Finnish ( Ã, ( listen ) ; Finnish language: Suomi [suo? mi] Ã, ( listen ) ; Swedish: Finnish ['f? nland] ), officially Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta , Sweden: Republicen Finland ) is a sovereign state in Northern Europe. The country has a land border with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east. To the south is the Gulf of Finland with Estonia on the opposite side. Finland is a Nordic country and, along with Scandinavia, is located in the geographical area of ​​Fennoscandia.
Finland's population is 5.5 million (2017), and the majority of the population is concentrated in the south. 88.7% of Finnish and Finnish population, Ural languages ​​unrelated to Scandinavian languages; next came Finland-Sweden (5.3%). Finland is the eighth largest country in Europe and the most rare country in the EU. It is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital city of Helsinki, a local government in 311 municipalities, and one autonomous region, ÃÆ'â € | island land. More than 1.4 million people live in the larger metropolitan area of ​​Helsinki, which accounts for one-third of the country's GDP.
Finland was inhabited when the last ice age ended, around 9000 BC. The first settlers left artefacts that featured characteristics along with those found in Estonia, Russia, and Norway. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, using stone tools. The first pottery appeared in 5200 BC, when the Ceramic Comb culture was introduced. The arrival of Corded Ware culture on the southern coast of Finland between 3000 and 2500 BC may coincide with the commencement of agriculture. The Bronze Age and Iron Age are characterized by extensive contact with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions and the livelihood of sedentary agriculture is increasing towards the end of the Iron Age. At that time Finland had three major cultural areas, Southwest Finland, Tavastia, and Karelia, as reflected in contemporary jewelry.
From the end of the 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden through the crusades and colonization of Sweden's part of the Finnish coast, a legacy that is reflected in the prevalence of Swedish language and its official status. In 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the Great Empire of Duke of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the first European country to grant all adult citizens the right to vote, and the first in the world to grant all mature citizens the right to run for public office.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Finland declared itself independent. In 1918, the newly divided state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik Red Guard supported by the same Soviet Russia, against the White Guard, backed by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the country became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union attempted repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla, Kuusamo, Petsamo and several islands, but retained independence.
Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finn-Soviet Agreement of 1948 gave the Soviet Union influence in Finland's domestic politics during the Cold War era. Finland joined the OECD in 1969, the NATO Partnership for Peace in 1994, the European Union in 1995, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Board in 1997, and finally the Euro Zone at its inception, in 1999.
Finland was a relative latecomer for industrialization, remained a major agricultural country until the 1950s. After World War II, the Soviet Union demanded war reparations from Finland not only in the form of money but also material, such as ships and machinery. This forced Finland to industrialize. It is rapidly developing an advanced economy while building a welfare state based on a Nordic model, generating widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Finland is the best player in a variety of national performance metrics, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development. In 2015, Finland was ranked first in the World Human Capital and Press Freedom Index and as the most stable country in the world during 2011-2016 at the Fragile States Index, and second in the Global Gender Gap Report. The vast majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and religious freedom is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution.
Video Finland
Etimologi
The earliest written appearance of the Finnish name is considered to be in three runges. Two are found in the Swedish province of Uppland and have a finlonti inscription (U 582). The third is found in Gotland. It has an inscription finlandi (G 319) and dates back to the 13th century. The name can be assumed to be related to the Finnish name Finnish , mentioned at the time known as first AD 98 (disputed meaning).
Suomi
The name Finnish (Finnish for "Finnish" , but a candidate for the source is the Proto-Baltic word *? em? , which means "land". In addition to close relatives from Finland (Finnic language), this name is also used in Latvian and Lithuanian Baltic languages. Or, the Indo-European * gm-on "man" (cf. Gothic guma , Latin homo ) has been suggested, i>? oma . The initial word only refers to the Proper Finnish province, and then to the northern coast of the Gulf of Finland, with northern areas like Ostrobothnia still sometimes excluded. The previous theory suggests derivation of suomaa (fen ground) or suoniemi (fen cape), and parallel between saame (Sami, the Finno-Ugric Lapland), and HÃÆ'¤me (a province in the hinterland) are drawn, but these theories are now considered to be outdated.
Draft
In the early historical sources of the 12th and 13th centuries, the Finnish term refers to the coastal region around Turku from PerniÃÆ'¶ to Uusikaupunki. This region came to be known as the Finnish Proper in the distinction of the Finnish country name. Finland became the common name for the whole country in the process of centuries that began when the Catholic Church established a missionary diocese in Nousiainen in the northern part of Suomi province probably in the 12th century.
The destruction of Finland during the Great Northern War (1714-1721) and during the Russian-Swedish War (1741-43) led to Sweden beginning to make great efforts to defend its eastern part of Russia. This 18th century experience creates a shared sense of fate which, when united with a unique Finnish language, leads to the adoption of an expanded Finnish concept.
Maps Finland
History
Prehistoric
If the archaeological findings of the Wolf Cave are the result of the Neanderthal activity, the first people to inhabit Finland some 120,000-130,000 years ago. The area now Finland settled in, at the latest, around 8,500 BC during the Stone Age towards the end of the last glacial period. The first settler artifacts left this characteristic shared with those found in Estonia, Russia, and Norway. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, using stone tools.
The first pottery appeared in 5200 BC, when the Ceramic Comb culture was introduced. The presence of a Corded Ware culture in Southern coast Finland between 3000 and 2500 BC may coincide with the commencement of agriculture. Even with the introduction of agriculture, hunting and fishing continues to be an important part of the subsistence economy.
In the Permanent Bronze Age throughout the year cultivation and farming spread, but the cold climate phase slows down the change. Culture in Finland share a common feature in pottery and also ax have similarities but local features exist. Seima-Turbino-phenomenon brings first bronze artifacts to the region and possibly also Finno-Ugric-Languages. Commercial contacts that have been to Estonia ever spread to Scandinavia. The making of domestic bronze artifacts began in 1300 BC with a Maaninka bronze ax. Bronze is imported from the Volga region and from South Scandinavia.
In the Iron Age population grew mainly in the area of ​​HÃÆ'¤me and Savo. Finland is the most populous region. Cultural contact to the Baltic and Scandinavian became more frequent. Commercial contacts in the Baltic Sea region grew and extended during the 8th and 9th centuries.
The main exports from Finland are feathers, slaves, Castoreum, and eagles to European courts. Imports include silk and other fabrics, jewelry, Ulfberht swords, and, to a lesser extent, glass. Iron production began around 500 BC.
At the end of the 9th century native artefact culture, especially female jewelry and weapons, it has local features that are more common than ever. It has been interpreted to express the Finnish common identity born of the same original image.
The earliest forms of Finnic spread to the Baltic Sea region around 1900 BC with the Seima-Turbino phenomenon. The common Finnic language was spoken around the Gulf of Finland 2000 years ago. The dialect from which modern Finnish developed into existence during the Iron Age. Although remotely related, Sami maintains a hunter-gatherer lifestyle much longer than Finland. The Sami cultural identity and Sami language have survived in Lapland, the northernmost province, but Sami has been displaced or assimilated elsewhere.
The 12th and 13th centuries were a ferocious period in the northern Baltic Sea. The Livonia Crusade is ongoing and the Finnish tribes like Tavastia and Karelia often conflict with Novgorod and each other. Also, during the 12th and 13th centuries some crusades of the Catholic nature of the Baltic Sea region were made against the Finnish tribes. According to historical sources, Denmark launched two crusades in Finland, in 1191 and 1202, and Sweden, possibly called the second crusade to Finland, in 1249 against the Tavastians and the third crusade to Finland in 1293 against Karelia. The so-called first crusade to Finland, probably in 1155, is most likely an unreal event. Also, it is possible that the Germans converted violence against Finnish infidels in the 13th century. According to the papal letter of 1241, the Norwegian king also fought against the "nearest infidels" at the time.
Swedish Era
As a result of the crusades and colonization of some of Finland's coastal regions with Swedish Christian population during the Middle Ages, Finland gradually became part of the Swedish empire and the sphere of influence of the Catholic Church. Because of Sweden's conquest, the Finnish top class lost positions and lands to new Swedish and German nobles and to the Catholic Church. In Sweden even in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was clear that Finland was a conquered country and its inhabitants could be treated arbitrarily. The King of Sweden rarely visited Finland and in contemporary Swedish Finnish texts described as primitive and their languages ​​lower.
Sweden became the dominant language of nobility, administration, and education; Finnish is the primary language for peasants, priests, and local courts in predominantly Finnish areas. During the Protestant Reformation, Finland gradually converted to Lutheranism.
In the 16th century, Mikael Agricola published the first paper in Finnish. The first university in Finland, the Turku Kingdom Academy, was founded in 1640. Finland suffered a severe hunger in 1696-1697, in which about one-third of the population of Finland died, and a devastating epidemic several years later.
In the 18th century, the war between Sweden and Russia twice led to Finnish occupation by Russian forces, known to Finland as the Great Wrath (1714-1721) and Little Wrath (1742-1743). It is estimated that almost all generations of young men are lost during the Great Wrath, caused by the destruction of houses and farms, and the burning of Helsinki. Finland is currently the main term for the whole region of the Gulf of Bothnia to the Russian border.
Two Russian-Swedish wars in twenty-five years became a reminder to Finnish people about the precarious position between Sweden and Russia. An increasingly vocal elite in Finland soon decided that Finland's relations with Sweden became too expensive, and after the Russian-Swedish War (1788-1790), the Finnish elite's desire to sever relations with Sweden only increased.
Even before the war there were conspiring politicians, among them Col GM Sprengtporten, who had supported Gustav III's coup in 1772. Sprengporten fell out with the king and resigned from his commission in 1777. In the next decade, he tried to gain Russian support for autonomy. Finland, and later became an advisor to Catherine II. In the spirit of the idea of ​​Adolf Ivar Arwidsson (1791-1858), "we are not Swedish, we do not want to be Russians, let us be Finnish", Finnish national identity began to become established.
Despite the efforts of Finnish elites and nobles to sever ties with Sweden, there was no real independence movement in Finland until the early 20th century. In fact, today the Finnish peasants are very angry by their elite acts and almost exclusively support Gustav's actions against the conspirators. (Turku High Court condemned Sprengtporten as a traitor c) 1793.) The Swedish era ended in the Finnish war in 1809.
The Russian Empire Era
On 29 March 1809, after being taken over by Alexander I forces from Russia in the Finnish War, Finland became the autonomous Supreme Empire of the Russian Empire until the end of 1917. In 1811 Alexander I entered the Russian Vyborg province into the Grand Duke of Finland. During the Russian era, Finnish began recognizing. From the 1860s onwards, a strong Finnish nationalist movement known as the Fennoman movement grew. Milestones include what publication will be Finland's national epic - Kalevala - in 1835, and Finnish reached legal status equivalent to Sweden in 1892.
The Hungarian famine of 1866-1868 killed 15% of the population, making it one of the worst famines in European history. Famine led to the Russian Empire loosening financial regulations, and investment increased in the next few decades. Economic and political developments are rapid. GDP per capita is still half the US and a third of the UK.
In 1906, universal suffrage was adopted in the Grand Duchy of Finland. However, the relationship between Grand Duchy and the Russian Empire worsened when the Russian government made a move to limit Finnish autonomy. For example, universal suffrage, in practice, is almost meaningless, since the tsar does not have to agree to the laws adopted by the Finnish parliament. The desire for freedom is a place, first among radical liberals and socialists.
Civil war and early independence
After the February 1917 Revolution, Finland's position as part of the Russian Empire was questioned, especially by the Social Democrats. Since the head of state is a Russian czar, it is not clear who the Finnish executive leadership was after the revolution. The parliament, which is controlled by a social democrat, endorsed the so-called Power Law to grant the highest authority to Parliament. This was rejected by the Provisional Government of Russia which decided to dissolve Parliament.
New elections take place, in which right-wing parties win by a slim majority. Some social democrats refuse to accept the results and still claim that the dissolution of parliament (and thus the next election) is extralegal. Two equally strong political blocs, right-wing parties and social democratic parties, are very much at odds.
The October Revolution in Russia changed the new geopolitical situation. Suddenly, the right-wing parties in Finland began to reconsider their decision to block the transfer of supreme executive power from the Russian government to Finland, when the Bolsheviks took power in Russia. Rather than recognizing the authority of the Power Law several months earlier, the rightwing government declared independence on December 6, 1917.
On January 27, 1918, the official opening shot of the war was fired on two occasions simultaneously. The government began disarming Russian troops in Pohjanmaa, and the Social Democrats launched a coup. The latter ruled southern Finland and Helsinki, but the white government continued in exile from Vaasa. This triggered a brief but bitter civil war. The Whites, backed by Imperial Germany, win over the Reds. After the war, tens of thousands of Reds and suspected sympathizers were interned in camps, where thousands died from execution or malnutrition and illness. Deep social and political animosity is sown between the Reds and Whites and will last until the Winter War and beyond. Civil wars and activist expeditions to Soviet Russia strained Eastern ties.
After a brief experiment with the monarchy, Finland became a presidential republic, with Kaarlo Juho StÃÆ'  ¥ hlberg elected as its first president in 1919. The Finnish-Russian border was determined by the Tartu Treaty in 1920, largely following the historic border but giving Pechenga (Finland: i> Petsamo ) and Barents Sea port to Finland. Finnish democracy did not see the Soviet coup attempt and survived the anti-Communist Lapua Movement. The relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union was tense. Army officers are trained in France, and relations with Western Europe and Sweden are strengthened.
In 1917, the population was 3 million. Credit-based land reforms were enacted after the civil war, increasing the proportion of the capital-owner population. Approximately 70% of workers are occupied in agriculture and 10% in industry. The largest export markets are the UK and Germany.
World War II and after
Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939-1940 after the Soviet Union invaded Finland and in the 1941-1944 Advanced War, after Operation Barbarossa, when Finland was in line with Germany after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. For 872 days, the German army, indirectly assisted by Finnish troops, surrounded Leningrad, the second largest city of the Soviet Union. Following a major Soviet attack in June/July 1944 led to halt, Finland reached a ceasefire with the Soviet Union. This was followed by the Lapland War from 1944 to 1945, when Finland struggled to retreat German troops in northern Finland.
The treaties signed in 1947 and 1948 with the Soviet Union included Finland's obligations, restraints and reparations - as well as additional Finnish territorial concessions in addition to Moscow's 1940 Peace Agreement. As a result of two wars, Finland handed over most of Finland Karelia, Salla and Petsamo amounts to 10% of its land area and 20% of its industrial capacity, including the port of Vyborg (Viipuri) and Liinakhamari (Liinahamari) which is ice-free. Almost the entire population, about 400,000 people, fled from these areas. Finland was never occupied by Soviet troops and defended its independence, but by losing some 93,000 troops.
Finland refused the help of Marshall, who seemed to respect Soviet desires. However, the United States provided secret development assistance and assisted the Social Democratic Party, in the hope of preserving Finnish independence. Building trade with Western countries, such as the United Kingdom, and paying reparations to the Soviet Union resulted in a Finnish transformation from an agrarian economy to an industrial economy. Valmet was established to make material for war reparations. After a successful reparation, Finland continued to trade with the Soviet Union in the framework of bilateral trade.
In 1950, 46% of Finnish workers worked on agriculture and a third live in urban areas. New jobs in manufacturing, services, and commerce are rapidly attracting people to cities. The average number of births per woman decreased from baby boom peak 3.5 in 1947 to 1.5 in 1973. When baby-boomers entered the workforce, the economy did not produce jobs fast enough, and hundreds of thousands emigrated to more advanced Sweden, with emigration peaking in 1969 and 1970. The 1952 Summer Olympics brought international visitors. Finland took part in trade liberalization at the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
Officially claiming as neutral, Finland is located in a gray zone between Western countries and the Soviet Union. The YYA Agreement (the Finno-Soviet Pact on Friendship, Cooperation and Joint Aid) gave the Soviet Union little influence in Finland's domestic politics. It is widely exploited by president Urho Kekkonen against his opponents. He maintained an effective monopoly on Soviet relations from 1956, which was crucial for his continued popularity. In politics, there is a tendency to avoid policies and statements that can be interpreted as anti-Soviet. This phenomenon is named "Finnish" by the West German press.
Despite close ties with the Soviet Union, Finland maintained its market economy. Different industries benefited from trade privileges with the Soviets, explaining the widespread support provided by pro-Soviet policy among business interests in Finland. Economic growth was rapid in the postwar era, and in 1975 Finland's GDP per capita was the 15th highest in the world. In the 1970s and 80s, Finland built one of the most welfare states in the world. Finland negotiated with the EEC (the predecessor of the European Union) treaty which largely abolished customs clearance against the EEC from 1977, although Finland did not fully join. In 1981, the failed health of President Urho Kekkonen forced him to retire after holding office for 25 years.
Finland reacted cautiously to the collapse of the Soviet Union, but quickly began to improve integration with the West. On September 21, 1990, Finland unilaterally declared the Paris Treaty of Peace obsolete, following a German reunification decision nine days earlier.
Miscalculated macroeconomic decisions, banking crises, the collapse of its largest trading partner (Soviet Union), and the global economic downturn led to a deep 1990s recession in Finland. The bottom depression was in 1993, and Finland saw steady economic growth for more than ten years. Like other Nordic countries, Finland decentralized its economy since the late 1980s. The regulation of financial markets and products is relaxed. Some state companies have been privatized and there is a simple tax cut. Finland joined the European Union in 1995, and the Euro Zone in 1999. Much of the economic growth of the late 1990s was fueled by the phenomenal success of Nokia mobile phone manufacturers, who held a unique position representing 80% of the Helsinki market capitalization of the Stock Exchange.
