: Finland (Finnish: Suomi, Suomen tasavalta, Swedish: Republiken Finland (help·info)), is one of the Nordic countries.
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 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 south-western coast, are an autonomous province of Finland.
Finland has a population of 5,274,820 people spread over more than 330,000 km² (127,000 sq. mi) making it one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world.
Finland is ranked 11th on the 2006 United Nations Human Development Index.
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.
History
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Prehistory (8500 BCE– )
According to archaeological evidence, the area now comprising Finland was first settled around 8500 BCE during the Stone Age as the ice shield of the last ice age receded. The earliest people were probably hunter-gatherers, living primarily off what the tundra and sea could offer. Pottery is known from around the 5300 BCE (see Comb Ceramic Culture). It has been postulated and held probable that the speakers of the Finno-Ugric language arrived in the area during the Stone Age (see Finno-Ugric peoples), and were possibly even among the first Mesolithic settlers[Virtual Finland – Prehistory]. The arrival of the Battle-Axe Culture (or Cord-Ceramic Culture) in southern coastal Finland around 3200 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. However, the earliest certain records of agriculture are from the late 3rd millennium B.C. Hunting and fishing continued to be important parts of the subsistence economy, especially in the northern and eastern parts of the country.
The Bronze Age (1500–500 BCE) and Iron Age (500 BCE–1200 CE) were characterised by extensive contacts with Scandinavia, northern Russia and the Baltic region. Inhabitants of Finland - like the Kvens - and their "kings" are mentioned in some historic chronicles and other writings such as the Scandinavian sagas. There are also some written documents from the 13th century.
The Swedish reign (1154–1809)
The beginning of Finland's nearly 700-year association with the Kingdom of Sweden is traditionally connected with the year 1154 and the hypothesised introduction of Christianity by Sweden's King Erik. However, archaeological evidence points to prior Christian influences in south-western and south-eastern Finland and include both western and eastern Christian artefacts. Historically (more documented), the union began upon Birger jarl's expedition to Finland in 1249. Swedish became the dominant language of administration and education; Finnish chiefly a language for the peasantry, clergy and local courts in predominantly Finnish-speaking areas. The society was divided in four estates of the realm: nobility, clergy, burghers and peasants, who represented the majority. Not until the 16th century were the first written works published in Finnish by Mikael Agricola.
The Swedish Kingdom strove to push the borders eastward, which led to wars of varying success with Novgorod. The expansion was halted by the unification of Russia and was eventually rolled back. During the 18th century, virtually all of Finland was twice occupied by Russian forces (1714–1721 and 1742–1743), known by the Finns as the Greater Wrath and the Lesser Wrath. During this time "Finland" became the predominant term for the whole land area from the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border; both in domestic Swedish debate and by Russians promising protection from "Swedish oppression."
The earlier Finland – i.e. the south-western area – was from then on called "Finland Proper." The Finnish areas ceded to Russia in 1721 and 1743 (excluding Ingria) were called "Old Finland." In these areas the traditional freedom of peasants was constantly pushed towards the oppressed position peasants had in other parts of Russia.
Finland as a Grand Duchy of Russia (1809–1917)
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- See also: Finland's language strife and Russification of Finland
 The 13 of 19 women elected to Parliament in 1907. The Finnish Parliament is celebrating its centenary in 2006–2007. On March 29 1809, after being conquered by the armies of Russian Emperor Alexander I, Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy under the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. Old Finland was returned to the Grand Duchy in 1812. During the Russian era, the Finnish language started to gain recognition by both the imperial court and the governing bodies, first probably to sever the cultural and emotional ties with Sweden and thereafter, from the 1860s onwards, as a result of a strong nationalist movement, known as the Fennoman movement. Milestones included the publication of what would become Finland's national epic, the Kalevala, in 1835; and the Finnish language achieving equal legal status with Swedish in 1892.
In 1906, Universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland. However, the relationship between the Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire gradually soured when the Russian government made moves to restrict the Finnish autonomy. Wishes for national independence gained ground, first among radical nationalists and Socialists.
The Independent Republic, Civil War (1917–1918)
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On December 6, 1917, shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, Finland declared its independence. The independence was approved by Bolshevist Russia but the Civil Wars that followed in Russia and in Finland and activist expeditions (see Heimosodat), including the ones to White Karelia and Aunus, complicated relations.
In 1918, the country experienced a brief but bitter Civil War that coloured domestic politics for many years. The Civil War was fought between "the whites," who gained support from Imperial Germany, and "the reds," supported by Bolshevist Russia. The reds consisted mostly of leftist property–less rural and industrial workers who, despite universal suffrage in 1906, felt that they lacked political influence. The white forces were mostly made up of bourgeoisie and wealthy peasantry, politically more to the right. Eventually, the whites overcame the reds. The deep social and political dividing line and mutual enmity between the Reds and Whites remained.
