Finland
The
Republic of Finland (Finnish:
Suomen tasavalta, Swedish:
Republiken Finland), is one of the
Nordic countries. It is situated in
Northern Europe, east of
Sweden, west of
Russia and north of
Estonia. The country shares borders with the two former and Norway to its north. Finland is bounded by the
Baltic Sea with the
Gulf of Finland to the south and the
Gulf of Bothnia. The
Ã…land Islands, off the south-western coast, are under Finnish
sovereignty while enjoying extensive
autonomy.
Finland has a population of over five million people spread over more than 330,000 km² (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.
Along with
Estonian and
Hungarian,
Finnish is one of the few official languages in Europe that is not of
Indo-European origin.
Prehistory
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). 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
[Prehistory â€" Virtual Finland]. The arrival of the
Battle-Axe Culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around
3200 BC may have coincided with the start of
agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late 3rd millennium B.C.
Hunting and
fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country.
The
Bronze Age (1500–500 BC) and
Iron Age (500 BC–AD 1200) were characterised by extensive contacts with
Scandinavia, northern
Russia and the Baltic region. Inhabitants of Finland - like the
Kvens - and their "kings" are mentioned in some historic chronicles and other writings such as the Scandinavian sagas. There are also some written documents from the 13th century.
The Swedish reign
The beginning of Finland's nearly 700-year association with the Kingdom of
Sweden is traditionally connected with the year 1154 and the hypothesised
introduction of Christianity by Sweden's
King Erik. However, archaeological evidence points to prior Christian influences in south-western and south-eastern Finland and include both western and eastern Christian artefacts. Historically (more documented), the union began upon
Birger Jarl's expedition to Finland in 1249.
Swedish became the dominant language of administration and education;
Finnish chiefly a language for the
peasantry,
clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. Not until the 16th century were the first written works published in Finnish by
Mikael Agricola.
The Swedish Kingdom strove to push the borders eastward, which led to wars of varying success with
Novgorod. The expansion was halted by the unification of
Russia and was eventually rolled back. During the 18th century, virtually all of Finland was twice occupied by Russian forces (1714–1721 and 1742–1743), known by the Finns as the
Greater Wrath and the
Lesser Wrath. During this time "Finland" became the predominant term for the whole land area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border; both in domestic Swedish debate and by Russians promising protection from "Swedish oppression." The earlier Finland - i.e. the south-western area - was from then on called "Finland Proper".
Finland as a Grand Duchy of Russia
On
March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of
Russian Emperor Alexander I, Finland became an autonomous
Grand Duchy under the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During this time, Finnish started gaining recognition by both the imperial court and the governing bodies, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong
nationalist movement, known as the
Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's
national epic, the
Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892.
The independent republic
On
December 6,
1917, shortly after the
Bolshevik Revolution in Russia,
Finland declared its independence. The independence was approved by
Bolshevist Russia but the civil wars that followed
in Russia and
in Finland and
activist expeditions (see
Heimosodat), including the ones to
White Karelia and
Aunus, complicated relations.
In 1918, the country experienced a brief but a bitter
Civil War that coloured domestic politics for many years. The Civil War was fought between "the whites", who gained support from
Imperial Germany, and "the reds", supported by Bolshevist Russia. The reds consisted mostly of leftist propertyâ€"less rural and industrial workers who, despite
universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The white forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically more to the right. Eventually, the whites overcame the reds.
The Finnish–Russian border was agreed upon in the
Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting
Petsamo and its
Barents Sea harbour to Finland.
During
World War II, Finland fought the
Soviet Union twice: in the
Winter War of 1939–1940 and in the
Continuation War of 1941–1944 in accordance with
Operation Barbarossa in which
Germany invaded the Soviet Union. 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, restraints, and reparations on Finland vis-Ã -vis the Soviet Union as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the
Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of
Finnish Karelia,
Salla, and
Petsamo, which amounted to 10% of land area, 20% of industrial capacity and 400,000 evacuees. The reparations to the Soviet Union forced Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Nevertheless, most trade was with other Western countries. Even after reparations were fulfilled, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. (Russia has assumed a large part of the Soviet national debt which is slowly being remunerated in raw materials and electricity).
Modern history
After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the western countries and the Soviet Union. The "
YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics. There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name
Finlandisation by the German press. However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union.