Language
Finnish and Swedish are Finnish official languages. Finland is predominately national while Sweden is spoken in some coastal areas in the west and south and in the autonomous region of the land.... The native language of 89% of the population is Finnish, which is part of the Finnic subgroup of the Uralic languages. This language is one of only four official languages ​​of the European Union that are not of Indo-European origin. Finnish has a close connection with Karelian and Estonian and further into Sami and Hungarian. Swedish is the original language of 5.3% of the population (Finnish-speaking Finland).
The Nordic and Karelian languages ​​are also specifically treated in some contexts.
Finnish Romani is spoken by about 5,000-6,000 people, the Finnish Romani and Finnish Sign Language are also recognized in the constitution. There are two sign language: Finnish Sign Language, spoken naturally by 4,000-5,000 people, and Finnish-Swedish Sign Language, spoken naturally by about 150 people. Tatar languages ​​are spoken by the Finnish Tatar minority of about 800 people who moved to Finland especially during Russian rule from the 1870s through the 1920s.
The Sami language is the official language of the north, in Lapland or in northern Lapland, where the Sami people, amount to about 7,000 and are recognized as indigenous people. About a quarter of them speak Sami as their mother tongue. Sami languages ​​used in Finland are Northern Sami, Inari Sami, and Sami Skolt.
The rights of minorities (especially Sami, Swedish speakers, and Romanians) are protected by the constitution.
The biggest immigrant languages ​​are Russian (1.4%), Estonian (0.9%), Arab (0.4%), Somali (0.3%) and English (0.3%). English is studied by most students as compulsory subjects of the third grade (at the age of 9 years) in a comprehensive school (in some schools other languages ​​may be chosen instead). German, French, Spanish and Russian can be studied as a second foreign language of the fourth grade (at age 10, some schools may offer other options).
Geography
Lying roughly between latitude 60 ° and 70 ° LU, and longitude 20 ° and 32 ° BT, Finland is one of the northernmost countries of the world. From the world's capital, only ReykjavÃk lies further north than Helsinki. The distance from the southernmost point - Hanko in Uusimaa - to the north - Nuorgam in Lapland - is 1,160 kilometers (720Â mi).
Finland has about 168,000 lakes (an area of ​​over 500 m 2 or 0.12 hectares) and 179,000 islands. Its largest lake, Saimaa, is the fourth largest in Europe. Lakeland Finland is the region with the largest lake in the country. The largest island concentrations are found in the southwest, in the Sea of ​​Islands between continental Finland and the main island... land.
Much of Finnish geography is the result of the Ice Age. The glacier is thicker and lasts longer in Fennoscandia compared to other parts of Europe. Their eroding effect has left the mostly flat Finnish landscape with few hills and fewer mountains. The highest point, Halti at 1,324 meters (4,344 ft), is found in the extreme north of Lapland on the border between Finland and Norway. The tallest peak in Finland is Ridnit? Ohkka at 1.316 m (4,318 ft), directly adjacent to Halti.
The retreating glacier has left the mainland with moraines deposits in esker formation. It is the backs of gravel and sand-lined, walking northwest to southeast, where the ancient edges of glaciers once lay. Among the largest of these are the three mountains of SalpausselkÃÆ' that which crosses southern Finland.
Once compressed under the weight of a very large glacier, the plains in Finland increase due to post-glacial rebound. The effect is strongest around the Gulf of Bothnia, where the soil continues to rise about 1 cm (0.4 inches) per year. As a result, the old seabed turns little by little into dry land: the surface area of ​​developing countries is about 7 square kilometers (2.7 m²) every year. Speaking relatively, Finland rose from the sea.
The landscape is mostly covered by taiga forests including and fens, with little cultivated land. Of the total area of ​​10% are lakes, rivers and ponds, and 78% forest. The forest consists of pine, cypress, birch, and other species. Finland is the largest timber producer in Europe and one of the largest in the world. The most common type of rock is granite. This is the ubiquitous part of the scene, visible wherever there is no ground cover. Moraine or till is the most common type of soil, covered by a thin layer of humus of biological origin. The development of the podzol profile is seen in most of the forest land except where the drainage is bad. Gleysols and peat swamps occupy areas that are not drained properly.
Biodiversity
Phytogeographically, Finland is divided between the Arctic, Central Europe, and the northern European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Kingdom of Boreal. According to WWF, the Finnish region can be divided into three ecoregions: Scandinavian and Scandinavian taiga, mixed Sarmatic forests, and Montane Birch and Scandinavian jungles. Taiga covers most of Finland from the north of the southern provinces north of Lapland. On the southwest coast, south of the Helsinki-Rauma line, forests are characterized by mixed forests, which are more typical in the Baltic region. At the northern end of Finland, near the tree line and the Arctic Ocean, Montane Birch forest is a common thing.
Similarly, Finland has a wide and diverse range of fauna. There are at least sixty species of native mammals, 248 species of birds, more than 70 species of fish, and 11 species of reptiles and frogs that exist today, many migrating from neighboring countries thousands of years ago. The large and widely known wildlife mammals in Finland are brown bears (national animals), gray wolves, wolves, and deer. Three of the more prominent birds are whooper swans, big European swans and Finnish national birds; western capercaillie, a large and black grouse family member; and eagle birds-Eurasian birds. The latter is considered an indicator of long-standing forest connectivity, and has declined due to landscape fragmentation. The most common breeding birds are willow warbler, common chaffinch, and redwing. Of the approximately seventy species of freshwater fish, northern spears, perch, and others abound. The Atlantic Salmon remains a fan favorite of the fishing fly.
The threatened Saimaa, one of only three species of seals in the world, exists only in the lake Saimaa system in southeastern Finland, only up to 300 seals today. It has become the emblem of the Finnish Association for Nature Conservation.