The Inter-war era (1918–1939)
Despite the Declaration of Independence calling Finland a Republic after the Civil War, the parliament, cleared of its Social Democrat members, voted with a narrow majority to establish the Kingdom of Finland. Frederick Charles of Hesse, a German prince, was elected King, putatively with the name Väinö I of Finland, with Pehr Evind Svinhufvud and General Mannerheim serving as Regents. However, Germany's defeat in World War I meant that the idea was abandoned. Finland instead became a republic, with Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg elected as its first President in 1919.
The Finnish–Russian border was agreed upon in the Treaty of Tartu in 1920, largely following the historic border but granting Pechenga (Finnish: Petsamo) and its Barents Sea harbour to Finland.
Finnish democracy survived the upsurge of the extreme right and financial crisis during the early 30´s. However, legislators reacted against Communism and the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union remained tense.
Finland in World War II (1939–1945)
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During World War II, Finland fought the Soviet Union twice: in the Winter War of 1939–1940 and in the Continuation War of 1941–1944 in accordance with Operation Barbarossa in which Germany invaded the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War of 1944–1945, when Finland forced the Germans out of northern Finland. After the wars there were land mine clearance operations in Karelia and Lapland plus the enormous task of sea mine clearance in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea during 1944 - 1950. The mines in Lapland especially slowed down the rebuilding and caused casualties.
Treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included obligations, restraints, and reparations on Finland vis-Ã -vis the Soviet Union as well as further Finnish territorial concessions (cf. the Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940). Finland ceded most of Finnish Karelia, Salla, and Petsamo, which amounted to 10% of its land area, 20% of industrial capacity and 400,000 evacuees. Establishing trade with the Western powers, such as Great Britain, and the reparations to the Soviet Union caused Finland to transform itself from a primarily agrarian economy to an industrialised one. Even after reparations were fulfilled, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade. Ultimately, the Soviet Union had a national debt to Finland. Russia assumed the debt after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and finally cleared it in 2006.
The Post-war era and modern history
After the Second World War, neutral Finland lay in the grey zone between the western countries and the Soviet Union. The "YYA Treaty" (Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance) gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics; this was extensively exploited by President Urho Kekkonen against his opponents in instances such as the 1958 crisis in Finno-Soviet relations (the so-called "night frost," yöpakkaset, in the relations). There was also a tendency of self-censorship regarding Finno-Soviet relations. This phenomenon was given the name Finlandisation by the German press. However, Finland maintained a democratic government and a market economy unlike most other countries bordering the Soviet Union.
The post-war era was a period of rapid economic growth and increasing wealth and stability for Finland. In all, the war-ravaged agrarian country was transformed into a technologically advanced market economy with a sophisticated social welfare system. When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, the bilateral trade disappeared overnight, and Finland was simultaneously hit by a "home-cooked" severe recession. This left a mass unemployment problem, but the economy survived and began growing at a high rate after the recession. Finland joined the European Union in 1995, where it is an advocate of federalism contrary to the other Nordic countries that are predominantly supportive of confederalism.
The first modern democracy
The Parliament of Finland is celebrating its centenary in 2006 and 2007. The 100th anniversary of the approval of the Parliament Act and Election Act by the Diet was on 1 June, 2006. On 23 May 2007 is the 100th anniversary of the first plenary session of Finland's unicameral parliament.
The theme of the centenary is "The right to vote – trust in law. One hundred years of Finnish democracy."
The anniversary festivities focus on the parliamentary reform of the early 20th century and the introduction of equal and universal suffrage and full political rights for women. These reforms included the introduction of a proportional representation, open list voting system as well as the right to vote and to also be elected for all citizens, including women. A total of 19 female MPs were elected in the first election.
On May 23rd 2006, a statue was unveiled to honour the work of female MPs.
A hundred years ago, Finland was an autonomous part of the Russian Empire. The members of the four estates in the then autonomous legislative assembly, the diet, represented only a small fraction of the population. A reform of the parliamentary system and electoral law gave Finland the first modern representative institution and democracy in the world. Universal and equal suffrage was introduced and Finnish women became the first in the world to enjoy full political rights, resulting in 19 elected women in the first modern democratic election.[Finnish Parliament – One hundred years of Finnish democracy]
Etymology
The name Suomi has uncertain origins but a strong candidate for a cognate is the Baltic word zeme meaning "ground, earth, country." In another approach, Finnish suo means "fen," which is one of the characteristic biotypes of Finland; it is thought that Finland might have been called Suomaa by the early Finns. In Finnish, suomaa means Fen Land (Land of the Fens).