The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with a sophisticated social welfare system. When the
Soviet Union fell in
1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight, and Finland was simultaneously hit by a "home-cooked" severe recession. This left a mass unemployment problem, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate after the recession. Finland joined the
European Union in 1995, where she is an advocate of
federalism contrary to the other
Nordic countries that are predominantly supportive of
confederalism.
The Parliament of Finland celebrates its centennial in 2006 and 2007. The 100th anniversary of the approval of the Parliament Act and Election Act by the Diet will take place on June 1st 2006. On May 23rd 2007 is the 100th anniversary of the first plenary session of Finland's unicameral Parliament.The theme of the centennial is "The right to vote - trust in law. One hundred years of Finnish democracy."The centennial focuses on the parliamentary reform of the early 20th century and the introduction of equal and universal suffrage and full political rights for women. The centennial will be celebrated nationally and internationally, as well as bilingually in Finnish and Swedish.
This included the introduction of a
proportional representation,
open list voting system as well as the right to vote and to also be elected for all citizens, including women.
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).
The
exonym Finland has resemblance with e.g. the
Scandinavian placenames
Finnmark,
Finnveden and
Finnskogen and all are thought to be derived from
finn, a Germanic word for
nomadic "
hunter-gatherers" (as opposed to sedentary farmers). How, why and when this designation would have started to mean the
Finns in particular is largely unknown. Among the first written documents mentioning a "land of the Finns" are two rune stones. There is one in Söderby, Sweden, with the inscription
finlont and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription
finlandi dating from the 11th century
[National Archives Service, Finland (English)].
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. Besides 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
Ã…land 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 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.
The
climate in Southern Finland is a northern
temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the
Province of Lapland, a
subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic to be continuously warmed by the
Gulf stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the
Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the
midnight sun can be experienced — for more and more days, the further up north one comes. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days in winter.
Administrative divisions
Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 432 municipalities. The municipality is the same as a "city" level of government, except that rural municipalities are not called "cities". Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between
towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality, although their nationality is usually more important.
Municipalities co-operate in 74
sub-regions and 20
regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ã…land region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with similar regional elections.
The state organisation 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 â€" referring to the picture on the right:
#
Southern Finland#
Western Finland#
Eastern Finland#
Oulu#
Lapland#
Ã…landThese provinces are merely administrative divisions. Western Finland, for example, spans four major linguistic and dialectal areas (Ostrobothnian dialects, Southwestern dialects, Savo in mideast, and some Swedish speakers in the area around Vaasa).
The
Ã…land Islands enjoy a degree of
autonomy. According to international treaties and Finnish laws, the regional government for Ã…land handles some matters which belong to the province authority in
Mainland Finland.
Another kind of provinces are those echoing the pattern of colonisation of Finland.
Dialects,
folklore,
customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with these
historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000
Karelians during
World War II and
urbanisation in the latter half of the 20th century have made differences less pronounced.
The old provinces or counties (1634-1997) survive in the telephone numbering areas.
|
Detailed map of Finland © CIA |
Most
Finns (92%) speak Finnish as their
mother tongue, while the largest minority language is
Swedish (5.5%). Other minority languages include
Russian and
Estonian. To the north, in
Lapland, are found the
Sami, numbering less than 7,000, who like the Finns speak a
Finno-Ugric language. There are three
Sami languages that are spoken in Finland:
Northern Sami,
Inari Sami and
Skolt Sami. The majority of Finns also speak proficient
English.
Swedish has an official language status in Finland, and the right of other minority groups (in particular
Sami people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by law.
Finland-Swedes are considered to represent a common
ethnicity with the Finnish speaking majority. Culturally, the
Finland-Swedes differ slightly from the majority by being traditionally more coastal-oriented.
After the
Winter War (1939) (and 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. Until then, some 500,000 Finns had emigrated, chiefly to
Sweden, although half of the emigrants ultimately re-migrated again.
Since the late 1990s, Finland has received
refugees and
immigrants at a rate comparable with the other
Nordic countries, although the total ethnic-minority population remains far lower in Finland than the rest. A considerable number of immigrants have come from the former Soviet Union claiming
ethnic (
Finnic) kinship. However, over 20 languages are now spoken in Finland by immigrant groups of significant size — that is, with at least a thousand speakers.
Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after the 20th century
urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the
Greater Helsinki metropolitan area (including the cities of
Helsinki,
Espoo and
Vantaa),
Tampere,
Turku, and
Oulu.