Climate
The main factor affecting the Finnish climate is the country's geographic position between the 60th and 70th northern alignments in the Eurasian continental coastal zone. In the KÃÆ'¶ppen climate classification, the whole of Finland is located in the boreal zone, characterized by warm summers and freezing winters. Domestically, greed varies greatly between the southern and extreme north coastal regions, indicating both maritime and continental climate characteristics. Finland is close enough to the Atlantic Ocean to keep warmed by the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream combines with the moderation effects of the Baltic Sea and many inland lakes to explain the unusually warm climate compared to other areas that share the same latitude, such as Alaska, Siberia, and southern Greenland.
Winter in southern Finland (when average daily temperatures stay below 0 ° C or 32 ° F) is usually about 100 days, and in the interior snow usually covers the land from around late November to April, and in coastal areas such as Helsinki , snow often covers the ground from late December to late March. Even in the south, the harshest winter nights can see temperatures falling to -30 ° C (-22 ° F) although in coastal regions like Helsinki, temperatures below -30 ° C (-22 ° F) are very rare. Summer climate (when average daily temperatures stay above 10 ° C or 50 ° F) in southern Finland lasts from around the end of May to mid September, and in the hinterland, the hottest days of July may reach over 35 Â ° C (95 Â ° F). Although much of Finland is located in the taiga belt, the southernmost coastal regions are sometimes classified as hemiboreal.
In northern Finland, especially in Lapland, the winter is long and cold, while the summers are relatively warm but short. The most severe winter days in Lapland can see temperatures falling to -45 Â ° C (-49 Â ° F). Winter in the north lasts for about 200 days with permanent snow cover from around mid-October to early May. Summer in the north is quite short, only two to three months, but can still see maximum daily temperatures above 25 Â ° C (77 Â ° F) during heat waves. There is no part of Finland that has the Arctic tundra, but the Alpine tundra can be found in the lowlands of Lapland.
The Finnish climate is suitable for cereal farming only in the southernmost regions, while the northern region is suitable for livestock.
A quarter of the Finnish region is located in the Arctic Circle and the midnight sun can be experienced for several days further north. At the northernmost point of Finland, the sun does not set for 73 consecutive days during the summer, and does not rise at all for 51 days during the winter.
Territory
Finland consists of 19 regions called Finnish 'maakunta' in Finnish and 'landscape' in Swedish. These areas are governed by a regional council that serves as a forum for cooperation for a regional municipality. The main task of the region is regional planning and enterprise development and education. In addition, public health services are usually organized on a regional basis. Currently, the only area where popular elections for councils is Kainuu. Other regional councils are elected by the municipal councils, each municipality sending representatives proportionally to its inhabitants.
In addition to inter-city co-operation, which is the responsibility of regional councils, each region has a country's Center for Economic and Labor Development which is responsible for the administration of local workers, agriculture, fisheries, forestry, and entrepreneurship. The regional offices of the Finnish Defense Forces are responsible for the preparation of regional defense and for military administration in the region.
Areas represent better dialect, cultural, and economic variations than the previous provinces, which are purely administrative divisions of the central government. Historically, the region is a division of the Finnish historical province, an area that represents dialect and culture more accurately.
Six Regional State Administration Bodies were created by the Finnish state in 2010, each responsible for one of the territories called alue Swedish ; in addition, ÃÆ'â € | land is defined as the seventh area. It took over several tasks from the previous Province of Finland (which is lÃÆ'¤ÃÆ'¤ni s), which was abolished.
The territory of Uusimaa Timur was consolidated with Uusimaa on 1 January 2011.
Administrative division
The fundamental administrative division of the state is the municipality, which may also call themselves cities or towns. They make up half of public spending. Expenditures are financed by city income taxes, state subsidies, and other revenues. By 2017, there are 311 municipalities, and most have fewer than 6,000 inhabitants.
In addition to the municipality, two intermediate levels are defined. The cities work together in seventy sub-territories and nineteen territories. It is governed by member municipalities and has only limited strength. Provincial autonomy ÃÆ'â € | land has permanently elected regional councils. Sami people have a semi-autonomous Sami native region in Lapland for language and cultural issues.
In the following chart, the total population includes those living in the entire municipality (kunta kunta/kommun ), not only in the built-up area. The area of ​​land is given in km², and the population density per km² (land area). The figures are on August 31, 2017. The territory of the capital - which consists of Helsinki, Vantaa, Espoo and Kauniainen - formed a continuous conurbation of over 1.1 million people. However, public administration is limited to the voluntary cooperation of all municipalities, for example in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area Council.
Politics
Constitution
The Finnish Constitution defines the political system; Finland is a parliamentary republic within the framework of representative democracy. The Prime Minister is the most powerful man in the country. The current version of the Constitution comes into force on 1 March 2000, and is amended on March 1, 2012. Citizens may run and vote in parliamentary elections, municipalities, presidents and the European Union.
President
The head of Finland is the President of the Republic of Finland (in Finnish: Suomen tasavallan presidentti in Swedish: Republicans Finlands president ). Finland has most of the independence of the semi-presidential system, but in recent decades the power of the President has diminished. In a constitutional amendment, which came into force in 1991 or 1992 and also with a new draft constitution of 2000, amended in 2012, the President's position primarily becomes a ceremonial office. However, the President still leads the country's foreign policy along with the State Council and is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. This position still requires some strength, including responsibility for foreign policy (excluding EU-related affairs) in cooperation with the cabinet, head of the armed forces, some decisions and pardon powers, and some designated powers. Direct election, one or two stages are used to elect the president for a period of six years and for a maximum of two consecutive periods. The current President is Sauli NiinistÃÆ'¶; he served on March 1, 2012. The former president was KJ StÃÆ' ¥ hlberg (1919-1925), LK Relander (1925-1931), PE Svinhufvud (1931-1937), KyÃÆ'¶sti Kallio (1937-1940), Risto Ryti ( 1942-1946), CGE Mannerheim (1944-1946), JK Paasikivi (1946-1956), Urho Kekkonen (1956-1982), Mauno Koivisto (1982-1994), Martti Ahtisaari (1994-2000), and Tarja Halonen (2000 ) -2012).
