Finland

mean elevation:

164 m

lowest point:

Baltic Sea 0 m

highest point:

Halti (alternatively Haltia, Haltitunturi, Haltiatunturi) 1,328 m

• limited air pollution in urban centers;
• some water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals;
• habitat loss threatens wildlife populations

• long boundary with Russia;
• Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent;
• population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain

noun:

Finn(s)

adjective:

Finnish

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

0.97 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of Finland

conventional short form:

Finland

local long form:

Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland

local short form:

Suomi/Finland

etymology:

name may derive from the ancient Fenni peoples who are first described as living in northeastern Europe in the first centuries A.D.

name:

Helsinki

geographic coordinates:

60 10 N, 24 56 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

etymology:

• the name may derive from the Swedish "helsing," an archaic name for "neck" ("hals"), and which may refer to a narrowing of the Vantaa River that flows into the Gulf of Finland at Helsinki;
• "fors" refers to "rapids," so "helsing fors" meaning becomes "the narrows' rapids"

• 19 regions (maakunnat, singular - maakunta (Finnish); landskapen, singular - landskapet (Swedish));
• Aland (Swedish), Ahvenanmaa (Finnish);
• Etela-Karjala (Finnish), Sodra Karelen (Swedish) [South Karelia];
• Etela-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Sodra Osterbotten (Swedish) [South Ostrobothnia];
• Etela-Savo (Finnish), Sodra Savolax (Swedish) [South Savo];
• Kanta-Hame (Finnish), Egentliga Tavastland (Swedish);
• Kainuu (Finnish), Kajanaland (Swedish);
• Keski-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Mellersta Osterbotten (Swedish) [Central Ostrobothnia];
• Keski-Suomi (Finnish), Mellersta Finland (Swedish) [Central Finland];
• Kymenlaakso (Finnish), Kymmenedalen (Swedish);
• Lappi (Finnish), Lappland (Swedish);
• Paijat-Hame (Finnish), Paijanne-Tavastland (Swedish);
• Pirkanmaa (Finnish), Birkaland (Swedish) [Tampere];
• Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Osterbotten (Swedish) [Ostrobothnia];
• Pohjois-Karjala (Finnish), Norra Karelen (Swedish) [North Karelia];
• Pohjois-Pohjanmaa (Finnish), Norra Osterbotten (Swedish) [North Ostrobothnia];
• Pohjois-Savo (Finnish), Norra Savolax (Swedish) [North Savo];
• Satakunta (Finnish and Swedish);
• Uusimaa (Finnish), Nyland (Swedish) [Newland];
• Varsinais-Suomi (Finnish), Egentliga Finland (Swedish) [Southwest Finland]

history:

previous 1906, 1919; latest drafted 17 June 1997, approved by Parliament 11 June 1999, entered into force 1 March 2000

amendments:

• proposed by Parliament;
• passage normally requires simple majority vote in two readings in the first parliamentary session and at least two-thirds majority vote in a single reading by the newly elected Parliament;
• proposals declared "urgent" by five-sixths of Parliament members can be passed by at least two-thirds majority vote in the first parliamentary session only;
• amended several times, last in 2012

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Finland

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

6 years

chief of state:

President Sauli NIINISTO (since 1 March 2012)

head of government:

Prime Minister Sanna MARIN (since 10 December 2019)

cabinet:

Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 28 January 2018 (next to be held in January 2024);
• prime minister appointed by Parliament

election results:

Sauli NIINISTO reelected president; percent of vote Sauli NIINISTO (independent) 62.7%, Pekka HAAVISTO (Vihr) 12.4%, Laura HUHTASAARI (PS) 6.9%, Paavo VAYRYNEN (independent) 6.2%, Matti VANHANEN (Kesk) 4.1%, other 7.7%

description:

unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; 199 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 1 member in the province of Aland directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms) (e.g. 2019)

elections:

last held on 14 April 2019 (next to be held on April 2023) (e.g. 2019)

election results:

• percent of vote by party/coalition - SDP 17.7%, Finn Party 17.5%, Kok 17.0%. Centre Party 13.8%, Green League 11.5%, Left Alliance 8.2%;
• seats by party/coalition -SDP 40, Finn Party 39, Kok 38, Centre Party 31, Green League 20, Left Alliance 16;
• composition men 107, women 93, percent of women 46.5% (e.g. 2019)

highest courts:

• Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (consists of the court president and 18 judges);
• Supreme Administrative Court (consists of 21 judges, including the court president and organized into 3 chambers);
• note - Finland has a dual judicial system - courts with civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with jurisdiction for litigation between individuals and administrative organs of the state and communities

judge selection and term of office:

Supreme Court and Supreme Administrative Court judges appointed by the president of the republic; judges serve until mandatory retirement at age 68

subordinate courts:

• 6 Courts of Appeal;
• 8 regional administrative courts;
• 27 district courts;
• special courts for issues relating to markets, labor, insurance, impeachment, land, tenancy, and water rights

• Aland Coalition (a coalition of several political parties on the Aland Islands)
• Center Party or Kesk [Katri KULMUNI]
• Christian Democrats or KD [Sari ESSAYAH]
• Finns Party or PS [Jussi HALLA-AHO]
• Green League or Vihr [Pekka HAAVISTO]
• Left Alliance or Vas [Li ANDERSSON]
• National Coalition Party or Kok [Petteri ORPO]
• Social Democratic Party or SDP [Antti RINNE]
• Swedish People's Party or SFP [Anna-Maja HENRIKSSON]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mikko Tapani HAUTALA (since 17 September 2020)

chancery:

3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 298-5800

FAX:

[1] (202) 298-6030

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Robert "Bob" Frank PENCE (since 24 May 2018)

telephone:

[358] (9) 6162-50

embassy:

Itainen Puistotie 14B, 00140 Helsinki

mailing address:

APO AE 09723

FAX:

[358] (9) 6162-5135

• 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);
• the blue represents the thousands of lakes scattered across the country, while the white is for the snow that covers the land in winter

name:

"Maamme" (Our Land)

lyrics/music:

Johan Ludvig RUNEBERG/Fredrik PACIUS

note: in use since 1848; although never officially adopted by law, the anthem has been popular since it was first sung by a student group in 1848; Estonia's anthem uses the same melody as that of Finland

Fitch rating:

AA+ (2016)

Moody's rating:

Aa1 (2016)

Standard & Poors rating: AA+ (2014)

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

agriculture:

4%

industry:

20.7%

services:

75.3% (2017 est.)

lowest 10%:

6.7%

highest 10%:

45.2% (2013)

• a mix of 3 publicly operated TV stations and numerous privately owned TV stations;
• several free and special-interest pay-TV channels;
• cable and satellite multi-channel subscription services are available;
• all TV signals are broadcast digitally;
• Internet television, such as Netflix and others, is available;
• public broadcasting maintains a network of 13 national and 25 regional radio stations;
• a large number of private radio broadcasters and access to Internet radio

number of registered air carriers:

3 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 77

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

13,364,839 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

957.64 million mt-km (2018)

total:

5,926 km (2016)

broad gauge:

5,926 km 1.524-m gauge (3,270 km electrified) (2016)

total:

454,000 km (2012)

highways:

78,000 km (50,000 paved, including 700 km of expressways; 28,000 unpaved) (2012)

private and forest roads:

350,000 km (2012)

urban:

26,000 km (2012)

• 8,000 km (includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia; water transport used frequently in the summer and widely replaced with sledges on the ice in winter; there are 187,888 lakes in Finland that cover 31,500 km);
• Finland also maintains 8,200 km of coastal fairways (2013)

total:

269

by type:

bulk carrier 8, container ship 1, general cargo 79, oil tanker 4, other 177 (2019)

• the inventory of the Finnish Defense Forces consists of a wide mix of mostly modern Western and domestically-produced weapons systems, as well as a limited quantity of Soviet-era equipment, particularly artillery and armored personnel carriers;
• since 2010, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, and the US are the leading foreign suppliers of armaments to Finland;
• the Finish defense industry produces a variety of military equipment, including wheeled armored vehicles and naval vessels (2019 est.)

• at age 18, all Finnish men are obligated to serve 6-12 months of service within a branch of the military or the Border Guard, and women may volunteer for service;
• after completing their initial conscript obligation, individuals enter the reserves and remain eligible for mobilization until the age of 60 (2019)

refugees (country of origin):

8,862 (Iraq) (2019)

stateless persons:

2,801 (2019)