1

Finland

Table of contents:

1. Introduction

2. History

3. Milestones

4. Demographics and Socio Cultural Facts

5. Economy Major Industries and Companies

6. Polity, Government and Leadership

7. Geo Political Significance

8. Relations with India

FINLAND

Finland at a glance

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Introduction:

A country of Northern Europe Bordered by Sweden to west,

Norway to the north and Russia to the east.

Finland, a country of Europe having an area of 338,424 Sq.

km with 5.5 million population. Most of the people of Fin-

land speaks Finnish language say 89.33%. Finland is lying ap-

proximately between latitudes 60° and 70° N, and longitudes

20° and 32° E, Finland is one of the world's northernmost

countries . Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and is-

lands—about 188,000 lakes (larger than 500 m2 or 0.12

acres) and 179,000 islands. Its largest lake, Saimaa, is the

fourth largest in Europe. The area with most lakes is called

Finnish Lakeland.

Finland experiences warm summers and freezing winters be-

cause of its demographic condition.

Finland consists of 19 regions called Maakunta in Finnish and

Landskap in Swedish.

The Constitution of Finland defines the political system. Finland

is a parliamentary democracy, and the prime minister is the

country's most powerful politician.

Like the countries of Europe Finland’s currency is euro.

After Independence in march 18, 1809 it worked under Russia

for more than 100 years. Finland got its complete independ-

ence in 1918 . Current president of Finland Sauli Niinisto, and

Prime Minister is Alexander Stubb.

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Ancient Age

The land area that now makes up Finland was proba-bly settled immediately after the last ice age, which ended 9000 BCE. The Iron Age in Finland is considered to last from 500 BCE until 1300 CE When known offi-cial and written records of Finland become more com-

mon due to the Swedish invasions as part of the Northern Crusades in the 13th century.

After 15th Century

15th century seems to have been a relatively prosperous time characterized by population growth and economic development. Towards the end of the 15th cen-tury, however, the situation on the eastern border was becoming more tense. The Principality of Moscow conquered Novgorod, preparing the way for a unified Rus-sia, and soon tensions arose with Sweden. In 1495–1497, a war between Sweden

and Russia was fought. In 1521 the Kalmar Un-ion collapsed and Gustav Vasa became the King of Sweden. In 1550 Helsinki was founded by Gustav Vasa under the name of Helsingfors.

After the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the Swedish Empire was one of the most powerful countries in Europe. During the war, several important reforms had been made in Finland:

1637–1640 and 1648–1654 Count Per Brahe functioned as general governor of Finland. Many important reforms were made and many towns were founded. His period of admin-istration is generally considered very beneficial to the development of Finland.

1640 Finland's first university, the Academy of Abo, was founded in Turku at the proposal of Count Per Brahe by Queen Christina of Sweden.

1642 The whole Bible was published in Finnish.

18th century – the Age of Enlightenment

The Great Northern War (1700–1721) was devastating, as Sweden and Russia fought for control of the Baltic. Harsh conditions—worsening poverty and re-peated crop failures—among peasants undermined support for the war, lead-ing to Sweden's defeat. With the inter-ruption of the war (1788–1790), the last decades of the 18th century had been an era of development in Finland. New things were changing even every-day life, such as starting of potato farming after the 1750s. New scientific and technical inventions were seen.

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20th century:

In 1906, as a result of the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the associated Finnish general strike of 1905, the old four-chamber Diet was replaced by a unicameral Parliament of Finland (the "Eduskunta") In the wake of the Civil War there were many incidents along the border between Finland and Soviet Russia, such as the Aunus expedition and the Pork mutiny. Relations with the Soviets were improved after the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, in which Finland gained Petsamo, but gave up its claims on East Karelia. Finland retained a democratic constitution and free economy during the Cold War era. Treaties signed in

1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union in-cluded obligations and restraints on Fin-land, as well as territorial concessions. Finland became an associate member of the European Free Trade Association in 1961 and a full member in 1986. During Prime Minister Paavo Lipponen's two suc-cessive governments 1995–2003, several large state companies were privatized ful-ly or partially