The current president was elected from the ranks of the National Coalition Party for the first time since 1946. The presidency dates back to 1946 and is currently held by members of the Social Democratic Party or the Central Party.
Parliament
200 members of Finnish Unicameral Parliament (Finland: Eduskunta , Sweden: Riksdag ) exercises the highest legislative authority in the country. It can change the constitution and common law, dismiss the cabinet, and override the presidential veto. His conduct is not subject to judicial review; the constitutionality of the new law is judged by the parliament's constitutional legal committee. Parliament elected for a period of four years using the proportional D'Hondt method in a number of multi-seat constituencies through an open list of multi-member districts. Various parliamentary committees listen to the experts and prepare the law. The speaker of parliament is Paula Risikko (National Coalition).
Since universal suffrage was introduced in 1906, the parliament has been dominated by the Central Party (former Agrarian Union), the National Coalition Party, and the Social Democrats. These parties have enjoyed more or less the same support, and their combined vote has reached about 65-80% of all votes. The lowest total members of parliament, 121, were reached in elections in 2011. For decades after 1944, the Communists were a strong fourth party. Because of the proportional representation electoral system, and the relative reluctance of voters to divert their support among political parties, the relative strength of the parties generally varies only slightly from one election to another. However, there are some long-term trends, such as the rise and fall of the Communists during the Cold War; a steady decline to meaningless Liberals and their predecessors from 1906 to 1980; and the rise of the Green League since 1983. In the 2011 election, the Finnish Party achieved remarkable success, increasing its representation from 5 to 39 seats, outpacing the Party Center.
The autonomous province of ÃÆ'â € | land, which forms the federation with Finland, elects one member to parliament, who has traditionally joined the parliamentary group of the Swedish People's Party of Finland. (The province also holds elections for its own permanent regional council, and in the 2011 elections, ÃÆ'â € | The land center is the largest party.)
Parliament may be dissolved by the recommendation of the Prime Minister, who is supported by the President. This procedure was never used, although the parliament was dissolved eight times under the pre-2000 constitution, when this act was the sole prerogative of the president.
After the parliamentary elections on April 19, 2015, seats are divided among eight parties as follows:
Cabinet
After the parliamentary elections, the two parties negotiate among themselves to form a new cabinet (Government of Finland), which must then be approved by a simple majority vote in parliament. The cabinet may be dismissed with an unbelieving parliamentary vote, though this is rare (last time in 1957), since the parties represented in the cabinet usually constitute a majority in parliament.
The Cabinet runs most of the executive power, and generates most of the bill that is then debated and elected by parliament. It is headed by the Finnish Prime Minister, and consists of him, other ministers, and the Chancellor of Justice. The current prime minister is Juha SipilÃÆ'¤ (Center Party). Each minister heads his ministry, or, in some cases, has responsibility for part of the ministry's policy. After the prime minister, the most powerful minister is the finance minister. The current Minister of Finance is Petteri Orpo.
Since no party dominates parliament, the Finnish cabinet is a multi-party coalition. As a rule, the post of prime minister goes to the leader of the largest party and finance minister for the second largest leader.
Legal
The Finnish judicial system is a civil legal system divided between courts with civil jurisdiction and regular criminal and administrative courts with jurisdiction over litigation between individuals and public administrations. Finnish law is codified and based on Swedish law and in a broader sense, civil law or Roman law. The court system for civil and criminal jurisdiction consists of local courts ( kÃÆ'¤rÃÆ'¤jÃÆ'¤oikeus , tingsrÃÆ'¤tt ), regional appeals court ( hovioikeus , hovrÃÆ'¤tt ), and the Supreme Court ( korkein oikeus , hÃÆ'¶gsta domstolen ). The administrative branch of justice consists of administrative courts ( hallinto-oikeus , fÃÆ'¶rvaltningsdomstol ) and the Supreme Administrative Court ( korkein hallinto-oikeus , hÃÆ'¶gsta fÃÆ'¶rvaltningsdomstolen ). In addition to regular courts, there are some special courts in certain administrative branches. There is also a High Court for criminal charges against several high-ranking officials.
About 92% of the population has trust in the Finnish security agency. Finnish crime rates are not high in the context of the EU. Some types of crime are above average, especially the highest murder rate in Western Europe. A good system today applies and is also applied to violations such as speeding.
Finland has been successful against government corruption, more common in the 1970s and 80s. For example, economic reforms and EU membership introduced stricter requirements for open bidding and many public monopolies were abolished. Today, Finland has a very low number of corruption allegations; Transparency International places Finland as one of the most corrupt countries in Europe.
In 2008, Transparency International criticized the lack of transparency of Finland's financial system. According to GRECO in 2007, corruption should be taken into account in the Finnish election fund system better. A scandal surrounding the finance of 2007 parliamentary elections broke out in the spring of 2008. Nine Ministers The government submitted incomplete funding reports and even more MPs. The law does not include penalties for false fund reports from elected politicians.
Foreign relations
According to the 2012 constitution, the president (currently Sauli NiinistÃÆ'¶) leads foreign policy in cooperation with the government, except that the president has no role in EU affairs.
In 2008, president Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Finland is considered a cooperative model country, and Finland is not opposed to proposals for a shared EU defense policy. This was reversed in the 2000s, when Tarja Halonen and Erkki Tuomioja made Finland's official policy to reject other EU member plans for joint defense.
Social security
Finland has one of the most extensive welfare systems in the world, which ensures decent living conditions for all citizens, Finns, and not citizens. Since the 1980s social security has been reduced, but the system is still one of the most comprehensive in the world. Created almost entirely during the first three decades after World War II, the social security system is the result of traditional Nordic belief that the state is not inherently hostile to the welfare of its citizens, but can intervene well on their behalf. According to some social historians, the basis of this belief is a relatively friendly history which has enabled the gradual emergence of free and independent peasants in the Nordic countries and has limited the dominance of the nobility and the formation of a powerful right-wing. Finnish history is louder than the history of other Nordic countries, but not hard enough to keep the country from following their social development path.
