]! ^! Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns 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. A member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999. 
]" ^" Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia ^# 64 00 N, 26 00 E ^$ Europe ^% `! 338,145 sq km `" 304,473 sq km `# 33,672 sq km ^& slightly smaller than Montana ^' `! 2,681 km `Y Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km ^( 1,250 km ^) `$ 12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm) `M 24 nm `l 12 nm; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden `O 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation ^* cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes ^+ mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills ^, `% Baltic Sea 0 m `& Haltiatunturi 1,328 m ^- timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone ^. `' 6.54% `( 0.02% `) 93.44% (2005) ^/ 640 sq km (2003) ^0 NA ^1 air pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations _P `P Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain 
]# ^3 5,238,460 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 16.9% (male 449,548/female 433,253) `, 66.7% (male 1,768,996/female 1,727,143) `- 16.4% (male 344,798/female 514,722) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 41.6 years `. 40 years `/ 43.1 years (2007 est.) ^6 0.127% (2007 est.) ^7 10.42 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 9.93 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.04 male(s)/female `1 1.038 male(s)/female `, 1.024 male(s)/female `- 0.67 male(s)/female `2 0.958 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 3.52 deaths/1,000 live births `. 3.84 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 3.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 78.66 years `. 75.15 years `/ 82.31 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.73 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> less than 0.1% (2003 est.) ^? 1,500 (2003 est.) ^@ less than 100 (2003 est.) ^A `3 Finn(s) `4 Finnish ^B Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Russian 0.4%, Estonian 0.2%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.2%, Sami 0.1% ^C Lutheran Church of Finland 84.2%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 13.5% (2003) ^D Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003) ^E `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 100% `. 100% `/ 100% (2000 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Finland `7 Finland `Z Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland `[ Suomi/Finland ^H republic ^I `8 Helsinki `9 60 10 N, 24 58 E `: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) `p +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October ^J 6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani ^K 6 December 1917 (from Russia) ^L Independence Day, 6 December (1917) ^M 1 March 2000 ^N civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000) `< Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Eero HEINALUOMA (since 24 September 2005) `= Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to parliament `> president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2012); the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister from the majority party or the majority coalition after parliamentary elections and the parliament must approve the appointment `? percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 46.3%, Sauli NIINISTO (Kok) 24.1%, Matti Vanhanen (Kesk) 18.6%, Heidi HAUTALA (VIHR) 3.5%; a runoff election between HALONEN and NIINISTO was held 29 January 2006 - HALONEN 51.8%, NIINISTO 48.2% `* government coalition - Kesk, SDP, and SFP ^Q unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year terms) `> last held 18 March 2007 (next to be held March 2011) `? percent of vote by party - Kesk 23.1%, Kok 22.3%, SDP 21.4%, VAS 8.8%, VIHR 8.5%, KD 4.9%, SFP 4.5%, True Finns 4.1%, other 3.4%; seats by party - Kesk 51, Kok 50, SDP 45, VAS 17, VIHR 15, SFP 9, KD 7, True Finns 5, other 1 ^R Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president) ^S Center Party or Kesk [Matti VANHANEN]; Christian Democrats or KD [Paivi RASANEN]; Green League or VIHR [Tarja CRONBERG]; Left Alliance or VAS [Martti KORHONEN] (composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative); National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Jyrki KATAINEN]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eero HEINALUOMA]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Stefan WALLIN]; True Finns ^U AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC ^V `R Ambassador Pekka LINTU `S 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 298-5800 `U [1] (202) 298-6030 `V Los Angeles, New York ^W `R Ambassador Marilyn WARE `_ Itainen Puistotie 14B, 00140 Helsinki `` APO AE 09723 `T [358] (9) 616250 `U [358] (9) 6162 5800 ^X 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) 
]% ^Y Finland has a highly industrialized, 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; exports equal two-fifths of GDP. Finland excels in high-tech exports, e.g., mobile phones. 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. High unemployment remains a persistent problem. ^Z $171.7 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $196.2 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 5.5% (2006 est.) ^] $32,800 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 2.7% `A 30.3% `B 67% (2006 est.) ^_ 2.62 million (2006 est.) ^` agriculture and forestry 4.4%, industry 17.5%, construction 6%, commerce 22%, finance, insurance, and business services 12%, transport and communications 8%, public services 30.2% ^a 7% (2006 est.) _! NA% _" `C 4.2% `D 21.6% (1991) _d 26.9 (2000) _# 1.7% (2006 est.) _V 18.9% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $105.6 billion `F $101 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _% 37.7% of GDP (2006 est.) _& barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish _' metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing _( 3% (2006 est.) _) 81.6 billion kWh (2004) _* 80.79 billion kWh (2004) _+ 6.8 billion kWh (2004) _, 11.7 billion kWh (2004) _- 9,105 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 220,400 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ 101,000 bbl/day (2001) _0 318,300 bbl/day (2001) _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 4.86 billion cu m (2004 est.) _X 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Y 4.866 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Q $8.749 billion (2006 est.) _3 $84.72 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999) _5 Russia 11.2%, Sweden 10.7%, Germany 10.5%, UK 6.6%, US 6.2%, Netherlands 4.8% (2005) _6 $71.69 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains _8 Germany 16.2%, Sweden 14.1%, Russia 13.9%, Netherlands 6.2%, Denmark 4.6%, UK 4.3%, China 4.2% (2005) _[ $6.561 billion (August 2006 est.) _9 $251.9 billion (30 June 2006) _\ ODA, $850,536,746.4905 (2005) _; euro (EUR) `* on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries _< euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 2.12 million (2005) _? 5.231 million (2005) _@ `G modern system with excellent service `H digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs `I country code - 358; 1 submarine cable (Finland Estonia Connection); satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) _A AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998) _B 120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999) _C .fi; note - the ICANN has assigned the ccTLD of .ax to the Aland Islands _D 1.634 million (2006) _E 3.286 million (2005) 
]' _F 148 (2006) _G `! 76 `a 2 `J 27 `b 10 `c 23 `W 14 (2006) _R `! 72 `c 5 `W 67 (2006) _^ gas 694 km (2006) _e `! 5,741 km `r 5,741 km 1.524-m gauge (2,619 km electrified) (2005) _H `! 78,189 km `K 50,633 km (includes 653 km of expressways) `L 27,556 km (2006) _b 7,842 km `* includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2005) _S `! 87 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,250,600 GRT/952,072 DWT by type: bulk carrier 4, cargo 22, chemical tanker 6, container 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 25 `X 3 (Norway 1, Russia 1, UK 1) `d 48 (Bahamas 8, Germany 2, Gibraltar 3, Luxembourg 4, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 13, Norway 4, Sweden 11, UK 1) (2006) _I Hamina, Hanko, Helsinki, Kotka, Naantali, Pori, Porvoo, Raahe, Rauma, Turku 
]( _J Finnish Defense Forces: Army, Navy (includes coastal defense forces), Air Force (2003) _T 18 years of age for voluntary and compulsory military service (October 2004) _K males age 18-49: 1,121,275 females age 18-49: 1,076,684 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 913,617 females age 18-49: 875,689 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 32,040 females age 18-49: 30,519 (2005 est.) _U 2% (2005 est.) 
]) _N various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands 