Finland.html



Coordinates: 64°33′28″N 26°19′24″E / 64.557881, 26.323242

Suomen tasavalta Republiken Finland Republic of Finland
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Maamme  (Finnish) Vårt land  (Swedish) "Our Land"
Location of  Finland  (orange) – on the European continent  (camel & white) – in the European Union  (camel)                  Legend
Capital (and largest city)		Helsinki 60°10′N 24°56′E / 60.167, 24.933
Official languages		Finnish, Swedish
Recognised regional languages		Sami
Demonym		Finns, Finnish
Government		Parliamentary republic1
-	President	Tarja Halonen (sd)
-	Prime Minister	Matti Vanhanen (c)
-	Parliament's speaker	Sauli Niinistö (nc)
Independence		from Russian Empire
-	Autonomy	March 29, 1809
-	Declared	December 6, 1917
-	Recognised	January 4, 1918
EU accession		January 1, 1995
Area
-	Total	338,145 km² (64th) 130,558 sq mi
-	Water (%)	10,0
Population
-	2008 estimate	5,321,581[1] (111th)
-	2000 census	5,155,000
-	Density	16/km² (201st) 40/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$185.485 billion[2] (52nd)
-	Per capita	$35,279[2] (IMF) (12th)
GDP (nominal)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$245.013 billion[2] (31st)
-	Per capita	$46,601[2] (IMF) (9th)
Gini (2000)		26.9 (low)
HDI (2007)		▲ 0.952 (high) (11th)
Currency		Euro (€)² (EUR)
Time zone		EET (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Internet TLD		.fi, .ax ³
Calling code		+358
1	Semi-presidential system
2	Before 2002: Finnish markka
3	The .eu domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states.

Finland [ˈfɪnlənd] (help·info), officially the Republic of Finland^[3] (Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info)), is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki.

Around 5.3 million people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern part of the country.^[1] It is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. The native language for most of the population is Finnish, a member of the Finno-Ugric language family most closely related to Estonian and one of the four official EU languages not of Indo-European origin. The second official language, Swedish, is spoken by a 5.5 percent minority.^[4] Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a mostly Helsinki-based central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. A total of a million residents live in Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen) and a third of the GDP is produced there. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku, and Oulu.

Finland was historically part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire. Finland's declaration of independence in 1917 from Russia was followed by a civil war, wars against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and a period of official neutrality during the Cold War. Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and the European Union in 1995 and participates in the Eurozone. Finland has been ranked the second most stable country in the world, in a survey based on social, economic, political, and military indicators.^[5]

Finland has seen excellent results in many international comparisons of national performance such as the share of high-technology manufacturing, public education, the rate of gross domestic product growth, and the protection of civil liberties.^[6]

History

Main article: History of Finland

Prehistory

According to archaeological evidence, the area now composing Finland was settled at the latest around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The artifacts the first settlers left behind present characteristics that are shared with those found in for example Estonia, Russia and Norway.^[7] The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, using stone tools. There is also evidence of carved stone animal heads.^[8] The first pottery appeared in 3000 BCE when settlers from the East brought in the Comb Ceramic culture.^[9] The arrival of the Corded Ware culture in southern coastal Finland between 3,000–2,500 BCE coincided with the start of agriculture.^[10] Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country.^{citation needed}

The Bronze Age (1500–500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE–1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions. There is no consensus on when Finno-Ugric languages and Indo-European languages were first spoken in the area of contemporary Finland.

The first verifiable written documents appeared in the 12th century.^{citation needed}

Swedish era

Sweden in 1658.

Sweden established its official rule of Finland in the 13th century. Swedish became the dominant language of the nobility, administration and education; Finnish was chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The Bishop of Turku was the most socially pre-eminent person in Finland before the Reformation.

During the Reformation, the Finns gradually converted to Lutheranism. In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first written works in Finnish. The first university in Finland, The Royal Academy of Turku, was established in 1640. In the 18th century, wars between Sweden and Russia led to the occupation of Finland twice by Russian forces, known to the Finns as the Greater Wrath (1714–1721) and the Lesser Wrath (1742–1743). By this time Finland was the predominant term for the whole area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border.

