Finland: About Finland

From ExecutivePlanet.com

Finland (Finnish name Suomi) is a parliamentary republic since 1919; the country became an independent state in 1917 and became a member of the European Union in 1995.

The current population is 5.2 million.

The capital Helsinki has 559 700 residents.

Finland is an advanced industrial economy or as the Finns call it an information society: The metal, engineering and electronics industries account for 50 % of export revenues, the forest products industry for 30 %.

Finland is said to be ‘the most on-line nation in the world’, with more mobile phones and Internet connections per capita than any other country.

In 2006 Finland won the Eurovision song contest with the highest points ever after getting dismal ranking every year for 40 years. So much for Finnish “Sisu” or perseverence.

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Geography

With a surface area of 338 000 sq. km., Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe. A quarter of its total area lies north of the Arctic Circle.

Finland’s neighbouring countries are Sweden, Norway and Russia, which have land borders with Finland, and Estonia across the Gulf of Finland.

Of Finland's total surface area 10% consists of water, 69% of forest, 8% of cultivated land and 13% of other areas.

There are some 190 000 lakes, 5,100 rapids and approximately as many islands.

Finland is the most heavily forested country in Europe, with 23 million hectares under forest cover.

Europe's largest archipelago, which includes the self-governing province of the Åland Islands, lies off the southwest coast.

Climate

Cold winters and warm summers mark the climate. In the far north, beyond the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set for about 73 days, producing the white nights of summer. In the same region, during the dark winter period, the sun remains below the horizon for 51 days, creating the polar night known in Finnish as kaamos. This long dark period is very challenging to people who are not used to it.

The summers are generally fantastic. To celebrate this warmth and sunlight, after the long and very cold winter, the Finns slow down at the beginning of June and serious business only resumes in the third week of August when children go back to school.

Children have a long 10 weeks of summer holidays and most families spend time in their summer cottage (kesämökki). During the summer months, companies and organizations function with skeleton staff and nothing much serious gets done.

Short History

The coastal area in Finland has been inhabited for at least 10 000 years. There is still a debate about from where “the first Finns” really came. The prevailing theory is that people came both from southeast (the Ugrians), south and west. The first Christian missionaries came from Sweden and in 1155 Finland became part of the Swedish realm. From 1809 to 1917 Finland was a rather semi-autonomous Grand Duchy with the Russian Czar as constitutional monarch represented by a governor general.

Finland has always been scarcely inhabited, and until the middle of the 19th century, looked upon themselves as “Carelians”, or “Savonians”, rather than Finns. People lived in scattered villages (examples of Finnish old farm houses can be seen at the Seurasaari outdoor museum in Helsinki), where they were farmers, fishermen and hunters.

The period of independence and the following civil war in 1917 was rather severe. Finland came out of this as the only country in the world to fully pay its war debts on time. During World War II, with its back to the wall, Finland bravely fought two wars with the mighty Soviet Union and survived significant territorial losses and war reparations to become a modern post-industrial nation, which staged the Olympic games in 1952.

Religion

About 85% of the population belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, while 1.1% belongs to the Greek Orthodox Church.

Most people are fairly secularised, and religion is not a conspicuous feature of everyday life. Nevertheless, the Church and its servants are held in esteem, and religious convictions are respected. It is difficult to point out differences between those with a personal faith and everyone else; perhaps the former follow a more moderate way of life.

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Government

The head of state is the President of the Republic who is elected for a period of six years and may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. President Tarja Halonen was elected first in 2000.

The government must have the confidence of parliament (the Eduskunta) which has 200 members elected by universal suffrage every four years.

Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen, the deputy leader of the Centre Party, heads the multiparty coalition government formed in 2003.

The Finnish People

The population of Finland is approximately 5 200 000, with a population density of 17 persons per square kilometre. 65 % of the population now live in urban areas.

The three cities of Helsinki, the capital, population 560 000, Espoo, 217 000, and Vantaa, 180 000, form the Helsinki metropolitan region, which is now home to roughly a sixth of the country’s total population.

The number of foreign citizens living permanently in Finland was about 113 925 in December 2005. The biggest groups were from the neighbouring countries Russia, Estonia and Sweden.

Among families with children, the average number of offspring is 1.8. Women on average outlive men in Finland.

Average life expectancy for females is 81.5 years and for males 74.6 years.

Languages

The official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish, the latter spoken as a mother tongue by about 6 % of the people. Another indigenous minority language is Saame, spoken by the Saame people (also known as Lapps) of Lapland. English is widely spoken as a foreign language, and it is commonly used in business

Economy

Finland’s road to industrialisation started in the 19th century with the harnessing of forest resources. Forests are still Finland’s most crucial raw material resource, although the engineering and high technology industries, led by Nokia, have long been the leading branches of manufacturing. Besides Nokia, Valmet (paper machines) UPM-Kymmene (pulp and paper) are important industrial companies.

The most important export product today is the mobile phone and Finland is one of the few European countries whose exports exceed imports in data and communications technology.

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.7% (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate: 7% (2006 est.)

Public debt: 37.7% of GDP (2006 est.)

The cost of living in Finland is about the same as in other EU countries.

Currency is Euro.

Education and Research

All children receive compulsory basic education between the ages of 7 and 16. Education beyond the age of 16 is voluntary, taking the form of either a three to four-year course in upper secondary school or 2 to 5 years at a vocational school.

There are 21 universities or institutes of higher education, with a total student population of around 158 000, of whom 52 % are women. 66 % of the population have completed post-primary education and 17 % have a university degree or equivalent qualification.

R&D expenditure in relation to GDP has risen continuously and reached 3.6 % of GDP in 2004.

Health care

Health care in Finland is publicly funded. Basic health care is provided by “health care centres” (terveyskeskus), run by the municipalities. Every resident belongs to a health centre, located in the area where he/she lives. They provide medical consultations, laboratory tests etc, and will also write medical certificates for the employer in case or sick leave.

Legislation

Finnish legislation is very similar to that of other EU countries.

Coming to Finland

People from the EU (European Union) and EEA (European Economic Area) countries do not need a visa to enter the country. If you are a citizen of any other country you must apply for an entry visa at the nearest Finnish Embassy or Consulate.

Foreigners generally need a residence permit in order to stay in Finland for more than three months. A residence permit is also required for a stay lasting less than three months if the foreigner who is coming to Finland intends to work.

More information from http://www.uvi.fi

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The “Typical Finn” – a generalized picture

The picture of the typical Finn has changed quite a lot during the last decade. Finns used to say that they came straight from the woods, had no sophistication, and were shy and introverted. Today they picture themselves as already today living in tomorrow’s society (although still unable to do small talk), and there is no question that their self-esteem is much better than it has been.

In Finland everyone shares the same basic rights and advantages. Democracy and equality are highly valued with little noticeable differences between social classes. This can be noticed in a certain modesty in homes, behaviour, dress and company facilities. Organisations are often flat and not hierarchic, and the general notion of equality also prevails.

Generally speaking, Finland is a country with a ‘low context’ culture: verbal communication is paramount — “a word spoken is a message delivered”. Emotions are not openly expressed in Finland, unless among close friends or relatives. Privacy is very important to Finns, and they want to leave other people in peace, just as they want to be left in peace.

The working style is individualistic, and people are used to working alone and hard. Team working is becoming more common, though, and interest for social and communication skills is growing.

Important things in life to Finns are family, friends and NATURE.