Republic of Finland
FINLAND. Republic of Finland
Finland (Finnish name Suomi) is the seventh largest country in Europe by area, covering 338,000 km². It borders Russia (land border - 1269 km), Norway (727 km), and Sweden (586 km). The coastline is washed by the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. The country has 188,000 lakes, and forests cover about 70% of the land area. The capital is Helsinki (559,300), other major cities include Espoo (224,200), Tampere (201,000), Vantaa (185,400), and Turku (175,000). Administratively, it is divided into 6 provinces and 432 municipalities (of which 114 are cities). The population is 5.2 million (2004); of these, 92% are Finns, about 6% are Swedes.
Other ethnic groups include Russians (over 30,000), Saami, and Tatars. The official languages are Finnish and Swedish. Religion: since 1923, Finnish citizens have the right to practice "any religion or none." 85% of the population belongs to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1% to the Finnish Orthodox Church (under the spiritual leadership of the Patriarch of Constantinople). About 1% profess other religions (Baptists, Jehovah's Witnesses, Catholics, Adventists, Jews, Muslims), and approximately 13% are not affiliated with any religious community. The currency is the euro.
Finland has diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation (established with the RSFSR on October 14, 1920).
The national holiday is December 8 - Independence Day (1917).
The form of government is a parliamentary republic with a strong presidential institution. The highest executive authority belongs to the president, who is elected by popular vote for a term of 6 years with the possibility of re-election for a second term. Since March 2000, this position has been held by T. Halonen, elected as a candidate from the Social Democratic Party (after the election, she left the party in accordance with tradition) — the first female president in the country's history. The head of state directs foreign policy in conjunction with the government, approves legislative acts and decrees, appoints members of the government and senior state officials, and is the supreme commander of the Defense Forces. The parliament is unicameral, consisting of 200 deputies; elections are held every 4 years. It exercises legislative power, elects and approves the prime minister's candidacy. Following the elections held in March 2003, 8 parties are represented: The Finnish Centre Party (PFЦ) - 55 deputies, the Social Democratic Party of Finland (СДПФ) - 53, the National Coalition Party (НКП) - 40, the Left Alliance (ЛС) - 19, the Green League - 14, the Swedish People's Party (ШНП) - 9, the Christian Democrats - 7, and the Finns Party - 3. The Speaker of Parliament is P. Lipponen (СДПФ).
The executive power is exercised by the government, which is formed following parliamentary elections through consultations between factions. Typically, the post of prime minister is held by the leader of the political party that won the elections. The current government, in addition to the prime minister, includes 17 ministers distributed across 13 ministries. Accordingly, some ministries have 2 ministers who rely on the same administrative apparatus but deal with different, albeit closely related, issues (for instance, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there is a Minister of Foreign Affairs and a Minister for Foreign Trade and Development). The cabinet includes 8 representatives from the PFЦ and СДПФ, and 2 from ШНП. 8 members of the government are women. The Prime Minister (since June 2003) is M. Vanhanen (PFЦ), and the Minister of Foreign Affairs is E. Tuomioja (СДПФ).
Provinces are headed by governors appointed by the president and subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior. The responsibilities of governors and the provincial administrations under their leadership include implementing national and regional government tasks and overseeing the activities of municipalities in the area of public services.
The basis of local self-government is municipalities. Self-government bodies, the councils of municipal representatives, are elected every 4 years through a proportional system. The executive body of the municipality - the board - is elected by representatives for a term of 2 years (in rural areas) or 4 years (in urban areas). In the municipal elections in October 2004, the Social Democratic Party of Finland won (24.1%), followed by the Finnish Centre Party (22.8%) and the National Coalition Party (21.8%). The responsibilities of municipalities include providing services to the population in education, social welfare, healthcare, transport and communication infrastructure, local improvement, and environmental protection.
The Åland Islands (area about 5,500 km², predominantly Swedish-speaking population - about 25,000) have a special political-administrative status. As one of the provinces of Finland, Åland enjoys broad autonomy in internal affairs within the framework of the Finnish constitution, has its own parliament (lagting, 30 deputies), and its own legislation on health, education, local economy, environmental protection, etc. The province has its own flag and its own postage stamps. The archipelago has a special international legal status as a demilitarized zone. In the country's parliament, the islands are represented by 1 deputy.
