Finland's military importance arises from its
geographic
position. As a small country, it poses no military threat
to its
neighbors, but at times in the past larger powers have
considered
its possession important for their security. The exposed
western
position of the tsarist capital, St. Petersburg, caused
Russian
officials to strive for control of Finland. Later, Soviet
strategists were likewise convinced that Leningrad's
security
required Finland's subjugation and therefore mounted
invasions.
In the postwar period, Finland's military importance
increased,
for developments in weapons technology and Soviet basing
policies
caused the country to figure not only in the strategic
concerns
of its giant eastern neighbor, but also in those of the
North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
The region itself was peaceful. Sweden, Finland's
neighbor to
the west, was nonaligned and had a long tradition of
friendly
foreign relations. The militarily vital regions of Central
Europe
to the south were relatively distant, and they were
separated
from Finland by the Baltic Sea. In the high north, where
Finland
and Norway had a common border, Norway had prohibited
operations
by other NATO forces in peacetime, and it did not permit
nuclear
weapons or Allied bases on its territory. Denmark,
likewise part
of NATO, attached these same restrictions to its
membership in
the alliance.
Finland's military importance grew from the fact that,
although it formed--along with Sweden--a vast zone of
neutrality
between the forces of the Warsaw Pact and NATO, the
country was
adjacent to areas of crucial importance to the
superpowers. The
Soviet Union maintained its traditional watchfulness over
the
Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, which controlled
access to
the Leningrad region with its large population and high
concentration of vital industry. Although the Soviet Union
exercised military domination over the southern shores of
these
waters, it was highly sensitive to the position of
Finland, which
occupied the northern shore and strategically significant
island
groups.
Contiguous to Finland's northern border is the Kola
Peninsula, where some of the Soviet Union's most important
military installations were located. The only part of the
Soviet
coastline providing ice-free access to the Atlantic year
round,
the peninsula's harbors served as home ports of the Soviet
northern fleet and of most of its nuclear ballistic
missile
submarines patrolling the North Atlantic. In the event of
hostilities, the Soviets would regard securing the
northern
Norwegian coast as essential to ensure that their surface
and
submarine fleets could reach the North Atlantic, where
they could
disrupt major supply routes for United States forces in
Europe.
Because of the importance of the Soviet military complexes
on the
Kola Peninsula, NATO almost certainly would have to view
them as
prime wartime targets. Also crucial to the alliance would
be
confining, in the Barents Sea, whatever Soviet naval
assets
survived attack. Thus, in the event of hostilities, the
superpowers would commit considerable military resources
to this
region.
The official Finnish view held that the country was
unlikely
to be the victim of an isolated attack upon its territory,
but
rather that any military action directed against Finland
would
almost certainly have to be part of a wider conflict
between East
and West. Finnish military planners did not regard their
country
as having strategic targets justifying military
aggression, but
they believed that foreign powers might try to seize
Finnish
territory to use it as a transit route to reach essential
targets.
Thus, Finnish Lapland was regarded as a possible
invasion
route for either NATO forces aiming at the Murmansk area
or
Soviet forces seeking to occupy northern Norway. For the
Allies,
however, the difficulties of mounting a land attack across
northern Scandinavia against Soviet military bases would
be
enormous. For this reason, military analysts judged that
NATO
operations in the area would more likely be air-based and
seabased .
Finnish strategists had traditionally regarded the wide
buffer zone formed by Finnish and Swedish air space as a
deterrent to attack, because it increased the flight time
of
attacking aircraft to potential targets and thereby
reduced the
operational time in the target area. Since the deployment
of
cruise missiles in the 1980s, however, there has been a
threat to
the inviolability of Finnish air space that did not
require
intrusions on its land and sea territories. Soviet
sensitivity
over the cruise missile threat underscored the
significance of
this problem.
Military planners considered southern Finland and the
Aland
Islands to be lesser strategic areas, except in the event
of a
Soviet move against southern Norway through Sweden, and
they saw
a NATO thrust against Leningrad through the Baltic Sea as
implausible. Such an operation would necessitate control
of the
Danish Straits and of the constricted Baltic itself
against
strong Soviet land, naval, and air forces. Finland was,
however,
obliged by treaty to secure the Aland Islands in the event
of war
to prevent their military use by other powers. This
obligation
underscored another aspect of Finland's defense
environment. War
between the power blocs could well mean a preemptive
attack on
Finland to secure it and to prevent use of its territory
by the
enemy.
