Finland

Politics:

• Analysis

  Finland politics: Municipal elections: gains for ultranationalist The Finns

  The governing centre-right National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK) cemented its position as the country's top political party in the municipal elections held on October 28th. Its main coalition partner, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), came second, followed by the opposition Centre Party (KESK). Compared with the previous municipal elections in 2008, the ultranationalist The Finns made an unprecedented gain (in municipal elections) of 7 percentage points, from 5.4% to 12.3%. Despite the substantial increase, The Finns' result compares poorly with last year's general election, at which the party received 19.1% of the vote. Overall, the performance of The Finns was seen as below expectations, and the party's campaign lacked a clear focus on municipal issues. Instead, the election campaign was overshadowed by intense rivalry between the KOK and the SDP over whether outsourcing municipal service provision to private companies is a viable way to cut costs.

  The Finns gain seats, but fail to reach the top

  Despite gaining nearly 7 percentage points compared with the previous municipal elections (the strongest-ever gain in municipal elections), The Finns' performance was rather lacklustre. The party that had secured 19.1% of the vote at last year's general election now attracted a mere 12.3% of the vote, coming fourth overall. In its campaign, The Finns continued to focus on the populist anti-euro and anti-globalisation rhetoric that boosted the party's startling success in 2011. Taking into account the prevailing Euroscepticism within the Finnish population following the recent unpopular bail-outs of highly indebted countries in the euro zone's periphery, The Finns' election result is remarkably poor. The party's attempt to capitalise on resentment of the euro zone bail-outs was widely criticised by the other major parties, which argued that municipal governments have no political power to influence issues relating to the euro crisis. Moreover, The Finns offered little in the way of constructive proposals on how to finance local government budget shortfalls.

  However, with a gain of almost 7 percentage points, the party strengthened its position as a formidable force in Finnish politics, thereby silencing many critics that saw its success at last year's general election as a one-off event.

  KESK dominance in rural areas broken; KOK-SDP coalition more difficult

  The Finns' rise at the municipal level has two major consequences. First, the long-standing rule of the KESK in rural municipalities is crumbling. Up until now, the KESK has held an absolute majority in one-third of Finland's mostly rural municipalities, and it has been the largest party in two-thirds of them. The recent rise of The Finns has reduced the KESK's dominance in rural areas. Second, most of Finland's large urban municipalities have traditionally been run by a KOK-SDP coalition. The rise of The Finns at their expense means that it will be harder for them to reach an absolute majority together.

  Key theme of the election campaign: municipal service provision

  The municipal elections were quite understandably not fought over The Finns' core issues of immigration, the euro and globalisation. Instead, local service provision was the dominant theme. The majority of Finland's 336 municipalities struggle to raise the revenue needed to provide basic services such as education, healthcare and public transport, which in Finland are the responsibility of local not national government.

  Above all, these elections will be remembered for the intense rivalry between the two coalition partners, the KOK and the SDP, over the provision of public services. Both parties agree in principle that the way in which municipalities currently provide public services is not sustainable. The KOK has presented a proposal for a radical overhaul that would see the number of municipalities drop from 336 to less than 100, in order to address their budget deficits. As each municipality is individually responsible for providing public services such as healthcare and education in its area, the larger unit size would, the KOK argues, facilitate a bigger tax base and economies of scale. Moreover, the KOK suggests that the state should have the power to force municipal mergers, if the municipalities themselves fail to agree to the terms of the merger. The SDP, KESK and The Finns oppose this vehemently.

  Meanwhile, the KOK has proposed to outsource some of the public services provided at municipal level to private-sector companies. The party has argued that the public sector should not have the monopoly in providing these public services, and that private-sector entities should be used in cases where this would lead to cost savings.

  KOK-SDP rivalry takes centre stage

  Opposing such policies became the priority for the SDP in the run-up to the elections. The SDP was able to position itself as the most credible alternative to the KOK, which meant that the KOK-SDP rivalry took centre stage in the election campaign. By pitting itself against the KOK in such a clear manner, the SDP managed to stoke the traditional right-left divide and overshadow The Finns, which focused excessively on populist rhetoric about the euro crisis. As municipal elections closely reflect the national popularity of the parties, the SDP's performance surprised on the upside given that The Finns are perceived to affect support for the SDP and the KESK more than support for the KOK. The SDP's relatively strong showing (compared with pre-election expectations) may therefore embolden the party to challenge the KOK more intensely in national parliamentary politics. A strengthened SDP does not bode well for the KOK-SDP coalition in the national government, as the more right-wing faction of the KOK grows increasingly wary of the partnership.