Russian Empire era

Main article: Grand Duchy of Finland

See also: Finland's language strife and Russification of Finland

On March 29, 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Alexander I of Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition. From the 1860s onwards, a strong Finnish nationalist movement, known as the Fennoman movement, grew. 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 Finnish famine of 1866–1868 killed 15 percent of the population, making it the last and one of the worst famines in European history. The famine led the Russian Empire to ease financial regulations, and investment rose in following decades. Economic and political development was rapid.^[11] The GDP per capita was still a half of United States and a third of Great Britain.^[11]

In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict Finnish autonomy. For example, the universal suffrage was, in practice, virtually meaningless, since the emperor did not have to approve any of the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. Desire for independence gained ground, first among radical liberals^[12] and socialists.

Civil war and early independence

The road to civil war and independence

Main articles: Finland's declaration of independence and Finnish Civil War

Soviet approval of Finland's independence in Russian.

After the February Revolution the position of Finland as part of the Russian Empire was questioned, mainly by the social democrats. Since the head of state was the Czar of Russia, it was not clear who was the chief executive of Finland after the revolution. The parliament, controlled by social democrats, passed the so-called Power Law, which would give the highest authority to the parliament. This was rejected by the Russian Provisional Government and by the right wing parties in Finland. The Provisional Government dissolved the parliament by force, which the social democrats considered illegal, since the right to do so was stripped from the Russians by the Power Law.

New elections were conducted, in which right wing parties won a slim majority. Some social democrats refused to accept the result and still claimed that the dissolution of the parliament (and thus the ensuing elections) were extralegal. The two nearly equally powerful political blocs, the right wing parties and the social democratic party, were highly antagonized.

The October Revolution in Russia changed the game anew. Suddenly, the right wing parties in Finland started to reconsider their decision to block the transfer of highest executive power from the Russian government to Finland, as radical socialists took power in Russia. Rather than acknowledge the authority of the Power Law of a few months earlier, the right wing government declared independence.

The civil war

In 1918, months after the Russian October Revolution, the revolutionary wing of the Social Democratic Party staged a coup. They succeeded in controlling southern Finland and Helsinki, but the right wing government continued in exile from Vaasa. The stage was set for a brief but bitter civil war, which proved to be one of the bloodiest conflicts in modern European history. The Whites, who were supported by Imperial Germany, prevailed over the Reds, supported by Bolshevist Russia. After the war tens of thousands of Reds and suspected sympathizers were interned in camps, where thousands died by execution or from malnutrition and disease. Deep social and political enmity was sown between the Reds and Whites that would last until the Winter War and beyond. The civil war and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat) to the Soviet Union strained Eastern relations.

The new republic

After a brief flirtation with monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish–Russian border was determined by the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland. Finnish democracy didn't see any more Soviet coup attempts and survived the anti-Communist Lapua Movement. The relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Germany's relations with Finland were also not good. Military was trained in France instead and relations to Western Europe and Sweden were strengthened.

In 1917 the population was 3 million. Credit-based land reform was enacted after the civil war, increasing the proportion of capital-owning population.^[11] About 70% of workers were occupied in agriculture and 10% in industry.^[13] The largest export markets were the United Kingdom and Germany. The Great Depression in the early 1930s was relatively light in Finland.

World War II

Areas ceded by Finland to the Soviet Union after the Winter War in 1940 and the Continuation War in 1944. The Porkkala land lease was returned to Finland in 1956.

Main article: Military history of Finland during World War II

During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939–40 after the Soviet Union had attacked Finland and in the Continuation War of 1941–44, following Operation Barbarossa, in which Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Following German losses on the Eastern Front and the subsequent Soviet advance, Finland was forced to make peace with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944–45, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland.

The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finnish obligations, restraints, and reparations as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Pechenga, which amounted to ten percent of its land area and twenty percent of its industrial capacity. Some 400,000 evacuees, mainly women and children, fled these areas.

Finland had to reject Marshall aid. However, the United States provided secret development aid and helped the still non-communist Social Democratic Party in hopes of preserving Finland's independence.^[14] Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as the United Kingdom, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after the reparations had been paid off, Finland, which is poor in certain resources necessary for an industrialized nation (such as iron and oil), continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade.

Cold War

In 1950 half of the Finnish workers were occupied in agriculture and a third lived in urban areas.^[15] The new jobs in manufacturing, services and trade quickly attracted people to the towns. The average number of births per woman declined from a baby boom peak of 3.5 in 1947 to 1.5 in 1973.^[15] When baby boomers entered the workforce, the economy did not generate jobs fast enough and hundreds of thousands emigrated to the more industrialized Sweden, with emigration peaking in 1969 and 1970.^[15] The 1952 Summer Olympics brought international visitors. Finland took part in trade liberalization in the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Urho Kekkonen, 8th President of Finland.

