Finland

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

Around 1.48 percent of its GDP, or nearly US$4 billion is yearly spent on its military. This makes Finland the 46th highest military spender in the world and represents 0.2 percent of total global military expenditure.

Before Finland became a part of NATO, it had an obligatory conscription for males over the age of 18 in which they have to serve in the Army between a half and one year. Aside from the conscription, Finland has a small and professional army and has the main task of defending its territorial integrity.

Military membership

And it is a member of 13 international military organizations which makes it the 16th most militarily interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Common Security and Defence Policy
NATO
Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation
Permanent Structured Cooperation
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Conference on Disarmament
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

Military membership

International wars

Finland has partaken in four international wars since its independence. These are:

World War I 1914-1918
Russian Civil War 1917-1911
Aunus expedition 1919-1919
World War II 1939-1945

Wassenaar Arrangement
Nuclear Suppliers Group
Australia Group
Missile Technology Control Regime
International Atomic Energy Agency

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

It is the most politically interconnected state in the world being a member of 21 international political organizations. These are:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
European Union
the Council of Europe
Energy Community
Council of the Baltic Sea States
HELCOM (Helsinki Commission)
Nordic Council
Northern Dimension Partnership in Public Health and Social Well-being (NDPHS)
European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Union for the Mediterranean
Arctic Council
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy
UNIDROIT

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Because of free and fair elections as well as a high transparency in government activities, Finland is the sixth most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Finland are in the form of a parliamentary representative democracy where the president is head of state as well as head of Defence. The prime minister is head of government.

International Criminal Court
Interpol
Permanent Court of Arbitration
Western European and Others Group
International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance
World Organization for Animal Health

If you liked this page, and you want to support us, please take a look at the support options on the top bar.

If you want to know more about other states, click on the flag on the right to discover France.

Known for its saunas as well as its Arctic forests, the name of Finland is derived from German and translates to the land of the Finns. Until the 12th century, Finland was inhabited by the Sami people which were mainly Hunter gatherers. In the second half of the 12th century, Sweden conquered the Finnish territory and incorporated it into the Swedish kingdom. At the start of the 19th century, it became part of the Russian Empire until the start of the Russian Revolution When Finland's declared its independence in 1917. After a failed attempt by the Soviet Union to reconquer Finland in 1939, Finland joined Nazi Germany in operation Barbarossa and jointly attacked the Soviet Union. After the failed attack, Finland ceded a part of its territory to the Soviet Union and established a nonaggression pact which is known as Finlandization. However, in 2023, Finland has joined the NATO alliance as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

The southern part of Finland is part of the European plain which mainly consists of a densely forested flat terrain. Its northern part is also densely forested but consists of a mountain range which it shares with Sweden to its west, Norway to its north and Russia to its east.

It is the 65th largest state in the world with a total surface area of 340,116 square kilometers or 131,319 square miles. This makes Finland slightly smaller than Congo Brazzaville and slightly larger than Vietnam.

It is also a water rich state and is known to have more than 180,000 lakes. With a total surface area of 34,502 square kilometers or 13,316 square miles, Finland is the 18th state with the highest amount of water.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

In total, around 10.2 percent of its surface is covered by water.

The climate of Finland is characterized by being sub-Arctic. This means that it experiences relatively harsh winters and mild summers. There is a larger difference between the northern and southern part of Finland. Freezing temperatures occur for 100 days per year in the southern part while they occur for more than 200 days in the northern part. The average temperature of Finland is 2.2 degrees Celsius or 36 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it the 192nd warmest state in the world.

During the summer period from June to August, the average temperature goes up to 6.1 degrees Celsius or 43 degrees Fahrenheit.

During its winter period which spans from December until February, the average temperature goes down to -0.5 degrees Celsius or 31.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

Despite having many lakes, the amount of rainfall is relatively low. As the 153rd state with the highest amount of rainfall, rainfall in Finland is 55.5 centimetres or 21.8 inches per year.

The capital of Finland, Helsinki, is home to 700,000 people. The capital that is closest located to Helsinki is Tallinn Estonia with a distance of 93.4 kilometers or 58.1 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Helsinki is Wellington New Zealand with a distance of 17,071 kilometers or 10,607 miles.