Political parties: The Finnish Centre Party (PFЦ) - established in 1906 (until 1965 - Agrarian Union, from 1965 to 1988 - Centre Party), the largest in the country (over 200,000), traditionally expresses the interests of landowners, farmers, and entrepreneurs involved in the processing of agricultural and forestry products. Recently, it has sought to expand its social base and claims to be the guarantor of national traditions. After winning the parliamentary elections on March 16, 2003, it emerged from opposition, where it had been since 1995, and headed the government coalition. The Social Democratic Party of Finland - established in 1918 (about 62,000), relies on support from people with low and middle incomes, small entrepreneurs, and the intelligentsia. It plays a leading role in the country's trade union movement.
The Swedish People's Party (ШНП) - established in 1906, has about 32,000 members. It defends the interests of the Swedish-speaking population of the country. Its social composition is quite heterogeneous, and the party leans towards the liberal part of the political spectrum. It is an unchanging participant in government cooperation. The National Coalition Party (НКП) - established in 1918 (about 45,000), is a moderately conservative party expressing the interests of entrepreneurs and the middle class. After losing the elections in March 2003, it went into opposition. The Left Alliance (ЛС) - established in April 1990 on the basis of the Democratic Union of the People of Finland and the split Communist Party.
It unites about 12,000 people. The "Greens" ideologically and organizationally formed into the Green League in 1990. The League represents a typical Western European ecological party. The Christian Union (now called the Christian Democrats of Finland) - established in 1970, has about 15,000 members.
It aims to protect Christian values and religious worldview. There are several small parties: the Finns Party, the Union of Free Finland, the Ecological Party, etc. In total, 16 political parties are registered with the Ministry of Justice of the country.
The trade union movement unites over 3 million people, more than 85% of wage earners. There are 3 trade union centers in the country: the Central Organization of Trade Unions of Finland (ЦОПФ), the Central Union of Technical Employees (СТТК), and the Organization of Trade Unions of Workers with Higher and Academic Education (АКАВА).
Numerous business organizations operate, the most influential of which is the Central Union of Economic Life of Finland.
The "Finland - Russia" society has been operating since October 1944 and has over 17,000 individual members.
The cooperative movement has a long history and has reached a high level of organization and production. The largest organizations are the Central Union of Cooperatives and the Central Union of Consumer Cooperatives.
The territory of modern Finland was settled by Finnish tribes in the 1st millennium AD. In the 12th-14th centuries, these lands were gradually conquered by the Swedes. For several centuries, the territory of present-day Finland was the scene of clashes between Russians and Swedes. Following the war of 1808-09, Finland became part of the Russian Empire as a Grand Duchy. This status granted Finland broad autonomy. In 1863, the Finnish language, alongside Russian and Swedish, gained official status, which contributed to the accelerated formation of the Finnish nation.
In 1917, after the October Revolution in Russia, the Finnish parliament adopted a declaration of the state independence of Finland, which was recognized by a decree of the Soviet government of the RSFSR on December 31, 1917.
In 1939-40, Finland was at war with the USSR, and from 1941 to 1944, it fought against the USSR on the side of fascist Germany. On September 19, 1944, an armistice agreement was signed, and on November 10, 1947, the Paris Peace Treaty between the Soviet Union and Finland was signed.
In January 1992, the Russian-Finnish Treaty on the Foundations of Relations was concluded, which was automatically extended in 2001 until 2007. Trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Finland is mutually beneficial, and the growth of trade turnover shows positive dynamics. The volume of bilateral trade in 2004 amounted to 9.67 billion euros (in 2003 - 7.83 billion euros) with a positive balance for Russia of 966 million euros.
Cooperation in adjacent regions plays a significant role in Russian-Finnish relations. Its legal basis is the intergovernmental Agreement of 1992 on cooperation in the Murmansk region, the Republic of Karelia, St. Petersburg, and the Leningrad region.
Finland is a member of the UN (1955), OECD (1968), the Nordic Council (1955), and is part of most universal international organizations. Since 1995, it has been a member of the European Union, a participant in the European Economic and Monetary Union, as well as the Schengen Agreements.
Finland's foreign policy and security policy are based on the principles of military non-alignment and reliable national defense.
Finland is a highly developed industrial country. The GDP is 149.7 billion euros (2004), or more than 26,000 euros per capita (ranking in the second tier of countries worldwide). Since the early 2000s, it has occupied top positions in prestigious competitiveness rankings, has an advanced innovation system, and is a net exporter of capital. The level of spending on R&D in Finland is among the highest in the world (about 3.5% of GDP). The national debt is 42.6% of GDP - one of the lowest in the EU.
In 2004, GDP growth was 3.7%, industrial production - 4.7% (in 2003 - 2% and 0.3% respectively), which is above the average rates in the European Union. Economic development was relatively balanced, supported by foreign trade, domestic demand, and investments. Inflation remained low at 0.2%.