Officially claiming to be 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. This was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations from 1956 on, which was crucial for his continued popularity. In politics, there was a tendency of avoiding any policies and statements that could be interpreted as anti-Soviet. This phenomenon was given the name "Finlandisation" by the German press (fi. suomettuminen). Self-censorship vis-à-vis anything negative associated with the Soviet Union was prevalent in the media. Public libraries pulled from circulation thousands of books that were considered anti-Soviet, and the law made it possible for the authorities to directly censor movies with supposedly anti-Soviet content. Asylum-seeking Soviet citizens were frequently returned to the Soviet Union by the Finnish authorities.

Despite close relations with the Soviet Union, Finland remained a Western European market economy. Various industries benefited from trade privileges with the Soviets, which explains the widespread support that pro-Soviet policies enjoyed among business interests in Finland. Economic growth was rapid in the postwar era, and by 1975 Finland's GDP per capita was the 15th highest in the world. In the 1970s and 1980s, Finland built one of the most extensive welfare states in the world. Finland also negotiated a treaty with the EEC (a predecessor of the European Union) that mostly abolished customs duties towards the EEC starting from 1977, although Finland did not fully join. In 1981, President Urho Kekkonen's failing health forced him to retire after holding office for 25 years.

Miscalculated macroeconomic decisions, a banking crisis, the collapse of a primary trading partner (the Soviet Union) and a global economic downturn caused a deep recession in Finland in the early 1990s. The depression bottomed out in 1993, and Finland has seen steady economic growth ever since.

Recent history

Like other Nordic countries, Finland has liberalized its economy since the late 1980s. Financial and product market regulation was loosened. Some state enterprises have been privatized and there have been some modest tax cuts. Finland joined the European Union in 1995, and the Eurozone in 1999.

The population is aging with the birth rate at 10.42 births per 1,000 population, or a fertility rate of 1.8.^[15] With a median age of 41.6 years, Finland is one of the oldest countries;^[16] half of voters are estimated to be over 50 years old. Like most European countries, without further reforms or much higher immigration, Finland is expected to struggle with demographics, even though macroeconomic projections are healthier than in most other developed countries.

Etymology

The name Suomi (Finnish for "Finland") has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the proto-Baltic word *zeme, meaning "land". According to an earlier theory the name was derived from suomaa (fen land) or suoniemi (fen cape).

The exonym Finland has resemblance with, e.g., the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and hundreds of other toponyms starting with Fin(n) in Sweden and Norway. Some of these names are obviously derived from finnr, a Germanic word for a wanderer/finder and thus supposedly meaning nomadic "hunter-gatherers" or slash and burn agriculturists as opposed to the Germanic sedentary farmers and sea-faring traders and pirates. Often "Finn" is also referring to Sami people. It is unknown how, why and when Finnr started referring to the people of Finland Proper in particular (from where the name spread from the 15th century onwards to refer to the people of the entire country).

Among the first documents to mention "a land of the Finns" are two rune-stones. There is one in Söderby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319), dating from the 11th century.^[17]

Geography and environment

Main article: Geography of Finland

See also: List of cities and towns in Finland, List of lakes in Finland, and List of national parks of Finland

Topography and geology

Detailed map of Finland. See also atlas of Finland

Pyhä-Luosto National Park, Lapland.

Syöte National Park.

Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands – 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands to be precise.^[18] One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the fifth largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills, and its highest point, the Halti at 1,324 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland at the border between Finland and Norway.

The landscape is covered mostly (seventy-five percent of land area) by coniferous taiga forests and fens, with little arable land. The most common type of rock is granite. It is a ubiquitous part of the scenery, visible wherever there is no soil cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. Podzol profile development is seen in most forest soils except where drainage is poor. Gleysols and peat bogs occupy poorly drained areas. The greater part of the islands are found in the southwest in the Archipelago Sea, part of the archipelago of the Åland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland.

Finland is one of the few countries in the world whose surface area is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound 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 square miles) a year.^[19]

The distance from the most Southern point – Hanko – to the most northern point of Finland – Nuorgam – is 1,445 kilometres (898 miles) (driving distance), which would take approximately 18.5 hours to drive. This is very similar to Great Britain (Land's End to John o' Groats – 1,404 kilometres (872 miles) and 16.5 h).