Military
The Finnish Defense Forces consists of professional army cadres (mainly officers and technical personnel), currently serving conscripts, and large reserves. The strength of standard readiness is 34,700 uniformed people, of which 25% are professional soldiers. A universal male military duty is in force, in which all Finnish citizens over 18 years serve for 6 to 12 months of military service or 12 months of civil service (non-armed). The post-peace service abroad is very popular, and the troops serve around the world in UN, NATO and EU missions. About 500 women choose volunteer military service each year. Women were allowed to serve in all combat weapons including front-line infantry and special forces. The army consists of highly mobile field soldiers who are supported by local defense units. The army retained its national territory and military strategy using a heavily forested field and a number of lakes to weaken an aggressor, rather than trying to detain an attacking army on the border.
Finland's per capita defense expenditure is one of the highest in the EU. The Finnish military doctrine is based on the concept of total defense. The total term means all sectors of government and economy are involved in defense planning. The armed forces are under the command of the Chief of Defense (currently General Jarmo Lindberg), who is directly under the president in matters relating to military command. Military branches are army, navy, and air force. Border guards are under the Ministry of Interior but can be incorporated into the Defense Force when necessary for defense readiness.
Even when Finland has not joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the country has joined the NATO Response Forces, the EU Battle Group, the NATO Partnership for Peace and in 2014 signed the NATO memorandum of understanding, forming a practical coalition. In 2015, Finland-NATO ties are reinforced with host country support agreements that allow assistance from NATO forces in emergency situations. Finland has been an active participant in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Recently Finland is more excited to discuss about its current and planned role in Syria, Iraq and the war against ISIL. On December 21, 2012, Finnish military officer Atte Kaleva was reported to have been kidnapped and later released in Yemen for ransom. At first he was reported to be an ordinary Arab scholar, but only later published that his studies of jihadism, terrorism, and that he was employed by the military. In response to France's request for solidarity, the Finnish defense minister commented in November that Finland can and is willing to offer intelligence support.
In May 2015, the Finnish military sent nearly one million letters to all the relevant men in the country, informing them of their role in the war effort. It globally speculates that Finland is preparing for war - but Finland claims that this is a standard procedure, but something that has never been done before in Finnish history. However Mr Hypponen said that this is not an isolated case, but is tied to the European security dilemma. The previously signed NATO Memorandum of Understanding delivers obligations such as to report internal capabilities and their availability to NATO.
Economy
The Finnish economy has per capita output similar to other European economies such as France, Germany, Belgium, or the UK. The largest economic sector is the service sector of 66% of GDP, followed by manufacturing and refining by 31%. Primary production represents 2.9%. In connection with foreign trade, the main economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries in 2007 were electronic (22%); engines, vehicles, and other engineering metal products (21.1%); forest industry (13%); and chemicals (11%). Gross domestic product reached its peak in 2008. By 2015, the country's economy is at the level of 2006.
Finland has significant wood, minerals (iron, chromium, copper, nickel, and gold), and freshwater resources. Forestry, paper mills, and the agricultural sector (where taxpayers spend about 3 billion euros each year) are important to rural residents so that any policy changes affecting these sectors are politically sensitive for politicians depending on the voice in the countryside. The Greater Helsinki region produces about a third of Finland's GDP. In the 2004 OECD comparison, high-tech manufacturing in Finland was ranked second only after Ireland. Intensive knowledge services have also generated the smallest and slowest growth sectors - mainly agriculture and low-tech manufacturing - which rank second after Ireland. The overall short-term outlook is good and GDP growth is above many EU currencies.
Finland is highly integrated into the global economy, and international trade generates one-third of GDP. Trade with the EU accounts for 60% of Finnish total trade. The biggest trade flows are with Germany, Russia, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, and China. Trade policy is managed by the European Union, where Finland is traditionally among the supporters of free trade, except for agricultural policy. Finland is the only Nordic country to join the eurozone.
Finland's climate and soil make crops grow into a special challenge. The country lies between latitude 60 Â ° N and 70 Â ° LU, and has severe winters and a relatively short planting season that is occasionally disturbed by freezing weather. However, due to the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Current Current moderate climate, Finland contains half of the fertile soil of the northern world of 60 Â ° north latitude. Annual rainfall is usually enough, but it happens almost exclusively during the winter months, making summer drought a constant threat. In response to climate, farmers rely on fast-growing and frozen-resistant varieties of crops, and they have cultivated south-facing slopes and richer lower plains to ensure production even within a few years with summer snow. Most agricultural land is originally a forest or a swamp, and the soil usually requires treatment with lime and years of planting to neutralize the excess acid and to increase fertility. Irrigation is generally not necessary, but drainage systems are often needed to remove excess water. Finnish agriculture has been efficient and productive - at least when compared to agriculture in other European countries.
Forests play a key role in the country's economy, making it one of the world's leading timber producers and providing competitive raw materials at competitive prices to important wood processing industries. As in agriculture, the government has long played a major role in forestry, regulating tree felling, sponsoring technical improvements, and establishing long-term plans to ensure that the country's forests continue to supply the wood processing industry. To maintain the country's comparative advantage in forest products, the Finnish authorities moved to increase timber production against the country's ecological limits. In 1984, the government issued the Forest 2000 plan, drafted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. The plan aims to increase forest harvest by about 3% per year, while preserving forest land for recreation and other uses.
Private sector employees amount to 1.8 million, of which about one-third are in higher education. The average cost of private sector employees per hour was 25.1 euros in 2004. In 2008, the average rate of adjusted earnings per capita income was similar to that of Italy, Sweden, Germany and France. In 2006, 62% of the workforce worked for companies with fewer than 250 employees and they accounted for 49% of total business turnover and had the strongest growth rate. Women's job level is high. Gender segregation between male-dominated professions and women-dominated professions is higher than in the US. The proportion of part-time workers was among the lowest in the OECD in 1999. In 2013, the 10 largest private sector companies in Finland were Itella, Nokia, OP-Pohjola, ISS, VR, Kesko, UPM-Kymmene, YIT, Metso, and Nordea.