The exonym Finland has resemblance with e.g. the Scandinavian placenames Finnmark, Finnveden and Finnskogen and all are thought to be derived from finn, a Germanic word for nomadic "hunter-gatherers" (as opposed to sedentary farmers). How, why and when this designation would have started to mean the Finns in particular is largely unknown. Among the first written documents mentioning a "land of the Finns" are two rune stones. There is one in Söderby, Sweden, with the inscription finlont (U 582 †) and one in Gotland, a Swedish island in the Baltic Sea, with the inscription finlandi (G 319 M) dating from the 11th century[National Archives Service, Finland (English)].
Geography and nature
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- See also: List of cities and towns in Finland, List of lakes in Finland, and List of national parks of Finland
Topography
Finland is a country of thousands of lakes and islands; 187,888 lakes (larger than 500 m²) and 179,584 islands to be precise [Statistics Finland]. One of these lakes, Saimaa, is the 5th largest in Europe. The Finnish landscape is mostly flat with few hills and its highest point, the Halti at 1,328 metres, is found in the extreme north of Lapland. Besides the many lakes the landscape is dominated by extensive boreal forests (about 75 per cent of land area) and little arable land. The greater part of the islands are found in south-west, part of the archipelago of the Åland Islands, and along the southern coast in the Gulf of Finland. Finland is one of the few countries in the world that is still growing. Owing to the post-glacial rebound that has been taking place since the last ice age, the surface area of the country is growing by about 7 square kilometres a year.
Climate
The climate in Southern Finland is a northern temperate climate. In Northern Finland, particularly in the Province of Lapland, a subarctic climate dominates, characterised by cold, occasionally severe, winters and relatively warm summers. Finland is near enough to the Atlantic to be continuously warmed by the Gulf Stream, which explains the unusually warm climate considering the absolute latitude.
A quarter of Finland's territory lies above the Arctic Circle, and as a consequence the midnight sun can be experienced — for more and more days, the further up north one comes. At Finland's northernmost point, the sun does not set for 73 days during summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days in winter.
Administrative divisions
Municipalities and regions
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Legally, Finland has two levels of democratic government: the state, and 432 municipalities. The municipality is the same as a "city" level of government, except that rural municipalities are not called "cities." Since 1977, no legal or administrative distinction is made between towns, cities and other municipalities. Although a municipality must follow the laws set by the state, it makes independent decisions. That is, the decisions of a municipal council, if legal, cannot be appealed. People often identify with their municipality, although their nationality is usually more important.
Municipalities co-operate in 74 sub-regions and 20 regions. These are governed by the member municipalities. The Ã…land region has a permanent, democratically elected regional council, as a part of the autonomy. In the Kainuu region, there is a pilot project underway, with similar regional elections.
Largest municipalities
In the following chart, the number of inhabitants includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta), not just in the built-up area. The land area is given in km², and the density in inhabitants per km² (land area). The figures are as of December 31, 2005. Notice that the capital area – comprising Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen – forms a continuous conurbation and might sometimes be considered as a single city in economic terms although the four of them are all independent cities.
| Rank
| Municipality
| Population
| Land Area
| Density
|
| 1.
| Helsinki
| 564,643
| 184.47
| 3,060.89
|
| 2.
| Espoo
| 234,520
| 312
| 751.66
|
| 3.
| Tampere
| 206,171
| 523.4
| 393.9
|
| 4.
| Vantaa
| 189,694
| 240.84
| 787.63
|
| 5.
| Turku
| 175,508
| 243.4
| 721.06
|
| 6.
| Oulu
| 129,960
| 369.43
| 351.78
|
| 7.
| Lahti
| 98,721
| 134.95
| 731.53
|
| 8.
| Kuopio
| 91,087
| 1,127.4
| 80.79
|
| 9.
| Jyväskylä
| 84,916
| 105.9
| 801.85
|
| 10.
| Pori
| 76,195
| 503.17
| 151.42
|
| 11.
| Lappeenranta
| 59,121
| 758
| 77.99
|
| 12.
| Rovaniemi
| 58,072
| 7,600.73
| 7.64
|
| 13.
| Joensuu
| 57,851
| 1,173.4
| 49.30
|
| 14.
| Vaasa
| 57,664
| 183
| 315.10
|
| 15.
| Kotka
| 54,680
| 272
| 201.02
|
- Further information: List of Finnish municipalities by population and List of Finnish municipalities by area
Subdivisions and provinces
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The state organization is divided into 6 administrative provinces (lääni, pl. läänit) The provinces are further divided into 90 state local districts.