  Election results
  (% of national vote)
  Party	Municipal election 2008	General election 2011	Municipal election 2012
  National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK)	23.5	20.4	21.9
  Social Democratic Party (SDP)	21.2	19.1	19.6
  Centre Party (KESK)	20.1	15.8	18.7
  The Finns (PS)	5.4	19.1	12.3
  Greens (VIHR)	8.9	7.3	8.5
  Left Alliance (VAS)	8.8	8.1	8.0
  Swedish People's Party (RKP)	4.7	4.3	4.7
  Christian Democrats (KD)	4.2	4.0	3.7
  Others	3.2	1.9	2.6
  Sources: Ministry of Justice; Statistics Finland.

  Municipal reform remains unaddressed

  Municipal elections are usually significant nationally only in so far as they gauge support for the various parties in the period between general elections. These elections were, however, more significant, because they were held at a time when a majority of municipalities are in crisis, and the municipal structure is set for its most radical overhaul to date. So politically perilous is such a reform that most parties resorted to opposing existing proposals in the hope of short-term political gains. The SDP succeeded in branding itself as the alternative to the KOK policy of forced municipal mergers, but it will have to embrace the reality that the municipal structure is in urgent need of reform. The ailing state of local economies puts increased pressure on the national government to increase its funding to them. The KOK-SDP partnership, which is the backbone of the rainbow coalition government (that also includes various smaller parties), will have to find a way to address this issue. The fact that the two parties have turned against each other in such a dramatic fashion will not make this job easier.

  October 30, 2012

• Background

  Finland: Key figures

  Jyrki Katainen

  Energetic and young (still only 40 years old), Mr Katainen became prime minister in June 2011. He has led the centre-right National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK) since 2005 and served as finance minister in 2007-11. Under his leadership, the KOK rose to become Finland's biggest political party for the first time. Leading the current governing coalition has been his biggest test so far. He will have to continue to accommodate demands from the left and right wings within his government and fend off attacks by the leader of the populist, right-wing opposition The Finns, Timo Soini. Implementing robust reforms will thus remain challenging. If his government fails to prevent the economy from falling back into recession and allows the Eurosceptic and anti-immigration The Finns to strengthen their foothold in Finnish politics, particularly amid growing Euroscepticism among the electorate, Mr Katainen's star will start to fade.

  Timo Soini

  Mr Soini is the leader of the far-right The Finns. He emerged from the 2011 election as one of the country's most popular politicians, having garnered more votes individually than anyone else. Mr Soini's anti-immigration and Eurosceptic views have brought him unprecedented popularity. If the government fails to address these genuine public concerns, Mr Soini will almost certainly see his fame increase. His popularity is built, to a large extent, on his ability to appear not like a politician, but like an ordinary citizen. His populism can prove to be a political risk, as he sometimes appears to say whatever the public wants to hear, and thus lacks consistency. However, The Finns have lost some support among the electorate since mid-2011, despite the government's ongoing support for unpopular euro zone bail-outs, after divisions emerged between more extreme and less extreme party members. Partly as a consequence, Mr Soini underperformed in the February 2012 presidential election, polling 10 percentage points less than his party's support rating. What makes his failure even more significant is the fact that Pekka Haavisto of the Green Party, whose platform was in many ways a counter-attack on The Finns' policies, scored 10 percentage points more than his party's rating. This is largely because urban and well-educated voters came out in large numbers to support Mr Haavisto as his views strongly opposed those of Mr Soini and The Finns. Nonetheless, Mr Soini's party is likely to remain an important and destabilising element throughout the forecast period.