Indigenous peoples
The Sami are an indigenous people living in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. Known widely in the past as
Lapps, the term "Lapp" is now considered derogatory by many Sami. In additional to their own
language, they have their own way of life, identity and culture. Common history, traditions, livelihoods and customs unite the Sami living in different countries. In total, there are about 75,000 to 100,000 Samis, of which about 7,000 live in Finland. That is about 0.14% of the population of Finland.
Religion
Most Finns (83.1%) are members of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, with a minority of 1% belonging to the
Finnish Orthodox Church (see
Eastern Orthodoxy). These two churches are the
state churches of Finland. The remainder of the population consists of relatively small groups of other
Protestant denominations,
Catholics,
Muslims and
Jews beside the growing population of unaffiliated (15%).
Education
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.
Health
After having one of the highest death rates from
heart disease in the world in the 1970s, improvements in the Finnish diet and exercise have paid off. Finland is now one of the fittest countries in the world
[Guardian Unlimited â€" Fat to fit: how Finland did it].
Finland has a
semi-presidential system with
Parliamentarism. The
President of Finland is responsible for
foreign policy outside of EU. 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 a 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.
The 200-member
unicameral Parliament of Finland is called the
Eduskunta (Finnish) or
Riksdag (Swedish). It is the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter the
Constitution of Finland, 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 for a four-year term on the basis of proportional representation through
open list multi-member districts.
The
judicial system of Finland is divided between
courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with responsibility for litigation between the individuals and the administrative organs of the state and the communities. Their jurisdiction can be illustrated with an example: Parents unsatisfied with the school placement of their child would appeal against the board of education in an administrative court as the school placement is subject to an administrative decision. Finnish law is codified and its court system consists of local courts, regional appellate courts, and the
Supreme Court. The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts and the
Supreme Administrative Court. The administrative process has more popularity as it is cheaper and has lower financial risk to the person making claims. In addition to the regular courts, there are a few special courts in certain branches of administration. There is also a
High Court of Impeachment for criminal charges (for an offence in office) against the President of the Republic, the justices of the supreme courts, members of the Council of State, the
Chancellor of Justice and the
Ombudsman of Parliament.
The parliament has, since
equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, been dominated by
secular Conservatives,
the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), and
Social Democrats. After 1944
Communists were a factor to consider for a few decades. The relative strengths of the parties vary only slightly in the elections due to the proportional election from multi-member districts but there are some visible long-term trends.
The
constitution of Finland and its place in the judicial system are unusual in that there is no constitutional court and the supreme court does not have an explicit right to declare a law unconstitutional. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by a simple vote in the parliament (see
Parliamentary sovereignty). However, the Constitutional Law Committee of the parliament reviews any doubtful bills and recommends changes, if needed. In practice, the Constitutional Law Committee fulfils the duties of a constitutional court. A Finnish peculiarity is the possibility of making exceptions to the constitution in ordinary laws that are enacted in the same procedure as constitutional amendments. An example of such a law is the
State of Preparedness Act which gives the Council of State certain exceptional powers in cases of national emergency. As these powers, which correspond to US executive orders, affect constitutional basic rights, the law was enacted in the same manner as a constitutional amendment. However, it can be repealed in the same manner as an ordinary law. In addition to preview by the Constitutional Law Committee, all Finnish courts of law have the obligation to give precedence to the constitution when there is an obvious conflict between the constitution and a regular law. That is, however, very rare. The only other European countries that lack a constitutional court are the
Netherlands and the
United Kingdom (which does not have a codified constitution).
After the
collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland freed itself from the last restrictions imposed on it by the
Paris peace treaties of 1947. The Finnish-Soviet Agreement of Friendship, Co-operation, and Mutual Assistance (and the restrictions included therein) was annulled but Finland recognised the Russian Federation as the successor of the USSR and was quick to draft bilateral treaties of goodwill as well as reallocating Soviet debts.
Finland deepened her participation in the European integration by joining the
European Union with Sweden and Austria in 1995. It could be perhaps said that the country's policy of neutrality has been moderated to "military non-alignment" with an emphasis on maintaining a competent independent defence.
Peacekeeping under the auspices of the
United Nations is the only real extra-national military responsibility which Finland undertakes.
According to
Transparency International, Finland has had the lowest level of
corruption in all the countries
studied in their survey for the last several years.