The economy of Finland is characterized by being a free market economy. Since its independence, Finland has developed its economy into a high developed and globally integrated economy. As a result of its integration, it has felt the harsh consequences of the economic crisis of 2008 and has seen a slow recovery over the following 10 years. Most of its exports come the form of petroleum related products, machinery as well as paper. This is largely due to the densely forested areas that provide enough natural resources to rank Finland among the highest paper producing states in the world. Most of its exports go to Germany and Sweden which combined make up 25 percent of total exports. Most of its imports come from Germany Sweden and the Russian Federation which combined are responsible for 40 percent of its total imports.

Finland is the seventh most economically interconnected state in the world and is a member of 22 international economic organizations. It is a member of the following organizations:

African development Bank
Asian Development Bank
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Bank for International Settlements
Council of Europe Development Bank
Financial Action Task Force
Inter-American Development Bank
International Energy Agency
International Monetary Fund
Nordic Development Fund
Nordic Investment Bank
OECD - Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
TRACECA Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia
International Energy Agency
Energy Charter Treaty
Energy Community
Nuclear Energy Agency
International Renewable Energy Agency
Advisory Centre on World Trade Organization Law

Its GDP is the 19th highest in the world and with US$850 billion it is responsible for one percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$2.5 million and US$6.5 million per square mile. This makes Finland the 43rd highest in the world.

Its GDP per capita is the 17th highest in the world and stands at US$46,200.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is the 26th highest in the world and is around US$48,000.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

The population of Finland is the 114th highest in the world and stands at 5.5 million people. Around 87 percent of the population are native Finnish and speak Finnish, which is, as well as Swedish its official language. Swedish is spoken by around five percent of the population followed by Russian which is spoken by 1.5 percent of the population. Because of the high temperature differences between its northern and southern part, around 90 percent of its population lives in its southern part.

It has one of the lowest population densities in the world. With a rank of 172, it has a population density of 16 people per square kilometer or 42 people per square mile.

Around five percent, or 300,000 people have migrated from Finland to other states. This makes Finland the 128th state with the highest number of emigrants. Around half of total emigration goes to neighbouring Sweden. The remaining emigrants are mainly spread out throughout Western Europe and north America.

Around 375,000 people have migrated to Finland which represents around seven percent of the total population. Finland has a deterrent migration policy for non-EU members which severely limits the job opportunities for immigrants. The majority of immigrants that are allowed into Finland are either through marriage or as political refugees. Most of its immigrants are from the bordering states as well as southeast Asia.

Finland has the 28th highest literacy rate in the world which stands at 98.9 percent of the total population. This percentage is largely due to the fact that school is compulsory between the ages of six and 18.

Finland has also the 27th highest life expectancy with an average age of 82.5 years. Women reach the age of 85.1 years while men reach the age of 79.8 years. Some contributors to this high life expectancy are a high-performing health care system which is heavily funded by the Finnish government as well as its geographical location which lowers the chances of mosquito borne diseases.

Finland is the 77th most multi religious state in the world.

Christianity is the largest religion in Finland with around 80 percent. The majority of its Christian population adheres to the evangelic and Lutheran church of Finland with the remaining two percent adhering to the Finnish Orthodox Church and the Catholic church. With this percentage, Finland is the 53rd most Christian state in the world.

Islam is the third largest group in Finland and represents around 1.4 percent of the population. This population is mainly attracted from the middle east at the end of the 20th century in order to fill the market for low skilled labour.

Buddhism is practiced by 0.07 percent of the population and has around 10,000 followers. There are around 50 different Buddhist organizations spread out throughout Finland's with the majority located in its capital.

Hinduism is also practiced by 0.07 percent of the population and mainly originate from Nepal Sri Lanka and India. Most Hindus have been present in Finland for less than 30 years and were mainly attracted by the Finnish government for job opportunities in its tech sector.

Jews have been present in Finland for more than 300 years. At present, around 0.04 percent of the population is Jewish with 80 percent located in Helsinki.

Other religions account for 0.06 percent of the population and are mainly in the form of neopaganism.

Irreligion is the second largest group in Finland and is around 12.3 percent of the population. This number has steadily risen since it was made possible to denounce any religion in writing. Largest decline was seen in the Finnish Lutheran church which saw a loss of 12 percent.