Flora and fauna

Phytogeographically, Finland is shared between the Arctic, Central European and Northern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF, the territory of Finland can be subdivided into three ecoregions: the Scandinavian and Russian taiga, Sarmatic mixed forests and Scandinavian Montane Birch forest and grasslands. Actual tundra with permafrost is not found in Finland except for a narrow area in the extreme north. Similarly, temperate broadleaf forests, with oak and maple growing in the wild, are found in the extreme south.

All terrestrial life in Finland was completely wiped out during the last ice age that ended some 10,000 years ago, following the retreat of the glaciers and the appearance of vegetation.

Today, there are over 1,200 species of vascular plant, 800 bryophytes and 1,000 lichen species in Finland, with flora being richest in the southern parts of the country. Plant life, like most of the Finnish ecology, is well adapted to tolerate the contrasting seasons and extreme weather. Many plant species, such as the Scots Pine, spruce, and birch, spread throughout Finland from Norway and only reached the western coast less than three millennia ago. Oak and maple grows in nature only in the southern part of Finland.

The Whooper Swan, national bird of Finland

Similarly, Finland has a diverse and extensive range of fauna. There are at least sixty native mammalian species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species present today, many migrating from neighbouring countries thousands of years ago.

Large and widely recognised wildlife mammals found in Finland are the Brown Bear (the national animal), Gray Wolf, elk (moose) and reindeer. Other common mammals include the Red Fox, Red Squirrel, and Mountain Hare. Some rare and exotic species include the flying squirrel, Golden Eagle, Saimaa Ringed Seal and Arctic fox. Two of the more striking birds are the Whooper Swan, a large European swan and the national bird of Finland, and the Capercaillie, a large, black-plumaged member of the grouse family. The latter is considered an indicator of old-growth forest connectivity, and has been declining due to landscape fragmentation.^[20] The most common breeding birds are the Willow Warbler, Chaffinch and Redwing.^[21] Of some seventy species of freshwater fish, the northern pike, perch and others are plentiful. Atlantic salmon remains the favorite of fly rod enthusiasts.

The endangered Saimaa Ringed Seal, one of only three lake seal species in the world, exists only in the Saimaa lake system of southeastern Finland, down to only 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.^[22]

Due to hunting and persecution in history, many animals such as the Golden Eagle, Brown Bear and Eurasian Lynx all experienced significant declines in population. However, their numbers have increased again in the 2000s, mainly as a result of careful conservation and the establishment of vast national parks.

Climate

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. The main factor influencing Finland's climate is the country's geographical position between the 60th and 70th northern parallels in the Eurasian continent's coastal zone, which shows characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate, depending on the direction of air flow. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic Ocean 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 days, the farther north one travels. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during winter.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Finland

Population

Finland currently numbers 5,320,291 inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre.^[1] This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, a phenomenon even more pronounced after 20th century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the cities of the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area – Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. Other large cities include Tampere, Turku and Oulu.

The share of foreign citizens in Finland is 2.5 percent^[24] being among the lowest of the European Union countries. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden.^[24]

Language

Main articles: Finnish language, Finland Swedish, and Languages of Finland

See also: Finnish alphabet, Finnish grammar, and Finnish phonology

Most of the Finnish people (92 percent)^[25] speak Finnish as their mother tongue. Finnish is a member of the Baltic-Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages and is typologically between inflected and agglutinative languages. It modifies and inflects the forms of nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals and verbs, depending on their roles in the sentence. In practice, this means that instead of prepositions and prefixes there is a great variety of different suffixes and that compounds form a considerable percentage of the vocabulary of Finnish. It has been estimated that approximately 65–70 percent of all words in Finnish are compounds.^[26] A close linguistic relative to the Finnish language is Estonian, which, though similar in many aspects, is not mutually intelligible with it. These languages, together with Hungarian (all members of the Uralic language family), are the primary non-Indo-European languages spoken in Europe. Finland, together with Estonia and Hungary, is one of three independent countries where a Uralic language is spoken by the majority.

The largest minority language is Swedish, which is the second official language of the state of Finland, spoken by 5.5 percent of the population.^[25] Other minority languages are Russian (0.8 percent),^[25] Estonian (0.3 percent),^[25] Finnish Romani, and Finnish Sign Language (spoken as a first language by 4,000–5,000 people).^[27] To the north, in Lapland, are also the Sami people, numbering around 7,000^[28] and recognized as an indigenous people. About a quarter of them speak a Sami language as their mother tongue.^[4] There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami.^[29] The rights of minority groups (in particular Sami, Swedish-speaking Finns and Romani people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by the constitution.^[30]

In a 2005 Eurobarometer survey studying languages of the European Union, 60% percent of residents claimed to know English, 38% claimed to know Swedish, and 17% claimed to know German.^[31] Ranking those claiming a knowledge of English, Finland ranked fifth behind Malta, the Netherlands (86%), Sweden (85%), and Denmark (83%). Relatively many Finns knew German, while relatively few knew French or Spanish.