Defence Forces
The Finnish Defence Forces (
Finnish Puolustusvoimat;
Swedish Försvarsmakten) is a
cadre army of 16500, of which 8700 professional soldiers (officers), with a standard readiness strength of 34,700 people in uniform (27,300 army, 3,000 navy, and 4,400 air force). Finland's defence budget equals about 1.4% of the
GDP. A universal male
conscription is in place, under which all men above 18 years of age serve from 6 to 12 months. However, inhabitants of Finland's
Ã…land islands and
Jehovah's Witnesses are exempt. Also a 13-month-long
non-military service is possible. As of 1995, women were permitted to serve on a voluntary basis. The defence is based on a large trained reserve. During the
Cold War, Finland could have mobilised 490,000
reservists in a conflict, but this number has since been reduced to some 350,000 due to ongoing budget cuts.
The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the
President of the Republic in matters related to the military command. The current Chief of Defence is Admiral
Juhani Kaskeala.
The military branches are:
*
Finnish Army*
Finnish Navy*
Finnish Air ForceThe
Frontier Guard is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness.
|
Headquarters of Nokia, the largest company in Finland. |
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.
In
1991, Finland fell into a deep recession caused by economic overheating, depressed foreign markets and the dismantling of the barter system between Finland and the former
Soviet Union. More than 20% of Finnish trade was with the Soviet Union before 1991, and in the following two years the trade practically ceased. 1991 and again in
1992, Finland devalued the markka to promote export competitiveness. This helped stabilise the economy; the recession bottomed out in
1993, with continued growth through
1995. Since then the growth rate has been one of the highest of
OECD countries.
Because of the northern climate,
agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency.
Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population.
Finland was one of the 11 countries joining the
euro monetary system (
EMU) on
January 1,
1999. The national currency markka (FIM) in circulation was withdrawn and replaced by euro (EUR) in the beginning of 2002.
Finland has been declared the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years 2003-2005 (four times in the last five years) by the World Economic Forum
[World Economic Forum]. In recent years there has been national focus on research and product development, with special emphasis on information technology.
[Virtual Finland]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. In the 21st century Finland is a country also influenced by many cultures across the world, including Asian and African cultures. 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 their own cultural characteristics, such as Sami culture and Finland Swedes culture. Many Finns are emotionally connected to countryside and nature, because urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon.
Miscellaneous cultural concepts
*
Saturday Sauna*
List of Finns*
Suuret suomalaiset List of 100 Greatest Finns
*Characteristics of Finnishness:
**
Finnish Maiden - symbolising Finland
**
Kalevala - The
national epic of Finland
**
Kantele - a musical instrument
**
Mämmi - traditional Easter food
**Historical
Finnish paganism**
Joulupukki - Santa Claus
**
Sauna and
Finnish sauna**
Sisu - perseverance
**
Perkele - swear word (see
Finnish profanity)
**
Talkoot - community work
**
Makkara and
sinappi - sausage and mustard
**
Salmiakki - salty licorice
**
Koskenkorva - Finnish vodka
**
Reilu meininki - fair dealing
Public holidays
All official holidays in Finland are established by acts of
Parliament. The official holidays can be divided into
Christian and secular holidays, although some of the Christian holidays have replaced holidays of pagan origin. The main Christian holidays are
Christmas,
Epiphany,
Easter,
Ascension Day,
Pentecost, and
All Saints Day. The secular holidays are
New Year's Day,
May Day,
Midsummer Day, and
Independence Day.In addition to this all Sundays are official holidays but they are not as important as the special holidays. The names of the Sundays follow the liturgical calendar and they can be categorised as Christian holidays. When the standard working week in Finland was reduced to 40 hours by an act of Parliament it also meant that all Saturdays became a sort of de facto public holidays, though not official ones. Easter Sunday and Pentecost are Sundays that form part of a main holiday and they are preceded by a kind of special Saturdays.Retail stores are prohibited by law from doing business on Sundays, except during the summer months (May through August) and in the pre-Christmas season (November and December). Business locations that have less than 400 square metres of floor space are allowed Sunday business throughout the year, with the exception of official holidays and certain Sundays, such as Mothers' Day and Fathers' Day.
*Finland is home to the world's leading cellular phone company,
Nokia.
*According to the World Audit study, Finland is the least corrupt and most democratic country in the world.
