Data at glance of Finland - average on period

History

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 gained complete independence in 1917. During World War II, Finland successfully defended its independence through cooperation with Germany and resisted subsequent invasions by the Soviet Union, albeit with some loss of territory. During the next half-century, Finland transformed from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per-capita income is among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the EU since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro single currency at its initiation in January 1999. In the 21st century, the key features of Finland's modern welfare state are high-quality education, promotion of equality, and a national social welfare system, although the system is currently facing the challenges of an aging population and the fluctuations of an export-driven economy. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland opted to join NATO; it became the organization's 31st member in April 2023.

Environment

Area: 338,145 km2

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

Natural resources: timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Finnish, Swedish, Russian, Estonian, Romani, Saminote: 90.9% of the population has a Finnish background (2022 est.)

Languages: Finnish (official) 85.9%, Swedish (official) 5.2%, Russian 1.7%, other 7.2% (2022 est.)major-language sample(s): World Factbook, korvaamaton perustietolähde. (Finnish)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Lutheran 66.6%, Greek Orthodox 1.1%, other 1.7%, none 30.6% (2022 est.)

Government

Capital: Helsinki

Government type: parliamentary republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Alexander STUBB (since 1 March 2024)

Head of government: Prime Minister Petteri ORPO (since 20 June 2023)cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to Parliamentelection/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); prime minister appointed by Parliamentmost recent election date: 28 January 2024, with a runoff on 11 February 2024election results: 2024:  Alexander STUBB elected in the second round; percent of vote in the first round - Alexander STUBB (KoK) 27.2%, Pekka HAAVISTO (Vihr) 25.8%, Jussi HALLA-AHO (PS) 19.0%, Olli REHN (Kesk) 15.3%; percent of vote in second round - STUBB 51.6%, HAAVISTO 48.4%2018:  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%expected date of next election: by 28 January 2030

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: Parliament (Eduskunta - Riksdagen)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 200 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 4/2/2023parties elected and seats per party: National Coalition Party (KOK) (48); The Finns Party (PS) (46); Social Democratic Party (SDP) (43); Center Party (KESK) (23); The Greens (13); Left Alliance (Vas) (11); Other (16)percentage of women in chamber: 45.5%expected date of next election: April 2027