The unemployment rate is 9.4% in 2015, up from 8.7% in 2014. The youth unemployment rate increased from 16.5% in 2007 to 20.5% in 2014. A fifth of the population is outside the job market at the age of 50 years and less than a year. third worked at the age of 61 years. To this day, nearly a million people living on a minimum wage or unemployed are not enough to cover their living expenses.
In 2006, 2.4 million households were in Finland. The average size is 2.1 people; 40% of households consisted of one person, 32% two people and 28% three or more people. The total occupancy building is 1.2 million, and the average residential space is 38 square meters (410 sq ft) per person. Residential properties on average without the cost of land 1,187 euros per square meter and housing land 8.6 euros per square meter. 74% of households own a car. There are 2.5 million cars and 0.4 million other vehicles.
About 92% have mobile phones and 83.5% (2009) internet connection at home. The average total household consumption is 20,000 euros, where housing consists of about 5,500 euros, transport of about 3,000 euros, food and beverages excluding alcoholic beverages around 2,500 euros, and recreation and culture around 2,000 euros. According to Invest in Finland, private consumption grew by 3% in 2006 and consumer trends include durable goods, high quality products, and welfare expenditures.
Energy
The private physically and financially traded private Nordic energy market at NASDAQ OMX Commodities Europe and the Nord Pool Spot exchanges has provided a competitive price compared to other EU countries. In 2007, Finland had about the lowest industrial electricity prices in the EU-15 (equal to France).
In 2006, the energy market was about 90 hours terawatt hours and peak demand of about 15 gigawatts in winter. This means that energy consumption per capita is about 7.2 tons of oil equivalent per year. Industry and construction consume 51% of total consumption, a relatively high figure reflecting the Finnish industry. Finnish hydrocarbon resources are limited to peat and wood. Approximately 10-15% of electricity is generated by hydro power, which is low compared to Sweden or Norway which is more mountainous. In 2008, renewable energy (especially hydropower and various forms of wood energy) was 31% higher than the EU average of 10.3% in final energy consumption.
Finland has four private nuclear reactors producing 18% of the country's energy and a research reactor on the Otaniemi campus. The fifth-built AREVA-Siemens reactor in the world at 1600 MWe and the focal point of the European nuclear industry - has faced many delays and is currently scheduled for operation in 2018-2020, a decade after its initial planned opening. The varying amounts (5-17%) of electricity have been imported from Russia (about 3 gigawatts of power line capacity), Sweden and Norway.
Energy companies will increase production of nuclear power, because in July 2010 the Finnish parliament granted permission for the addition of two new reactors.
Transportation
The wide road system is used by most of the cargo and internal passenger traffic. Expenditures of an annual state-operated country road network of about 1 billion euros are paid with vehicle and fuel taxes amounting to about 1.5 billion euros and 1 billion euros.
The main international passenger gateway is the Helsinki Airport with about 17 million passengers by 2016. Oulu Airport is the second largest, while 25 other airports have scheduled passenger services. Finnair Airlines, Blue1 and Nordic Regional Airport based in Helsinki, the Norwegian Air Shuttle sells domestic and international air services. Helsinki has an optimal location for large circular routes (ie the shortest and most efficient route) between Western Europe and the Far East.
Despite the low population density, the Government spends annually about 350 million euros in maintaining 5,865 kilometers (3,644 mi) of railroads. Rail transportation is handled by the state-owned VR Group, which has a 5% passenger market share (of which 80% is urban journeys in Greater Helsinki) and 25% of the cargo market share. Since December 12, 2010, Karelian Trains, a joint venture between Russian Railways and VR (the Finnish Railway), has run Alstom Pendolino operating a high-speed service between Finlyandsky railway station and Helsinki's Central Saint Petersburg. This service is labeled as "Allegro" train. The trip from Helsinki to Saint Petersburg only took three and a half hours.
The majority of international cargo uses ports. Port logistics prices are low. Port Vuosaari in Helsinki is the largest container port after completion in 2008 and the others include Kotka, Hamina, Hanko, Pori, Rauma, and Oulu. There is passenger traffic from Helsinki and Turku, which has ferry connections to Tallinn, Mariehamn, Stockholm, and TravemÃÆ'¼nde. The Helsinki-Tallinn route, one of the world's busiest passenger sea routes, has also been serviced by helicopter lines.
Industry
Finland rapidly experienced industrialization after World War II, achieving a level of per capita GDP equivalent to Japan or the UK in the early 1970s. Initially, most of the development was based on two major export-led industrial groups, the "metalliteollisuus industry" and the "forest industry" ( metsÃÆ'¤teollisuus ). "Metal industry" includes shipbuilding, metalworking, automobile industry, engineering products such as motor and electronics, and metal production (steel, copper and chromium). The world's largest cruise ship built in the Finnish shipyard. The "forest industry" ( metsÃÆ'¤teollisuus ) includes forestry, timber, pulp and paper, and is a logical development based on extensive forest resources in Finland (77% of the area is covered by forests, in renewable use). In the pulp and paper industry, many of the largest companies are based in Finland (Ahlstrom, MetsÃÆ'¤ Board, and UPM). However, the Finnish economy has diversified, with expansion into areas such as electronics (eg Nokia), metrology (Vaisala), transportation fuels (Neste), chemicals (Kemira), engineering consultancy (PÃÆ'¶yry), and information technology (eg Rovio Entertainment, known as Angry Birds), and is no longer dominated by two sectors of the metal and forest industries. Likewise, the structure has changed, with the service sector growing, with important manufacturing reductions; agriculture is only a small part. Nevertheless, production for exports is still more prevalent than in Western Europe, thus making Finland more vulnerable to global economic trends.
In the Economist Intellige report
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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