  Sauli Niinisto

  Mr Niinisto, who was finance minister from 1995 to 2003 and a former long-time chairman of the KOK, won the 2012 presidential election. His victory gave the KOK an unprecedented grip on political power, holding the posts of both president and prime minister. Mr Niinisto's popularity is built on his legacy as the finance minister whose economic insight and austerity policies lifted Finland out of the severe recession of the 1990s. The head of state, although largely a ceremonial role, will nevertheless remain an important shaper of public opinion, and during a period of economic uncertainty and unstable government-the diversity of the six-party coalition means that the risk of a collapse is higher than usual-Mr Niinisto can be expected to be regarded as an important figurehead for the country. Compared with his predecessor, Tarja Halonen of the Social Democratic Party, he will offer a stronger argument in support of the EU and is likely to seek to steer Finland closer to the US by improving transatlantic relations. His background as a successful minister of finance and a former deputy head of the European Investment Bank will also have an influence. Whereas Ms Halonen tended to focus on global development issues, Mr Niinisto can be expected to direct greater attention to boosting Finnish exports in key overseas markets and trying to improve foreign investment inflows.

  Jutta Urpilainen

  The 37-year-old leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) was chosen to renew the party's tarnished image after the 2007 election defeat, but, until the election of April 2011, had been seen as failing in this task. At the election, however, she consolidated her position, as the SDP emerged as the second-largest party. She was consequently appointed finance minister. This has undoubtedly proven to be the biggest challenge of her political career so far. Many people were initially sceptical of Ms Urpilainen's knowledge of economic policy and therefore her ability to push for stricter conditions for the euro zone bail-out mechanisms, which, during her general election campaign, she had promised to do. However, she alleviated these fears by successfully pushing for collateral for Finland's contribution to the second loan facility for Greece in early 2012 as well as to the bail-out of Spanish banks in July 2012.

  September 18, 2012

• Structure

  Finland: Political structure

  Official name

  Republic of Finland

  Form of state

  Parliamentary republic

  Legal system

  Based on the constitution of 1919 (updated in 2000)

  National legislature

  Unicameral Eduskunta (parliament) of 200 members directly elected for a four-year term; the president is empowered to dissolve the Eduskunta at the prime minister's request

  Electoral system

  Universal direct suffrage over the age of 18; the d'Hondt system of proportional representation is used in 15 multimember constituencies

  National elections

  The last elections were in April 2011 (legislative) and February 2012 (presidential); the next legislative elections are due by April 2015 and the next presidential by February 2018

  Head of state

  President, who is declared elected if he or she receives an absolute majority of votes cast in the first round; failing this, a second round is held between the two leading candidates. Sauli Niinisto took office on March 1st 2012 for his first six-year term

  National government

  Council of State (Valtioneuvosto), which consists of the prime minister and up to 18 ministers. The government that was formed on June 17th 2011 is a coalition of the National Coalition Party, the Social Democratic Party, the Left Alliance, the Green Party, the Swedish People's Party and the Christian Democrats

  Main political parties

  National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK; 44 seats); Social Democratic Party (SDP; 42 seats); The Finns party (PS; 39 seats); Centre Party (KESK; 36 seats); Left Alliance (VAS; 14 seats); Green Party (VIHR; 10 seats); Swedish People's Party (RKP; 9 seats); Christian Democrats of Finland (KD; 6 seats)

  Council of Ministers

  Prime minister: Jyrki Katainen (KOK)

  Key ministers

  Agriculture & forestry: Jari Koskinen (KOK)

  Communications & housing: Krista Kiuru (SDP)

  Culture & sport: Paavo Arhinmaki (VAS)

  Defence: Stefan Wallin (RKP)

  Economic affairs: Jan Vapaavuori (KOK)

  Education & science: Jukka Gustafsson (SDP)

  European affairs & foreign trade: Alexander Stubb (KOK)

  Environment: Ville Niinisto (VIHR)

  Finance: Jutta Urpilainen (SDP)

  Foreign affairs: Erkki Tuomioja (SDP)

  Health & social services: Maria Guzenina-Richardson (SDP)

  Interior: Paivi Rasanen (KD)

  International development: Heidi Hautala (VIHR)

  Justice: Anna-Maja Henriksson (RKP)

  Labour: Lauri Ihalainen (SDP)

  Public administration & local government: Henna Virkkunen (KOK)

  Social affairs & health: Paula Risikko (KOK)

  Transport: Merja Kyllonen (VAS)