Aug 4th 1943, finn won their bettle against

japan for a pacific territory

19th century:

Before 1860 overseas merchant firms and the owners of landed estates had accumulated wealth that became available for industrial investments. After 1860 the government liberal-ized economic laws and began to build a suitable physical infrastructure of ports, railroads and telegraph lines. The domestic market was small but rapid growth took place after 1860 in export industries drawing on forest resources and mobile rural laborers. Industrialization began during the mid-19th century from forestry to industry, mining and machinery and laid the foundation of Finland's current day prosperity, even though agriculture employed a rela-tively large part of the population until the post–World War II era

The Finnish national awakening in the mid-19th century was the result of members of the Swedish-speaking upper classes deliberately choosing to promote Finnish culture and lan-guage as a means of nation building

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Milestones

1550 Helsinki was founded by Gustav Vasa under the name of Helsingfors

1648 the first population registers, kept by the parish priests

1748 the Tabulation Office, Tabellverket, was founded

1749 the first vital statistics in the world were compiled by the Tabulation Office

1865 the provisional Statistical Office of Finland, Statistiska Byran, was founded

1879 the first Statistical Yearbook of Finland was published

1886 the first course of statistics was held at the University of

Helsinki

1917 Finland became independent

1920 the Finnish Statistical Society was founded

1920-22 J. W. Lindeberg published the Central Limit Theorem

1945 the first chair of statistics was created at the University of

Helsinki

1948 national accounts were calculated for the first time

1955 Finland joined the UN

1961 Finland became an associate member of the EFTA (full mem-

ber 1986)

1969 the Population Register was founded

1969 Finland joined the OECD

1975 the interview organization of

Statistics Finland was founded

1990a completely register-based popu-

lation census was carried out

1995 Finland joined the European Union

1995 the Internet service of Statistics Finland was

opened

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Demographic and Socio cultural fact:

Location: Northern Europe, Scandinavia, bordering Norway729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km Capital: Helsinki

Population: 5,214,512 (July 2004 est.) 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 Ethnic Make-up: Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Sami 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar 0.02% Religions: Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Russian Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other 1% Government: republic Language in Finland: Finnish is the first language spoken by 93% of the country's 5 million inhabitants.

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Economy Major Industries and Companies

Finland’s economic freedom score is 73.4, making its economy the 19th

freest in the 2015 Index. Its score is unchanged from last year, with im-

provements in labor freedom, fiscal freedom, monetary freedom, and

trade freedom counterbalanced by declines in the management of gov-

ernment spending, freedom from corruption, and business freedom.

Trade Freedom 88.0

Investment Freedom 90.0

Financial Freedom 80.0

Stora-Enso Mill in Oulu, Fin-

land.

In today's pulp mills in Finland,

both raw materials and power are

used so efficiently that the raw

wood fibre is fully utilized in a 'closed circuit', and even the waste liquor

is burned to produce electricity. In fact, a pulp mill is a kind of power

plant, because it generates more electricity than it consumes. As op-

posed to chemical separation of wood fibres, however, the mechanical

separation process required in making papers such as newsprint con-

sumes enormous amounts of energy. Finland also produces many differ-

ent speciality papers (e.g. Ahlstrom) and paper products.

Electrical engineering

Electrical engineering also covers lift and crane

production, where Kone Plc and its offspring KCI

Konecranes are global leaders. Kone was founded

in 1910 as a section of Strömberg, and under the

ownership and management of the Herlin family it

has grown into one of the three biggest lift pro-

ducers in the world. Just how is admittedly some-

thing of a mystery, as Finland itself does not even

have any skyscrapers.

World's leading paper machine producer

The engineering company Wärtsilä, established in

1834, is today

one of the

world's lead-

ing producers

of large diesel

engines.

Luxury cruise ships and ice-breakers

Finland has also been a leading producer of oil-

drilling platforms.

