WEC RoundtableAddressing Industry’s Impact on Biodiversity

June 8 to 9, 2006, Helsinki, Finland

Fact sheet Finland

Peter Essen

Executive Vice President

Schering Oy, Finland

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General

Finland (Finnish name Suomi) is a republic which became a member of the European Union in 1995. Its population is 5.2 million. The capital Helsinki has 560 000 residents. Finland is an advanced industrial economy: the metal, engineering and electronics industries account for 50 % of export revenues, the forest products industry for 30 %. Finland is one of the leading countries in Internet use. Today, there are more mobile phone than fixed network subscriptions.

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Geography and Nature

Finland's neighbouring countries are Sweden, Norway, and Russia, and Estonia across the Gulf of Finland. Forest covers about 75 per cent of Finland, while bodies of water - mainly lakes - cover almost 10 per cent. There are approximately 190,000 lakes and about 180,000 islands. Europe's largest archipelago.

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Climate

One notable effect of Finland's northerly position on the globe is that the four seasons of the year are clearly distinct from one another. The climate is marked by cold winters and warm summers. The highest daytime temperature in southern Finland during the summer occasionally rises to 30 degrees. During the winter months, temperatures of minus 20 Celsius are not uncommon. In the far north, beyond the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set for about 73 days, producing the white nights of summer.

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History 1/2

1155 The first missionaries arrive in Finland from Sweden. Finland becomes part of the Swedish realm.

1809 Sweden surrenders Finland to Russia. The Czar declares Finland an autonomous Grand Duchy with himself as constitutional monarch represented by a governor general.

1917 Finland declares independence from Russia on December 6.

1919 The constitution is adopted and Finland becomes a republic with a president as head of state.

1939 – 40 The Soviet Union attacks Finland and the Winter War is fought.

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History 2/2

1941 – 44 Fighting between Finnish and Soviet forces resumes in the Continuation War. Some territory is ceded to the Soviet Union but Finland is never occupied and preserves its independence and sovereignty.

1955 Finland joins the United Nations and, in 1956, the Nordic Council.

1995 Finland becomes a member of the European Union (EU).

1999 Finland backs European monetary union.

2002 Banknotes and coins of the EU's single currency, the euro, enter circulation.

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Environmental protection in Finland Written for Virtual Finland by Eeva-Liisa Hallanaro;M.Sc., Environmental Expert

Finns tend to have a very close relationship with their natural surroundings.

Surveys suggest that the vast majority of Finns see environmental issues as important, and are even prepared to make personal sacrifices for the sake of the environment. Environmental studies are taught at every level of education, and levels of environmental awareness are high by international standards.

In a survey of 142 nations carried out by the Davos-based World Economic Forum in spring 2002, Finland was ranked top when it came to taking care of the environment, on the basis of an Environmental Sustainability Index covering 68 variables.

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The People

The population of Finland is 5.2 million.

Finland is the sixth largest country in Europe in area.

Finland is still a very homogeneous country. The foreign community accounts for about two per cent of the population.

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Languages

The Finnish language is a member of the Finno-Ugric linguistic family that includes, Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian.

Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, the latter spoken as a mother tongue by about 6% of the people.

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Religion

There has been complete freedom of worship in Finland since 1923.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church is the country's biggest denomination while a fraction of Finns belong to the Finnish Orthodox Church.

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Government / Parliament

The head of state is the President of the Republic who is chosen by direct popular vote.

In 2000, the Finns elected their first female president, Tarja Halonen.

In recent decades, the three biggest parties in parliament have consistently been the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party, and the moderate conservative National Coalition Party.

The Finnish Parliament is celebrating its centenary in 2006-2007. Universal and equal suffrage was enacted in Finland in 1906 and the first elections for the new unicameral Parliament were held in 1907.

Finland was the first country in Europe to allow universal and equal suffrage. Women in Finland were the first in the world to be eligible to stand as candidates in national elections.

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Foreign Policy

In its foreign policy Finland promotes sustainable development, stability and security in the international community and endeavours to strengthen Finland’s international position. Finland attaches special importance to principles such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights, in line with long-established Nordic values.

As a member of the European Union since 1995, Finland is part of an influential body in world politics.

Finland’s foreign and security policy is based on military non-alliance and credible national defence. Finland cooperates with NATO in the PfP programme. Finland also has long experience of participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

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Industry and the Economy

Finland's road to industrialisation started in the 19th century with the harnessing of forest resources.

Forests are still Finland's most crucial raw material resource, although the engineering and high technology industries, spearheaded by the Nokia corporation, have long been the leading branches of manufacturing.

Now the paper industry is only one of three major export sectors, the other two being electronics and metal and engineering.

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Technology

Finland is consistently ranked as one of the most competitive economies in the world. Finnish people have a high standard of education. Much of the reason for Finland’s success lays in the research and development (R&D) investments made by Finnish companies, universities, and research institutes. These investments totalled slightly over five billion euros in R&D in 2003, equivalent to 3.5 percent of gross domestic product GDP. The results of the long term investment in R&D can clearly be seen in the productivity of manufacturing industries, where Finland has reached the level of the US.

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International comparisons

International comparisons regularly rank Finland as a very attractive innovative environment.The World Economic Forum (WEF) evaluated Finland as the most competitive economy in the world in the 2004. Finland was ranked first in growth competitiveness and second in business competitiveness after the USA. The rankings cover 102 countries and are based in statistics and an opinion survey of leading companies of the world.According to the Global Information Technology report 2004, Finland is the third most advanced country in exploiting ICT. In 2004, the Institute for Management Development (IMD) rated Finland 8th in overall competitiveness.

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