12
May

Finland

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Categories: Finland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomi, Suomen tasavalta, Swedish: Republiken Finland (help·info)) is one of the Nordic countries. Situated in Northern Europe, it shares land borders on the Scandinavian Peninsula with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north while Estonia lies to its south. Finland is bounded by the Baltic Sea, with the Gulf of Finland to the south and the Gulf of Bothnia to the west. The Åland Islands, off the southwestern coast, are an autonomous, demilitarised administrative province of Finland.

Finland has a population of 5,282,583 people spread over 338,145 square kilometers (130,558.5 sq mi) making it the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Finland is a democratic republic with a semi-presidential system and parliamentarism. Finland was previously part of the Swedish kingdom and later an autonomous Duchy in the Russian Empire, until it declared its independence on December 6, 1917. Finland is eleventh on the 2006 United Nations Human Development Index and ranked as the sixth happiest nation in the world by a subjective independent scientific study heavily weighted on literacy rates.

The Republic of Finland is a member state of the United Nations and the European Union. Along with Estonian, Hungarian and Maltese, Finnish is one of the few official languages of the European Union that is not of Indo-European origin.

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12
May

Economy

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Categories: Economy

Finland has a highly industrialised, free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as Sweden, the UK, France and Germany. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7%, followed by manufacturing and refining at 31.4%. Primary production is low at 2.9%, reflecting the fact that Finland is a resource-poor country. With respect to foreign trade, the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics (21.6%), machinery, vehicles and other engineered metal products (21.1%), forest industry (13.1%), and chemicals (10.9%). International trade is important, with exports equalling almost one-third of GDP. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy and some components for manufactured goods.

Because of the northern climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland was one of the eleven countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on January 1, 1999. The national currency markka (FIM), in use since 1860, was withdrawn and replaced by euro (EUR) in the beginning of 2002 (see Finnish euro coins).

The World Economic Forum has declared Finland to be the most competitive country in the world for three consecutive years (2003–2005) and four times since 2002. In recent years there has been national focus on innovation and research and development, with special emphasis on information technology. Nokia, the telecommunications company, is generally regarded as the single most significant cause of Finland’s success.

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12
May

Tourism

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Categories: Tourism

Tourism is an expanding industry in Finland and in recent years has become a significant aspect of its economy. In 2005, Finnish tourism grossed over €6.7 billion with a 5% increase from the previous year. Much of the sudden growth can be attributed to the globalisation and modernisation of the country as well as a rise in positive publicity and awareness. There are many attractions in Finland which attracted over 4 million visitors in 2005.

The Finnish landscape is covered with thick pine forests, rolling hills and complemented with a labyrinth of lakes and inlets. Much of Finland is pristine and virgin as it contains 35 national parks from the Southern shores of the Gulf of Finland to the high fells of Lapland. It is also an urbanised region with many cultural events and activities. Commercial cruises between major coastal and port cities in the Baltic region, including Helsinki, Turku, Tallinn, Stockholm and Travemünde, play a significant role in the local tourism industry.

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12
May

Culture

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Categories: Culture

Like the people, Finnish culture is indigenous and most prominently represented by the Finnish language. Throughout the area’s prehistory and history, cultural contacts and influences have concurrently, or at varying times, come from all directions. As a result of 600 years of Swedish rule, Swedish cultural influences are still notable. Today, cultural influences from North America are prominent. Into the twenty-first century, many Finns have contacted cultures from distantly abroad, such as with those in Asia and Africa. Beyond tourism, Finnish youth in particular have been increasing their contact with peoples from outside Finland by travelling abroad to both work and study.

There are still differences between regions, especially minor differences in accents and vocabulary. Minorities, such as the Sami, Finland Swedes, Romani, and Tatar, maintain their own cultural characteristics. Many Finns are emotionally connected to the countryside and nature, as urbanisation is a relatively recent phenomenon.

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12
May

Cuisine

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Categories: Cuisine

Traditional Finnish cuisine is a combination of European, Fennoscandian and Western Russian elements; table manners are European. The food is generally simple, fresh and healthy. Fish, meat, berries and ground vegetables are typical ingredients whereas spices are not common due to their historical unavailability. In years past, Finnish food often varied from region to region, most notably between the west and east. In coastal and lakeside villages, fish was a main feature of cooking, whereas in the eastern and also northern regions, vegetables and reindeer were more common. Breakfast may be quite substantial, and many nutritionists consider breakfast a very important meal, since it provides vital nourishment and energy for starting the day. The prototypical breakfast is oatmeal or other continental-style foods such as bread. Lunch is usually a full warm meal, served by a canteen at workplaces. Dinner is eaten at around 17.00 to 18.00 at home.

Modern Finnish cuisine combines country fare and haute cuisine with contemporary continental cooking style. Nowadays, spices are a prominent ingredient in many modern Finnish recipes, having been adopted from the east and west in recent decades.

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12
May

Sports

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Categories: Sports

Sport is considered a national pastime in Finland and many Finnish people regularly visit different sporting events. Pesäpallo (reminiscent of baseball) is the national sport of Finland, although the most popular sport in Finland in terms of television viewers and media coverage are ice hockey and Formula One. The Finnish ice hockey team is considered one of the best in the world. During the past century there has been a rivalry in sporting between Finland and Sweden, mostly in ice hockey and athletics (Finnkampen). Football is also very popular in Finland, though their national football team has never qualified for a finals tournament of the World Cup or the European Championships.

Finland has produced two Formula One World Champions, Keke Rosberg (Williams, 1982) and Mika Häkkinen (McLaren, 1998 and 1999), as well as popular current drivers Kimi Räikkönen (Ferrari) and Heikki Kovalainen (Renault). Rosberg’s son, Nico Rosberg, is too currently driving, but under his mother’s nationality of German. Other notable Finnish Grand Prix drivers include Leksa Kinnunen, JJ Lehto and Mika Salo.

Historically, Finland has produced most of the world’s best rally drivers, including the ex-world champion drivers Ari Vatanen, Hannu Mikkola, Juha Kankkunen, Tommi Mäkinen and Marcus Grönholm. Well-known alpine skiing winners are Kalle Palander, who won the World Championship and Crystal Ball (twice, in Kitzbühel). Tanja Poutiainen has won an Olympic silver medal for alpine skiing, as well as multiple World Championship competitions.

Some of the most outstanding athletes from the past include Hannes Kolehmainen (1890–1966), Paavo Nurmi (1897–1973) and Ville Ritola (1896–1982). Between them they won twenty-five Olympic medals on the track: eighteen gold and seven silver medals. They are also considered to be the first of a generation of great Finnish middle and long-distance runners (and, subsequently, other notable Finnish sportsmen) often named the “Flying Finns”. Another long-distance runner, Lasse Virén (born 1949), won a total of four gold medals during the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics.

The 1952 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad, were held in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. Helsinki had been earlier given the 1940 Summer Olympics but they were canceled due to World War II. Other notable sporting events held in Finland include the 1983 and 2005 World Championships in Athletics, among others.

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