The provincial authority is part of the executive branch of the national government, and is not democratically controlled except through the national parliament. This system was created in 1634, and underwent few major changes until the redivision of the country into "greater provinces" in 1997. Since then, the six provinces have been – referring to the picture on the right:
- Southern Finland
- Western Finland
- Eastern Finland
- Oulu
- Lapland
- Ã…land
These provinces are merely administrative divisions. Western Finland, for example, spans four major linguistic and dialectal areas (Ostrobothnian dialects, Southwestern dialects, Savo in mideast, and some Swedish speakers in the area around Vaasa).
The Ã…land Islands enjoy a degree of autonomy. According to international treaties and Finnish laws, the regional government for Ã…land handles some matters which belong to the province authority in Mainland Finland.
Another kind of provinces are those echoing the pattern of colonization of Finland. Dialects, folklore, customs, and people's feeling of affiliation are associated with these historical provinces of Finland, although the re-settlement of 420,000 Karelians during World War II and urbanisation in the latter half of the 20th century have made differences less pronounced.
The old provinces or counties (1634-1997) survive in the telephone numbering areas.
Demographics
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Population
Finland numbers 5.2 million inhabitants and has an average population density of 17 inhabitants per square kilometre. This makes it, after Norway and Iceland, the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Finland's population has always been concentrated in the southern parts of the country, which is even more pronounced after the 20th century urbanisation. The biggest and most important cities in Finland are the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area (including the cities of Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa), Tampere, Turku, and Oulu.
After the Winter War (1939) (and confirmed by the outcome of the Continuation War) 12% of Finland's population had to be re-settled. War reparations, unemployment, and uncertainty regarding Finland's chances to remain sovereign and independent of the Soviet Union contributed to considerable emigration, abating first in the 1970s. Until then, some 500,000 Finns had emigrated, chiefly to Sweden, although half of the emigrants ultimately immigrated back.
Since the late 1990s, Finland has received refugees and immigrants at a rate comparable with the other Nordic countries, although the total ethnic-minority population remains far lower in Finland than the rest. A considerable number of immigrants have come from the former Soviet Union claiming ethnic (Finnic) kinship. However, over 20 languages are now spoken in Finland by immigrant groups of significant size — that is, with at least a thousand speakers.
Language
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- See also: Finnish alphabet, Finnish grammar, Finnish phonology, and Spoken Finnish
Most Finns (92%) speak Finnish as their mother tongue, while the largest minority language is Swedish (5.5%). To the north, in Lapland, are found the Sami, numbering less than 7,000, who like the Finns speak a Finno-Ugric language. There are three Sami languages that are spoken in Finland: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami.
The majority of Finns also learn enough English in school to be proficient in that language. Other common secondary languages are German, French, and Swedish; knowledge of Estonian, Russian, or Norwegian is rare.
Swedish has an official language status in Finland, and the right of other minority groups (in particular Sami people) to cherish their culture and language is protected by law. Swedish-speaking Finns are considered the same ethnicity as the Finnish-speaking majority. Culturally, the Swedish-speaking Finns represent a combination of Swedish and Finnish cultures and have more coastal-oriented traditions.
Immigrants represent 2% of the population. Largest immigrant groups are Russians, Estonians, Swedish, Somali and various Yugoslavs. A small population of Finland also speak English as their secondary native language.
There is a Tatar-speaking minority, about one thousand speakers of the language, whose ancestors came to the country during the Russian rule. They are the most assimilated of the Muslim minorities in the country. All are fluent speakers of Finnish, and their mosques serve rather as centers of community life than as places of worship. Interethnic marriages to ethnic Finns are common, and it is possible that the minority will disappear entirely after a couple of generations.
Indigenous peoples
The Sami are an indigenous people living in Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia. Known widely in the past as Lapps, the term "Lapp" is now considered derogatory by many Sami. In addition to their own Sami language, they have their own way of life, identity and culture. Common history, traditions, livelihoods and customs unite the Sami living in different countries. In total, there are about 75,000 to 100,000 Samis, of which about 7,000 live in Finland. That is about 0.14% of the population of Finland.
Religion
- See also: Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, Finnish Orthodox Church, and Islam in Finland
Most people are secular in their views, and religion plays no significant part in everyday life in Finland. Most Finns (83.1%) are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, with a minority of 1.1% belonging to the Finnish Orthodox Church (see Eastern Orthodox Church). These two churches are the
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