  Central bank governor

  Erkki Liikanen

  December 01, 2012

• Outlook

  Finland: Key developments

  Outlook for 2013-17

  • The six-party coalition formed in June 2011 represents a broader spectrum of opinion than is usual, which could make it unstable. However, the Economist Intelligence Unit's central forecast is that it will last out its four-year term.
  • Finland will be a more difficult partner in the euro zone than before the 2011 election, largely owing to the electoral gains of a Eurosceptic party, The Finns.
  • Fiscal policy will remain cautious, with the government implementing moderate spending cuts and tax rises. We expect the budget deficit to shrink gradually to 0.4% by 2017, and government debt to rise but remain low.
  • Finland has been comparatively less affected by the euro zone debt crisis, owing to relatively robust domestic demand, a healthy banking sector, benign public finances and little exposure to the highly indebted euro zone countries.
  • Nonetheless, the crisis has contributed to a slowdown: after expected growth of just 0.1% in 2012 and 0.3% in 2013, we forecast average real GDP growth of 1.8% in 2014-17. A severe deterioration of the euro crisis is a downside risk.
  • Inflation remains elevated. It is forecast to moderate to 2.5% in 2013 from an estimated 3.1% in 2012, but is likely to remain above 2% in later years.

  Review

  • Jyri Hakamies from the National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK), the senior coalition party, stepped down as minister of economic affairs to head the main employers' association, the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK).
  • The former minister of housing, Jan Vapaavuori (also from the KOK), took over Mr Hakamies' role. No major change in economic policy is expected.
  • The prime minister, Jyrki Katainen (KOK), said that further austerity measures might not be introduced before early 2013, if at all. Government party leaders will meet in December to assess the economic outlook.
  • Output of the national economy fell by a working-day adjusted 1% year on year in September, the sharpest year-on-year decline since January 2010.
  • Industrial data disappointed again: industrial output fell by 1.7% year on year in September (working-day-adjusted), while new orders in the manufacturing sector decreased by 7.3% year on year in September.
  • Business confidence deteriorated further in October. Confidence fell in the manufacturing, services and retail trade sectors, while it improved marginally in the construction industry.
  • EU harmonised consumer price inflation rose to 3.5% year on year in October, up from 3.4% in September. It remained well above the euro zone average.

  December 01, 2012

Economy:

• Background

  Finland: Country fact sheet

  Fact sheet

  Annual data	2011a	Historical averages (%)	2007-11
  Population (m)	5.4	Population growth	0.4
  GDP (US$ bn; market exchange rate)	263.4	Real GDP growth	0.5
  GDP (US$ bn; purchasing power parity)	202.6b	Real domestic demand growth	1.3
  GDP per head (US$; market exchange rate)	49,093	Inflation	2.4
  GDP per head (US$; purchasing power parity)	37,768	Current-account balance (% of GDP)	1.9
  Exchange rate (av) €:US$	0.72	FDI inflows (% of GDP)	1.5
  a Actual. b Economist Intelligence Unit estimates.

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  Background: Finland has been an independent republic since 1917. Although its language is different, its social and legal system is similar to that of other Nordic countries. There have traditionally been three main political parties, the Centre Party, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK). These were joined by The Finns, which emerged as the third-largest party at the election in April 2011. Other parties are the Left Alliance (VAS), the Green Party (VIHR) and the Swedish People's Party (RKP). Finland joined the EU in 1995 and the euro zone in 1999. It is an active member of the UN.

  Political structure: The head of state is the president, who is elected for a six-year term in a two-round popular ballot. The Eduskunta (parliament) is elected by citizens aged over 18 and has 200 members, who serve for four years. The most recent election took place in April 2011. A six-party coalition of the KOK (44 seats), the SDP (42), the VAS (14), the VIHR (ten), the RKP (nine) and the Christian Democrats of Finland (KD; six) took office in June 2011.

  Policy issues: The success of The Finns at the general election influences the policy agenda. A controversial issue is and will remain loans to weaker euro zone states, which the party opposes. Finland secured loan collateral for its contributions to the second Greek bail-out and the bail-out of Spanish banks. Finland agreed to the new EU fiscal treaty despite concerns about the treaty's compatibility with the Finnish constitution. The role of free markets in the economy will be the subject of general debate, with The Finns and the SDP sceptical of their benefits, but no major policy change is likely. The coalition will try to narrow the budget deficit, although it is small compared with most EU countries. Despite disagreements, particularly between the KOK and the SDP, compromise has been found on tax rises and public spending cuts. Other important issues are energy, environmental policy, entrepreneurship, employment, research and education. Apart from euro zone loans, other foreign policy issues are relations with NATO (of which Finland is not a member) and with Russia.

