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| Geography |
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Location:
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and
Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia
Geographic
coordinates: 64 00 N, 26 00 E
Map references:
Europe
Area:
total: 337,030 sq km
land: 305,470 sq km
water: 31,560 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly smaller than Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 2,628 km
border countries: Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313
km
Coastline:
1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations)
Maritime
claims:
contiguous zone: 6 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm)
Climate:
cold temperate; potentially subarctic, but comparatively mild because
of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea,
and more than 60,000 lakes
Terrain:
mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low
hills
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m
Natural resources:
timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver
Land use:
arable land: 8%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 0%
forests and woodland: 76%
other: 16% (1993 est.)
Irrigated
land: 640 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards:
NA
Environment - current issues: air pollution from manufacturing
and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from
industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens
wildlife populations
Environment
- international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile
Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber
94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography
- note: long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost
national capital on European continent; population concentrated
on small southwestern coastal plain
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Background: Ruled
by Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and by Russia from 1809,
Finland finally won its independence in 1917. During World War II, it
was able to successfully defend its freedom and fend off invasions by
the Soviet Union and Germany. In the subsequent half century, the Finns
have made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a
diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par
with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the
only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January
1999.
| People |
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Population:
5,167,486 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 18% (male 478,497; female 459,646)
15-64 years: 67% (male 1,747,738; female 1,712,058)
65 years and over: 15% (male 295,177; female 474,370) (2000
est.)
Population
growth rate: 0.17% (2000 est.)
Birth rate:
10.8 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate:
9.73 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Net migration
rate: 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality
rate: 3.82 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy
at birth:
total population: 77.41 years
male: 73.74 years
female: 81.2 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility
rate: 1.7 children born/woman (2000 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Finn(s)
adjective: Finnish
Ethnic groups:
Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Lapp 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar 0.02%
Religions:
Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Greek Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other
1%
Languages:
Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Lapp- and
Russian-speaking minorities
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% (1980 est.)
male: NA%
female: NA%
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| Communications |
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Telephones
- main lines in use: 476,078 (yearend 1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 246,000 (yearend 1998)
Telephone system: foreign investment in the form of joint
business ventures greatly improved telephone service; Internet services
available throughout most of the country; about 150,000 unfilled
subscriber requests
domestic: local - the Ministry of Transport and Communications
is expanding cellular telephone services to form rural networks;
intercity - highly developed fiber-optic backbone (double loop)
system presently serving at least 16 major cities (1998)
international: fiber-optic cables to Finland, Sweden, Latvia,
and Russia provide worldwide packet switched service; two international
switches are located in Tallinn
Radio broadcast
stations: AM 3 (all AM stations inactive since July 1998), FM
82, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios:
1.01 million (1997)
Television
broadcast stations:
31 (plus five repeaters) (September 1995)
Televisions:
605,000 (1997)
Internet
Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (1999)
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| Transportation |
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Railways:
total: 1,018 km common carrier lines only; does not include
dedicated industrial lines
broad gauge: 1,018 km 1.520-m gauge (132 km electrified) (1995)
Highways:
total: 49,480 km
paved: 10,935 km (including 75 km of expressways)
unpaved: 38,545 km (1998 est.)
Waterways:
320 km perennially navigable
Pipelines:
natural gas 420 km (1992)
Ports and
harbors: Haapsalu, Kunda, Muuga, Paldiski, Parnu, Tallinn
Merchant
marine:
total: 50 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 306,264 GRT/293,083
DWT
ships by type: bulk 3, cargo 20, combination bulk 1, container
5, petroleum tanker 2, roll-on/roll-off 13, short-sea passenger
6 (1999 est.)
Airports:
5 (1997 est.)
Airports
- with paved runways:
total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 3 (1997 est.)
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