Religion

Main articles: Religion in Finland, Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and Finnish Orthodox Church

See also: Roman Catholicism in Finland, Judaism in Finland, Islam in Finland, and Hinduism in Finland

A wedding ceremony in Kiuruvesi.

Most Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (81.7 percent).^[32] With approximately 4.6 million members, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is one of the largest Lutheran churches in the world. A minority belong to the Finnish Orthodox Church (1.1 percent; see Eastern Orthodox Church). Other Protestant denominations and the Roman Catholic Church in Finland are significantly smaller, as are the Muslim, Jewish and other non-Christian communities (totaling 1.2 percent). 15.9 percent^[33] of the population has no religious affiliation.

The main Lutheran and Orthodox churches are constitutional national churches of Finland with special roles such as in state ceremonies and schools. A university degree in theology is compulsory for Lutheran priests. Representatives at Lutheran Church assemblies are selected in church elections every four years.

Over half of Finns say they pray at least once a month, the highest proportion in Nordics.^[34] Most children are baptized and have confirmation at the age of 15. Nearly all funerals are Christian. Religious television programmes and radio broadcasts are popular.^[35] However, the majority of Lutherans attend church only for special occasions like Christmas ceremonies, weddings and funerals.^[36] According to a 2005 Eurobarometer poll, 8 percent of Finnish citizens responded that "they believe there is a god"; 12 percent answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force"; and 16 percent that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".^[37]

Family structure

Finnish family life is centered on the nuclear family. Relations with the extended family are often rather distant, and Finnish people do not form politically significant clans, tribes or similar structures. According to UNICEF, Finland ranks fourth in the world in child well-being.^[38]

Health

There are 307 residents for each doctor.^[39] About 18.9 percent of health care is funded directly by households and 76.6 percent by public and other insurances. Finland limits medicine sales to the around 800 licensed pharmacies. Some significant institutions include Ministry of Health and National Public Health Institute.

In a comparison of 16 countries by Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions, Finland used the least resources and got average result, making Finland the most efficient according to the study's authors.^[40]

The life expectancy is 82 years for women and 75 years for men. 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 has exceptionally low smoking rates: 26% for males and 19% for females.^[41]

Finland's health problems are similar to other developed countries: circulatory diseases make up about half of all causes of death and cancer is the second most common cause of death.^[42]

The total annual consumption of pure alcohol by residents is lower than other European countries, even though heavy drinking is common at parties on the weekend. However, becoming intoxicated has remained the central characteristic of Finnish drinking habits.^[43] In the working-age population, diseases or accidents caused by alcohol consumption have recently surpassed coronary artery disease as the biggest single cause of death.^[44]

Schools teach sports, health and hands-on cooking classes. Finnish schoolchildren have one of the lowest amounts of sport classes in the European Union and according to National Public Health Institute only a third of adults exercise enough.^[45] National Public Health Institute claims 54% male obesity and 38% female obesity, while other estimates put obesity rates at 70% and 50%.^[45] The rate of diabetes is predicted to grow to 15% by 2015.^[45] Finland has the world's highest rate of Type I diabetes. Suicide mortality in Finland has generally been one of the highest in Europe, especially significant among males under 35 years.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Finland

Main articles: Provinces of Finland and Historical provinces of Finland

Main articles: Regions of Finland, Sub-regions of Finland, and Municipalities of Finland

The largest subdivisions are the six administrative provinces (lääni, pl. läänit), which mainly function as divisions of the state organisation,^[46] i.e. police, prosecutors, and other state services operate under their administration. After 1997 reforms the provinces have been Southern Finland, Western Finland, Eastern Finland, Oulu, Lapland, Åland. The province of Åland Islands is autonomous.

Municipalities and regions map of Finland (2007).
Black borders refer to municipalities, red to regions.

The fundamental administrative divisions of the country are the municipalities, which may also call themselves towns or cities. They account for half of public spending. Spending is financed by municipal income tax, state subsidies, and other revenue. As of 2008, there are 415 municipalities and most are under 5,000 residents. People often identify with their municipality.