  Taxation: Corporation tax was cut to 24.5% at the start of 2012. Standard value-added tax (VAT) is set to be raised from 23% to 24% in January 2013. The top rate of personal income tax is 52%. Capital gains tax is 30% (32% for gains above EUR50,000).

  Foreign trade: Exports and imports of goods and services accounted for 40.7% and 41.4% of GDP, respectively, in 2011. The EU remains Finland's most important trading zone. The current account entered into a small deficit in 2011.

  Major exports 2011	% of total	Major imports 2011	% of total
  Manufactured goods	35.9	Machinery and transport equipment	29.9
  Machinery and transport equipment	29.8	Mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials	21.8
  Mineral fuels, lubricants, and related materials	10.1	Manufactured goods	21.3
  Chemicals and related products, n.e.s.	8.5	Chemicals and related products, n.e.s.	10.3
  Main destinations of exports 2011	% of total	Main origins of imports 2011	% of total
  Sweden	11.8	Russia	18.5
  Germany	9.9	Sweden	14.5
  Russia	9.2	Germany	14.3
  Netherlands	6.7	Netherlands	8.0
  EU	55.6	EU	61.5

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  December 01, 2012

• Structure

  Finland: Economic structure

  Data and charts: Annual trends charts

  
  

  

  December 01, 2012

• Outlook

  Finland: Country outlook

  Finland: Country outlook

  FROM THE ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT

  POLITICAL STABILITY: The governing coalition consists of the National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK), the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the Left Alliance (VAS), the Green Party (VIHR), the Swedish People's Party (RKP) and the Christian Democrats (KD). The Economist Intelligence Unit's central forecast is that the coalition will stay in office until its term ends in April 2015. However, the diversity of the coalition, and in particular the difference between the right-of-centre KOK and left-of-centre SDP and Left Alliance, means that the risk of a government collapse will be higher than usual in traditionally stable Finland. Budget savings for 2013-15 agreed in March 2012 showed that the KOK and the SDP can compromise on divisive issues such as tax increases.

  ELECTION WATCH: At the municipal elections on October 28th 2012, the KOK came first (21.9% of the vote), followed by the SDP (19.6%), the Centre Party (18.7%) and The Finns (12.3%). Although The Finns made large gains (up from 5.4% in 2008), they failed to repeat their surprise result at the general election, as they focused excessively on the euro zone crisis rather than local issues. The rivalry between the KOK and the SDP took centre stage. However, we do not expect this to lead to an early general election (the next one is not due until April 2015).

  INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Finland is the only Nordic member of the euro zone. This has caused controversy, as popular opposition to bail-outs of vulnerable members is strong, reflected in support for the Eurosceptic The Finns. The coalition tried to reassure the public by insisting on (and eventually being granted in early 2012) collateral for Finland's contribution to the second loan facility for Greece and, in July 2012, for the planned bail-out of Spanish banks. Finland's approval of the fiscal treaty agreed by most EU members in late 2011 and early 2012 was controversial within the coalition. The tensions highlight that although Finland remains in favour of EU and euro zone membership, it is likely to maintain a tough stance on debtor countries like Spain and Greece.

  POLICY TRENDS: The breadth of the coalition from right to left means that domestic policymaking will be harder than usual. The coalition agreement focuses mainly on holding down the budget deficit with tax rises and spending cuts. The government also hopes to make efficiency gains through local government reform, such as by merging municipalities. The KOK has been influenced by a paper published by the Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) in September 2010, designed to improve tax and other conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the SDP opposes many of the proposals, the government has agreed on some measures to support business, including:

  ECONOMIC GROWTH: Economic growth is estimated at a meagre 0.1% in 2012. We expect growth of 0.3% in 2013 (recently revised down from 0.9% expected previously). Although weak by Finnish standards, these growth rates are still well above the euro zone averages for both years (-0.4% and -0.2%, respectively). We believe that real GDP growth will then pick up slowly, to average 1.8% a year in 2014-17. Despite Finland's relatively low exposure to the euro zone sovereign debt and banking crisis, a further intensification that could lead to the break-up of the euro area poses a downside risk to our forecast. In this scenario, exports would collapse and Finland would fall into a potentially protracted recession.

  INFLATION: We expect EU harmonised inflation to fall from an estimated 3.1% in 2012 to 2.5% in 2013, well above the euro area average (2.4% and 2.1%, respectively). Inflation should moderate further on average in 2014-17, to 2.4%.