[Finland: World Audit Democracy Profile]*In the
PISA study, Finland has ranked at the top in education; the study measured the skills of 15-year-olds in topics relevant to everyday life.
*Cellular technology:
GSM/
GPRS/
EDGE/
UMTS*Cellular frequency: GSM 900, GSM 1800, UMTS 2100
*
Date format: DD.MM.YYYY (ex. 1.12.2005), DD.MM.YY (ex. 1.12.05) or DD.MM. (ex. 1.12.), dates written out are written DD. MM YYYY (
e.g. 1. joulukuuta 2005)
*
Decimal separator is a comma: 123,45
*Thousands are separated by a space: 10 000
*Currency signs are placed after the digits, with a space as a mandatory separator: 10 €
*The currency is
euro, abbreviated
€, divided into 100
sentti, abbreviated
snt*
Voltage: 230V, 50 Hz;
Power connector:
2-pin round (German)*
Postal code: 5 digits.
*Finland won the
Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with their entry, "
Hard Rock Hallelujah" by
Lordi.
International rankings
*
IMD International:
World Competitiveness Yearbook 2004, Rank 8 out of 60 economies (countries and regions)
*
OECD:
Programme for International Student Assessment 2003, Rank 1 out of 41 countries in mathematics
*
Reporters without borders:
Second world press freedom ranking (October 2003), Rank 1 out of 166 countries (tied with Iceland, Netherlands and Norway)
*
Save the Children:
State of the World's Mothers 2004, Rank 2 out of 119 countries (tied with Denmark)
*
Transparency International:
Corruption Perceptions Index 2004, Rank 1 out of 146 countries
*
UNDP:
Human Development Index 2005, Rank 13 out of 177 countries
*
World Economic Forum:
Global Competitiveness Report 2005-2006 - Growth Competitiveness Index Ranking, Rank 1 out of 117 countries
*
Communications in Finland*
Education in Finland**
List of universities in Finland*
Finland and Globalization*
Finlandization*
Football in Finland*
Foreign relations of Finland*
Gun politics in Finland*
List of Finnish companies*
List of Finnish newspapers*
List of Finnish television stations*
List of Finns**
List of well-known people from Finland**
List of well-known bands from Finland*
List of towns in Finland*
Military of Finland**
List of Finnish wars*
Music of Finland*
Protected areas of Finland*
Tourism in Finland*
Transportation in Finland*
Fire fighting in Finland
Culture Shock! Finland: A Guide to Customs and Etiquette Deborah Swallow
Finland: Cultural Lone Wolf Richard D. Lewis
Finland in the New Europe Max Jakobson
A Frozen Hell: The Russo-Finnish Winter War of 1939-1940 William Trotter
A History of Finland Eino Jutikkala, Kauko Pirinen
Hitler's Arctic War: The German Campaigns in Norway, Finland, and the USSR 1940-1945 Chris Mann
Insight Guide: FinlandLet Us Be Finns: Essays on History Matti Klinge
Lonely Planet Guide: FinlandA Short History of Finland Fred Singleton
The White Death: The Epic of the Soviet-Finnish Winter War Allen F. Chew
The Winter War: The Soviet Attack on Finland 1939-1940 Eloise Engle and Lauri Paananen
*
Government**
The Finnish Government â€" Official governmental site
**
The President of Finland â€" Official site of the President of the Republic of Finland
**
Parliament of Finland â€" Official Parliamentary site
**
Finland's EU Presidency â€" Official site of Finland's EU presidency
*
Overviews**
Statistics Finland â€" Finland in Figures
**
Encyclopædia Britannica Online â€" Finland's country page
**
Finnguide.fi â€" Finland Information in English
**
International English Speakers' Association of Finland ry â€" Events and information for English speakers in Finland
*
History**
History of Finland: Primary Documents*
Maps & Tourism**[
1]
WikiMapia and [
2]
Google Maps satellite view of Finland
**
Virtual Finland â€" Main portal to Finland (Administered by
Finland's government)
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Visit Finland â€" Finland Info Travellers (by
Finnish Tourist Board)
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Finland pictures â€" A photo gallery about Finland
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The Tourism Expert â€" Finland links in 10 languages
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Welcome to Finland â€" Finland facts
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Other**
Finland Forum â€" Find information about moving to, living in and life in Finland (in English)
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Finlandia (a cappella version, including traditional lyrics) can be heard on Virtual Finland
nds-nl:Finlaandfiu-vro:Soomõ