About 60% of GDP is generated in the service sector. Industry accounts for about 30% of GDP, and agriculture and forestry make up about 4%. The foundation of Finnish industry is machine and instrument engineering and metalworking (50% of production), the forestry and paper industry (20%), as well as the chemical industry (10%). Other important sectors of the economy include food production (about 6%) and metallurgy (about 4%). Finland specializes in the production of telecommunications equipment, paper and cardboard, equipment for the pulp and paper industry, lifting and transport equipment, special grades of steel, and non-ferrous metals.
The country is poor in natural resources. Only large forest reserves stand out. There are also deposits of iron, copper, zinc ores, titanium-magnetites, chromium, nickel, granite, and marble. The majority of raw materials and energy carriers are imported.
The narrowness of the domestic market dictates the export orientation of the Finnish economy. Exports account for about 30% of GDP. In 2004, exports grew by 3.5% to 48.79 billion euros, primarily due to the electronics and pulp and paper industries, while imports increased by 10% to 40.27 billion euros.
The main trading partners of Finland are Germany (14.7% of imports and 10.7% of exports), Sweden (10.9% of imports and 11% of exports), Russia (13.2% of imports and 8.9% of exports), and the United Kingdom (4.5% of imports and 7.1% of exports), the USA (4.6% of imports and 6.4% of exports), and China (4.9% of imports and 4% of exports). EU member countries account for up to 60% of trade turnover.
The average income level of workers is over 2,000 euros per month. The working week lasts 36 hours, and vacation is 5 weeks (after 3 years of service).
Finland is a country with a high level of social protection for its citizens. The social security system is oriented to ensure that the real income of each citizen does not fall below the officially established minimum living wage (about 700 euros per month). The average unemployment rate in 2004 was 8.8% (in 2003 - 9%).
In Finland, there is traditionally a high level of participation of women in government bodies and business, as well as in science, art, and religion. While still part of the Russian Empire, Finland became the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote in 1906. There are about 1.2 million pensioners in the country. The retirement age for both men and women is 65 years.
The tax level in Finland is 44% of GDP. The tax system includes direct taxes - state, municipal, property, and church taxes, as well as indirect taxes, the main of which is VAT (for most goods and services - 22%). The state tax rate is progressive, ranging from 6% to 51% for individuals and up to 33% for companies. The municipal tax rate is determined by the local municipality and ranges from 14% to 20% in different municipalities. The property tax is 1.7%, and the church tax is 1%.
The Defense Forces of Finland (ОСФ) are based on universal conscription. Their number in peacetime is just over 32,000 people. The Minister of Defense is traditionally a civilian.
Secondary education is compulsory for 9 years and free. Higher secondary education (3 years after school), which provides the right to enter universities, is provided by lyceums and most vocational schools.
Finland has 49 higher educational institutions, including 20 universities. All universities are state-owned, and there are no tuition fees. The largest universities are located in Helsinki (37,800 students), Turku (two: Finnish - 15,000, Swedish - 7,000), Oulu (15,800), and Jyväskylä (16,000).
There are more than 60 theaters in the country, which are subsidized by the government. There are 10 professional orchestras, as well as 70 amateur and semi-professional orchestras. Summer international music festivals have developed significantly.
About 200 newspapers are published with a total circulation of 3.3 million copies. Of these, only 19 associate themselves with political parties.
The largest newspapers are "Helsingin Sanomat" (440,000 copies), evening newspapers "Ilta-Sanomat" (199,000) and "Iltalehti" (157,000), as well as "Aamulehti" published in Tampere (121,000) and "Turun Sanomat" in Turku (about 112,000). Up to 320 popular and 2,100 professional magazines are published.
The leading broadcasting company in Finland and the monopoly owner of broadcasting facilities is the state-owned "Yleisradio," which provides the country with 5 national television channels and 13 radio channels. There are 2 commercial television channels. In recent years, regional and city cable television networks, retransmitting satellite broadcasts, have become increasingly widespread. There are many commercial radio stations (more than 60).
The main news agency is the Finnish Telegraph Agency (ФТБ), co-owned by 55 leading newspapers and "Yleisradio." ФТБ exchanges information with most leading world news agencies, including ITAR-TASS and RIA "Novosti."
A Russian-language newspaper "Spektr" (20,000 copies) is published, and "Radio Sputnik" broadcasts in Russian. Programs from the first channel of Russian television are broadcast in cable networks throughout Finland.
Finland ranks among the leading countries in the world in terms of Internet connections per capita.
There are 1.3 million saunas in the country.