Naturally enough, a

country with a

lengthy coastline, an

extensive archipela-

go and 200,000 lakes

is also known for its

sailing boats and other pleasure craft (e.g. Nautor's

Swan yachts).

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Polity, Government and Leadership

Finland’s foreign and security poli-

cy aims at preserving its independ-

ence and the democratic core val-

ues of society and promoting the

well-being and security of its citi-

zens. As a Member State of the

European Union and a member of

the international community, Fin-

land exercises foreign policy with a

view to securing its national inter-

ests and endeavors to contribute

to world peace.

Finland's foreign and security poli-cy line is essentially based on the conduct of a consistent foreign policy, ensuring the functioning society and promotion of citizens' security and wellbeing as well as a credible national defence, active role as a Member State of the European Union (EU), and participation in international decision-making and in the work of the United Na-tions (UN) and other global and regional organizations.

The general goal is to strengthen Finland's security and international influence and to

promote the interests of the country, considering the requirements of increasing in-

ternational cooperation.

Finland supports the strengthening of the European Union as a security community and a global actor by means of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and EU's Com-mon Security and Defence Policy (CSDP).

Based on the PfP, Finland is engaged in cooperation with NATO. Application for membership of the defence alliance remains a possibility in Finland's future decisions on security and de-fence policy.

In order to contribute to the consolidation of multilateral security and legal order, Finland

takes part in the international cooperation by being active in the UN and other worldwide or-

ganizations, the OSCE and the Council of Europe and regional organizations in Northern Eu-

rope and the Baltic Sea region.

As part of its foreign and se-

curity policy, Finland takes

part in the peacekeeping ac-

tivities of the Council of Eu-

rope (CoE), the Organization

for Security and Cooperation

in Europe (OSCE), the United

Nations (UN) and the North

Atlantic Treaty Association

(Nato).

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Data Interpretation

Finland GDP:

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Finland was

worth 256.84 billion US dollars in 2013. The GDP

value of Finland represents 0.41 percent of the

world economy. GDP in Finland averaged 95.15

USD Billion from 1960 until 2013, reaching an all

time high of 271.97 USD Billion in 2008 and a rec-

ord low of 5.22 USD Billion in 1960. GDP in Finland

is reported by the World Bank Group.

Retail Industry

Retail Sales in Finland decreased 1.60 percent in December of

2014 over the same month in the previous year. Retail Sales

Yoy in Finland averaged 3.66 percent from 2004 until 2014,

reaching an all time high of 14 percent in February of 2008

and a record low of -5.80 percent in February of 2009. Retail

Sales Yoy in Finland is reported by the Statistics Finland.

Finland Unemployment:

Unemployment Rate in Finland increased to

8.80 percent in January of 2015 from 8.80 per-

cent in December of 2014. Unemployment Rate

in Finland averaged 6.24 percent from 1959 un-

til 2015, reaching an all time high of 19.90 per-

cent in May of 1994 and a record low of 0.70

percent in September of 1961. Unemployment

Rate in Finland is reported by the Statistics Fin-

land

10

Relations with India

Finland’s India Action Plan: India has never been so close

Finland’s new India Action Plan strives to expand cooperation in various sectors and encourages com-

panies to take advantage of India’s growing business opportunities. Relations between Finland and In-

dia have diversified considerably in the past decade.

According to Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja, who presented the action plan, Finland and India have

never before been so close to each other. Finnair’s direct flight to Delhi takes only 6.5 hours and has

meant appreciable increases both in tourism and in contacts of all sorts.

.

In 2011, India rose to become Finland’s third largest trading partner in

Asia, after China and Japan. Last year, however, saw a slump in trade. Alt-

hough the level of trade is still modest in relation to its potential, 120 Finn-

ish companies already operate in India and another 100 trade with Indian

companies. Finland, in turn, is the domicile of 24 Indian-owned compa-

nies.

Finland’s India Action Plan was launched at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs

on 18 April 2013