  EXCHANGE RATES: Although not our central forecast, there is a high risk that several countries will leave the euro zone in the next two years. Such fears have led to flight from euro assets and partly explain the volatility of the currency, which depreciated from above US$1.40:EUR1 in August 2011 to a two-year low of US$1.21:EUR1 in July 2012. It then strengthened moderately to US$1.28:EUR1 in mid-November, in response to central bank intervention. Even assuming that the euro survives in its present form, it will remain volatile owing to shifting risk appetite, economic weakness and lower reserve accumulation by Asian economies. We forecast average exchange rates of US$1.26:EUR1 in 2013 and US$1.25:EUR1 in 2014-17, but sharp movements in either direction remain a significant risk.

  EXTERNAL SECTOR: We forecast that the current account will remain in deficit (albeit not a large one) in 2013-17, after reaching an estimated 1.4% of GDP in 2012. A small surplus on merchandise trade should turn into deficit in the second half of the forecast period, as we expect import growth to exceed export growth on average in 2013-17. The income account should return to surplus, but this will be outweighed by small but persistent deficits on services and current transfers.

  December 01, 2012

• Forecast

  Finland: Country forecast summary

  Country forecast overview: Highlights

  • The prime minister, Jyrki Katainen of the National Coalition Party (Conservatives, or KOK), leads a six-party government. The coalition represents a wide spectrum of opinion from left to right, and a joint programme focused on holding down the government deficit has required difficult compromise. The Economist Intelligence Unit's central forecast is that the government will last for its entire four-year term, but the risk of collapse is significant. The Finns, which emerged as a major party at the general election in April 2011, did not join the coalition, owing to its opposition to euro zone bail-outs.
  • Both The Finns and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) are wary of loans for weaker euro zone countries. Finland secured collateral for its contributions to the second Greek bail-out in early 2012 and to the planned bail-out of Spanish banks in July 2012. Finland signed the new EU fiscal treaty in March 2012 despite the SDP's constitutional concerns. These controversies highlight that Finland's support for future moves to maintain the euro zone cannot be taken for granted.
  • We expect the general government balance to remain in deficit throughout the forecast period, but this should moderate from an estimated 1.9% of GDP in 2012 (which is still well below the euro zone threshold of 3%) to 0.4% by 2017. The coalition has introduced modest tax rises and public spending cuts, intended to preserve Finland's AAA sovereign credit rating. However, it has also introduced several tax cuts for companies and measures to improve export credit financing. The public debt/GDP ratio is likely to peak at around 58.7% of GDP in 2015, much lower than in most other euro zone countries, before falling.
  • Although the economy has been relatively more resilient to the euro area economic and debt crises than many other euro zone countries, real GDP growth is expected to slow to an estimated 0.1% in 2012. We forecast only sluggish growth in 2013, of 0.3%. This will be followed by average growth of 1.8% in 2014-17. The economy could fall into a deep recession if the euro zone crisis were to lead to a break-up, although Finland might remain part of a smaller single currency area.
  • We expect inflation to moderate only slightly in 2013, to 2.5% (after an estimated 3.1% in 2012), before averaging 2.4% in 2014-17.
  • The current account swung from surplus until 2010 to a small deficit in 2011, and we forecast that it will continue to record modest deficits during the forecast period as export growth remains fragile.

  

  December 01, 2012

View detailed map

Country Briefing

Land area

303,815 sq km, as well as 34,330 sq km inland water; of the total area, 11.5% is cultivated and 68% is covered by forests

Population

5.4m (December 31st 2010)

Main towns

Population (December 31st 2008)

Helsinki (capital): 576,632

Espoo: 241,565

Tampere: 209,552

Vantaa: 195,397

Climate

Temperate, with long cold winters and short warm summers

Weather in Helsinki

Warmest month, July (1971-2000, average daily minimum 13.7°C and maximum 20.9°C); coldest month, February (1971-2000, average daily minimum -7.7°C and maximum -2.2°C); driest month, May (1971-2000, average rainfall 32mm); wettest month, August (1971-2000, average rainfall 78mm)

Languages

Finnish and Swedish

Weights and measures

Metric system

Currency

The euro (€)

Time

2 hours ahead of GMT

Public holidays

January 1st and 6th, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May 1st, Ascension Day, Midsummer's Eve, December 6th, 24th, 25th and 26th

March 13, 2012