In addition to municipalities, two intermediate levels are defined. Municipalities co-operate in seventy-four sub-regions and twenty regions. These are governed by the member municipalities, but have only limited powers. The Åland 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 regional elections. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami Domicile Area in Lapland for issues on language and culture.

In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta/kommun), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in km², and the density in inhabitants per km² (land area). The figures are as of January 1, 2007. Notice that the capital region – comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen (see Greater Helsinki) – forms a continuous conurbation of one million people. However, common administration is limited to voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, e.g. in Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council.

Further information: List of Finnish municipalities, List of Finnish municipalities by population, List of Finnish municipalities by area, and Former municipalities of Finland

Politics and government

Main article: Politics of Finland

See also: List of political parties in Finland

Eduskuntatalo, the main building of the Parliament of Finland (Eduskunta) in Helsinki.

The Constitution of Finland defines the political system. Finland is a representative democracy with a semi-presidential parliamentary system. Aside from state-level politics, residents use their vote in municipal elections and in the European Union elections.

According to the Constitution, the President is the head of state and responsible for foreign policy (which excludes affairs related to the European Union) in cooperation with the cabinet. Other powers include Commander-in-Chief, decree, and appointive powers. Direct vote is used to elect the president for a term of six years and maximum two consecutive terms. The current president is Tarja Halonen (SDP).

The 200-member unicameral Parliament of Finland exercises the supreme legislative authority in Finland. The parliament may alter laws, the constitution, bring about the resignation of the Council of State, and override presidential vetoes. Its acts are not subject to judicial review. Various parliament committees listen to experts and prepare legislation. Proportional vote in multi-seat constituencies is used to elect the parliament for a term of four years. The Speaker of Parliament is currently Sauli Niinistö (National Coalition Party). The cabinet (the Finnish Council of State) exercises most executive powers. It is headed by the Prime Minister of Finland and includes other ministers and the Chancellor of Justice. Parliament majority decides its composition and a vote of no confidence can be used to modify it. The current prime minister is Matti Vanhanen (Centre Party).

Since equal and common suffrage was introduced in 1906, the parliament has been dominated by the Centre Party (former Agrarian Union), National Coalition Party, and Social Democrats, which have approximately equal support, and represent 65–80 percent of voters. 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 autonomous Åland islands has separate elections, where Liberals for Åland was the largest party in 2007 elections.

After the parliamentary elections on March 18, 2007, the seats were divided among eight parties as follows:

* Province of Åland representative.

Law and court

A mounted police officer in Helsinki.

The judicial system of Finland is a civil law system divided between courts with regular civil and criminal jurisdiction and administrative courts with jurisdiction over litigation between the individuals and the public administration. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a wider sense, civil law or Roman law. 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. 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 against certain high-ranking officeholders.

A general court of first instance (käräjäoikeus) consists of professional judges, or, in complex cases, 1–2 professional judges and 3–4 lay judges (lautamies) appointed by municipal councils. Administrative courts, appeals courts and supreme courts consist of professional judges only. Like the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, Finland has no constitutional court, and courts may not strike down laws or pronounce on their constitutionality. In principle, the constitutionality of laws in Finland is verified by parliament's constitutional committee and a simple vote in the parliament.

Around 92% of residents are confident in Finland's security institutions.^[47] Crime in Finland has some unique features. The overall crime rate of Finland is not high in the EU context. Some crime types are above average, notably the highest homicide rate in Western Europe.^[48] Crime is prevalent among lower educational groups and is often committed by intoxicated persons. A day fine system is in effect and also applied to offences such as speeding. Jail sentences tend to be among the world's lowest, with an official emphasis on rehabilitation.

Finland has successfully fought against the corruption which was larger in the 1970s and 1980s.^[49] For instance, economic reforms and EU membership introduced stricter requirements for open bidding and many public monopolies were abolished.^[49] Today Finland has a very low number of corruption charges; Transparency International ranks Finland as one of the least corrupted countries. Also, Finland's public records are among the world's most transparent.

Finland has strict libel standards, and in one case a blogger was convicted for incitement to hatred when referring to statistics about an ethnic group. The voluntary Internet censorship list, similar to other Nordic countries, is classified "nominal" censorship by the ONI.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Finland

According to the latest constitution of 2000, the President (currently Tarja Halonen) leads foreign policy in cooperation with the government (curren