Introduction
Background
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. Finland joined the EU in 1995 and NATO in April 2023.
Geography
Area
total: 338,145 sq km
land: 303,815 sq km
water: 34,330 sq km
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
People and Society
Population
total: 5,626,414
male: 2,773,656
female: 2,852,758 (2024 est.)
Ethnic groups
Finnish, Swedish, Russian, Estonian, Romani, Sami
Languages
Finnish (official) 85.9%, Swedish (official) 5.2%, Russian 1.7%, other 7.2% (2022 est.)
Religions
Lutheran 66.6%, Greek Orthodox 1.1%, other 1.7%, none 30.6% (2022 est.)
Population growth rate
0.2% (2024 est.)
Government
Government type
parliamentary republic
Capital
name: Helsinki
Executive branch
chief of state: President Alexander STUBB (since 1 March 2024)
head of government: Prime Minister Petteri ORPO (since 20 June 2023)
Legislative branch
description: unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; 199 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 1 member in the province of Aland directly elected by simple majority vote; members serve 4-year terms)
Economy
Economic overview
highly industrialized, export-based EU economy and euro user; high per capita GDP; major timber, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries; manageable public debts; rigid labor laws impose higher regulatory burdens
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$274.576 billion (2022 est.)
$270.247 billion (2021 est.)
$261.941 billion (2020 est.)
Real GDP per capita
$49,400 (2022 est.)
$48,800 (2021 est.)
$47,400 (2020 est.)
Agricultural products
milk, barley, oats, wheat, potatoes, sugar beets, pork, chicken, peas, beef (2022)
Industries
metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing
Exports
$127.83 billion (2022 est.)
$116.762 billion (2021 est.)
$97.42 billion (2020 est.)
Exports - partners
Germany 11%, US 10%, Sweden 10%, Netherlands 7%, China 5% (2022)
Exports - commodities
paper, refined petroleum, steel, wood pulp, wood (2022)
Imports
$134.721 billion (2022 est.)
$116.72 billion (2021 est.)
$97.037 billion (2020 est.)
Imports - partners
Sweden 15%, Germany 14%, China 8%, Norway 7%, Netherlands 6% (2022)
Imports - commodities
crude petroleum, refined petroleum, cars, garments, electricity (2022)
Exchange rates
euros (EUR) per US dollar -
Exchange rates:
0.95 (2022 est.)
0.845 (2021 est.)
0.876 (2020 est.)
0.893 (2019 est.)
0.847 (2018 est.)
Page last updated: Tuesday, May 07, 2024
