
farmers, against propertyless rural and
industrial workers who despite universal
suffrage in 1906 had found themselves
without political influence.
During World War II, Finland fought the
Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of
1939-1940 (with some support from Sweden)
and again in the Continuation War of 1941-1944
(with considerable support from Germany).
This was followed by the Lapland War of
1944-1945, when Finland forced the Germans
out of northern Finland.
Treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with
the Soviet Union included obligations
and restraints on Finland vis-a-vis the
Soviet Union as well as further territorial
concessions by Finland (compared to
the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940).
After the Second World War, Finland was
in the grey zone between western
countries and Soviet Union.
So called YYA treaty gave Soviet Union
some right of determination to Finnish
domestic politics.
Many politicians used their Soviet
Union relations to solve party
controversies, which of course meant
that Soviet Union got more power.
The others while on other hand did
single-minded work to oppose the communists.
When the Soviet Union fell down in 1991
Finland was fully surprised, but they used
it immediately as their advantage.
Finland was free to follow her own
course and joined the European Union in 1995.
Even today Russia's influence can be seen;
Finland supports federal country development
more than other Nordic Countries.
Politics and Government
Politics of Finland Finland has a primarily parliamentary
system, although the president also has some notable
powers.
Most executive power lies in the cabinet
(Council of State) headed by the prime
minister chosen by the parliament.
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.
Constitutionally, the 200-member,
unicameral parliament, the Eduskunta
(Finnish) or Riksdag (Swedish), is
the supreme authority in Finland.
It may alter the constitution, bring
about the resignation of the Council
of State, and override presidential vetoes.
Its acts are not subject to judicial review.
Legislation may be initiated by the Council
of State, or one of the Eduskunta members,
who are elected on the basis of proportional
representation for a four-year term.
The judicial system is divided between
courts with regular civil and criminal
jurisdiction and special courts with
responsibility for litigation between
the public and the administrative
organs of the state.
Finnish law is codified and its court system
consists of local courts, regional appellate
courts, and a Supreme Court.
The parliament has, since equal and common
suffrage was introduced in 1906,
been dominated by Agrarians, Social
Democrats and Communists; although all
of the political spectrum is more
influenced by anti-Socialist currents
than in similar countries having
less contacts with the Soviet Union.
Provinces
Finland consists of 6 provinces (lääni, läänit
or län).
The province authority is part of the
central government's executive branch;
a system that hasn't changed drastically
since its creation in 1634.
The six provinces are:
Southern Finland
Western Finland
Eastern Finland
Oulu
Lapland
Åland
The Åland Islands enjoy a high degree of
autonomy, according to international
treaties and Finnish laws, why the
regional government for Åland handles
some matters which belong to the
province authority in mainland-Finland.
Another kind of provinces are the echoing the pattern
of colonialisation of Finland.
Dialects, folklore, customs and people's feeling of
affiliation are associated with these historical provinces,
although the re-settlement of 400,000 Karelians during
World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of
the 20th century have made differences less pronounced.
Local government is further organised in 450 municipalities
of Finland.
Since 1977, no legal or administrative
distinction is made between towns, cities
and other municipalities.
The municipalities co-operate in 20 regions of Finland.
Geography
Finland is a country of thousands of lakes
and islands; 187,888 lakes and 179,584
islands to be precise.
The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with
few hills and its highest point, the
Haltitunturi at 1,328 m, is found in the
extreme north of Lapland.
Beside the many lakes the landscape is dominated
by extensive boreal forests and little arable land.
The greater part of the islands are found in southwest,
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 is still growing.
Owing to the isostatic adjustment that has
been taking place since the last ice age,
the surface area of the country is
growing by about 7 sq. kilometres a year.
The climate is a northern temperate climate,
characterised by cold, occasionally severe
winters and relatively warm summers.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies above
the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the
sun does not set for 73 days during summer,
and does not rise for up to 51 days during winter.
Economy
Finland has a highly industrialised, 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 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.
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 11 countries
joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on
January 1, 1999 - will dominate the economic picture
over the next several years.
Growth was anemic in 2002, but slowed down in
2003 because of global depression.
Demographics
There are two official languages in Finland:
Finnish, spoken by 93% of the population, and
Swedish, mother tongue for 6% of the population.
Other minority languages include Russian,
Estonian, Somali and Albanian.
To the north, in Lapland, are found the
Sami, numbering less than 7,000, who like
the Finns speak a Finno-Ugric language (Saami).
There are over 20 languages which have over thousand users.
Most Finns (89%) are members of the Lutheran
Church of Finland, with a minority of 1%
belonging to the Finnish Orthodox Church
(see Eastern Orthodoxy).
The remainder consist of relatively small
groups of other Protestant denominations,
Roman Catholics, Muslims and Jews beside
the 9% who are unaffiliated.
After the Winter War (confirmed by the
outcome of the Continuation War) 12% of
Finland's population had to be re-settled.
War reparations, unemployment and uncertainty regarding
Finland's chances to remain sovereign and independent
of the Soviet Union contributed to considerable emigration,
abating first in the 1970s.
Now, since the late 1990s, Finland receives
refugees and immigrants in a rate comparable
with the Scandinavian countries, although
the accumulated number remains far lower in Finland.
A considerable share of the immigrants has come from
the former Soviet Union claiming ethnic (Fin) kinship.
Culture
List of famous Finnish people
Kalevala
Kantele
Sauna
Santa Claus
Mämmi
International rankings
Worldwide press freedom index Rank 1 out
of 139 countries (4 way tie)
OECD literacy 2002 Rank 1 out of all countries
Information Technology 2003 Rank 1 out of all countries
Global Competitiveness 2002 Rank 2 out of all countries
The least corrupted countries 2002 Rank 1 out of all countries
Environmental Sustainability Index
2002 Rank 1 out of all countries
Education index 2000 Rank 1 out of all countries
Children's (and women's) well-being index 2003
Rank 5 out of all countries
Seats in parliament held by women 2002 Rank 3 out of all countries.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
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