Finland

C

Climate

Because Finland lies above the 60th parallel, summer days are long and cool and winter days are short and cold. During summer, daylight lasts as long as 19 hours a day in the far south. In the Arctic areas of the far north, there is continuous daylight for 73 days, making Finland one of the lands of the “midnight sun.” In winter, the sun does not rise above the horizon for 51 days.

In the south, the climate is moderated by the proximity of the sea. The average July temperature along the southern coast is 16°C (60°F); in February the average is about -9°C (about 16°F). Precipitation (including snow and rain) averages about 460 mm (about 18 in) in the north and 710 mm (28 in) in the south. Light snow covers the ground for four or five months of the year in the south and seven or eight months in the north. Throughout the year, however, the weather is subject to sudden changes from day to day, and frosts are a hazard to farming, even in summer.

D

Natural Resources

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.

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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.

E

Environmental Issues

Acid rain, which damages buildings, soils, forests, and fish and other wildlife, is one of the major environmental issues facing Finland. The country’s sulfur dioxide (see sulfur) emissions fell steadily in the late 20th century after the implementation of the United Nations (UN) Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) Sulfur Protocols. However, Finland continues to receive acid-rain-causing pollutants from beyond its borders.

Air quality in Finland is better than in most other European countries. However, substantial problems do exist as a result of emissions from motor vehicles and industrial sources. The vast majority of the population—and, consequently, the sources of air pollution—is concentrated in urban areas in the southwest part of the country.

Forest covers 72 percent of the country, making Finland the most densely forested European country. The government regulates the timber industry to maintain the country’s valuable forest resources, and Finland sustains a remarkably low rate of deforestation each year.

With more than 60,000 lakes, Finland has vast areas of wetlands, which provide critical habitat for many bird and animal species. During the 20th century, Finland’s wetlands diminished considerably, in part as a result of peat mining and of draining for agriculture. Most of Finland’s lakes are shallow, making them particularly susceptible to damage from acid rain.

III

People

Ethnic Finns constitute about 93 percent of the population. People of Swedish descent make up about 6 percent. About 2,500 Saami inhabit the Arctic lands of the far north. Other minority groups, including Russians, make up less than 1 percent of Finland’s population. Immigration to Finland increased significantly beginning in the 1990s. Nevertheless, foreign-born residents constitute only about 2 percent of the total population, making Finland the most ethnically homogenous country in the European Union (EU).

The Finns are a people of unknown geographic origin. They have lived in Finland and in neighboring parts of Russia, Estonia, and Latvia for several thousand years. The Saami, a formerly nomadic people, occupy Saamiland—an area encompassing the northernmost portions of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia.

The Swedes, a Scandinavian people who controlled Finland from the 13th century until the early 19th century, greatly influenced the development of Finnish culture and traditions. In the Ahvenanmaa archipelago and in some areas along the southwestern coast the people are still of mainly Swedish ancestry. Throughout the rest of the country, Finns and Swedes have intermingled and are generally indistinguishable.

The population of Finland is 5,244,749 (2008 estimate). A density of 17 persons per sq km (45 per sq mi) makes Finland one of the most sparsely inhabited countries in Europe. Some 61 percent of the population is urban. More than two-thirds of the population resides in the southern third of the country. Oulu, in west central Finland, is the only city with a population exceeding 100,000 that is not located in the south.

A

Language and Religion

Finnish and Swedish are both official languages in Finland. About 93 percent of the population speaks Finnish, a Finno-Ugric language (see Finnish Language). About 6 percent of the people speak Swedish (see Swedish Language). The Saami speak Saami, a dialect of Finnish.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland is the principal national church. Its members make up 86 percent of the population. A small and declining minority of Finns (about 1 percent) belong to the Finnish Orthodox Church, still a national church (see Orthodox Church). Freedom of worship is guaranteed to all faiths.

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