FINLAND

NATURAL ENVIRONMENT: Finland’s coastline is low, rocky, and deeply indented by small bays and inlets. Most of Finland’s major cities and cultivated land lie along the nation’s coastal plain. Projecting southwest into the Baltic Sea is the Ahvenanmaa archipelago, which consists of some 6,500 islands. Only about 80 of the islands are inhabited. Finland’s interior is heavily forested, and its surface is a tangle of lakes, rivers, swamps, and bogs. Glacial deposits called eskers, composed of sand, gravel, and boulders, form low ridges that crisscross the land. The stony ridges have long served as transportation routes through the thousands of lakes that cover the country. The deposits also dammed many of Finland’s ancient valleys and disrupted river drainages. These disruptions created many of the waterfalls and rapids that give Finland rich waterpower resources. Geographers estimate that Finland has more than 60,000 lakes. Most of the lakes lie in central and southern Finland in an area called the Lake District. Within the Lake District, about half the total area is covered by water. Rivers and natural channels link the lakes together in intricate chains. Among the most important lakes is Lake Saimaa, part of an extensive lake system in the southeast. This system forms a drainage that is very important for floating timber to mills and transporting goods to areas not served by rail or roads. Other major lakes include Inarijärvi and Päijänne. Among the principal rivers are the Torneälven, Muonio, Kemijoki, and Oulu. Only the Oulu is navigable by large craft. Productive forestland is the most valuable natural resource of Finland. Spruce, pine, and silver birch are the principal trees used to manufacture wood and pulp and paper products. Finland lacks coal and petroleum resources and is a net importer of energy resources. However, Finland does have significant deposits of peat, which is cut from the numerous peat bogs that cover much of the north. Peat is an important heat source for homes, and it provides about 7 percent of Finland’s electricity needs. In addition, Finland’s many watersheds endow the country with significant waterpower resources. In 2003, 12 percent of Finland’s annual electric-power production was supplied by hydroelectric plants. Finland also has several rich deposits of metallic ores from which copper, zinc, iron, and nickel are extracted. Lead, vanadium, silver, and gold are also mined commercially. Granite and limestone are the most abundant nonmetallic minerals.
ECONOMY: Finland has a highly industrialized economy based on abundant forest resources, metalworking and engineering, and high technology, especially the large telecommunications sector. Finns enjoy a high standard of living, and the nation’s business climate is considered highly competitive. Trade is central to Finland’s economy. Major exports, including wood products, metals, and electronic goods, account for about one-third of Finland’s gross domestic product. Apart from timber and some minerals, Finland is highly dependent on imports of raw materials and energy. Finland voided its longstanding friendship treaty with the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, following the collapse of that country. In 1992 Finland applied for membership in the European Community, becoming a full member in 1995. Finns have readily embraced closer integration with Europe, setting them somewhat apart from Denmark and Sweden, the other Nordic EU member states. In 2002 Finland replaced its national currency with the euro, the single currency of the EU. In doing so, Finland became the only Nordic country to adopt the euro.
AGRICULTURE: Climactic conditions and the lack of good soils greatly limit the amount of land available for cultivation. Nearly all land suitable for farming is found in the fertile coastal regions of the southwest. Only 7 percent of the total land area of Finland is under cultivation. The large majority of the farms are less than 20 hectares in size. Dairy farming is the principal agricultural activity. Hay and other fodder crops are grown to feed dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep, and other livestock. The principal food crops are wheat, rye, barley, oats, potatoes, and sugar beets. In colder northern regions, the land is used mainly for grazing sheep and cattle.