Although Finnish strategists did not publicly emphasize
the
military threat represented by the Soviet Union, it was
evident
that the strong Soviet military presence near their shared
border, 1,200 kilometers in length, was a prime source of
concern. According to a study by the United States
Department of
Defense in 1988, Soviet conventional forces assigned to
the
Northwestern Theater of Military Operations, an area that
included Finland, consisted of 12 divisions, 1,350 tanks,
and 160
tactical aircraft. Although not at full strength, these
ground
forces could be mobilized quickly for a drive into
southern
Finland as a preemptive move to deepen Soviet defenses of
Leningrad and adjacent areas in a crisis situation.
Another contingency that Finnish planners needed to
anticipate was the crossing of northern Finland by Soviet
land
forces as part of an attack aimed at securing the coast of
northern Norway and thereby controlling the sea approaches
to the
Kola military complex. In the Pentagon's judgment, Soviet
operations were likely to include a thrust against
northern
Norway in which ground forces, supported by land-based air
and
naval amphibious forces, would try to seize critical
airfields
and to destroy early warning installations. The ground
forces
balance significantly favored the Soviets in this area,
and
probably the air force balance did as well. Such an
operation
would, nevertheless, be extremely arduous in view of the
paucity
of east-west road links and the austere climate and
terrain.
If Finland is unlucky in its strategic location, as a
theater
of war, its physical characteristics present exceptional
conditions that heavily favor a defending army. Only a few
regions are conducive to the maneuvering of modern ground
forces.
These are primarily in the coastal areas of southern,
southwestern, and western Finland, where the main
administrative
and industrial centers, a majority of the population, and
the
most highly developed transport networks are located. The
vast
regions of central and eastern Finland are areas of
rivers,
lakes, and forests. With swamps covering as much as 50
percent to
60 percent of some parts of this territory, military
operations
would be constricted to the few roads
(see Geography
, ch. 2;
Transportation and Communications
, ch. 3). Even specially
designed rough-terrain vehicles would be greatly hampered
in
these areas.
In Lapland, above the Arctic Circle, climatic
conditions are
especially severe. Beginning in November, the long Arctic
night
hampers winter activity. Frost, snow, and cold (-30°C to
-35°C)
can paralyze the operations of large bodies of troops and
their
air support, unless they are specially trained and
equipped. In
mountainous parts of Lapland, ground operations would also
be
forced in the direction of the few routes through passes,
and the
more open northern regions provide little cover for ground
forces.
An attack on Finland by sea would be severely hampered
by the
jagged coastline of shallow bays, rocks, and clusters of
islands.
The few narrow ship passages would be heavily defended by
modern
coast artillery emplaced on cliffs, by highly maneuverable
missile boats, and by extensive minefields. The thick ice
cover
would virtually preclude the winter operation of warships
near
Finnish territorial waters.
|
Background | | Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.
|
|
Location | | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia
|
|
Area(sq km) | | total: 338,145 sq km land: 303,815 sq km water: 34,330 sq km
|
|
Geographic coordinates | | 64 00 N, 26 00 E
|
|
Land boundaries(km) | | total: 2,654 km border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,313 km
|
|
Coastline(km) | | 1,250 km
|
|
Climate | | cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes
|
|
Elevation extremes(m) | | lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m
|
|
Natural resources | | timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone
|
|
Land use(%) | | arable land: 6.54% permanent crops: 0.02% other: 93.44% (2005)
|
|
Irrigated land(sq km) | | 640 sq km (2003)
|
|
Total renewable water resources(cu km) | | 110 cu km (2005)
|
|
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural) | | total: 2.33 cu km/yr (14%/84%/3%) per capita: 444 cu m/yr (1999)
|
|
Natural hazards | | NA
|
|
Environment - current issues | | air pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations
|
|
Environment - international agreements | | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
|
|
Geography - note | | long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain
|
|
Population | | 5,250,275 (July 2009 est.)
|
|
Age structure(%) | | 0-14 years: 16.4% (male 438,425/female 422,777) 15-64 years: 66.8% (male 1,773,495/female 1,732,792) 65 years and over: 16.8% (male 357,811/female 524,975) (2009 est.)
|
|
Median age(years) | | total: 42.1 years male: 40.5 years female: 43.7 years (2009 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate(%) | | 0.098% (2009 est.)
|
|
Birth rate(births/1,000 population) | | 10.38 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
|
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population) | | 10.07 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)
|
|
Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population) | | 0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
|
|
Urbanization(%) | | urban population: 63% of total population (2008) rate of urbanization: 0.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
|
|
Sex ratio(male(s)/female) | | at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births) | | total: 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth(years) | | total population: 78.97 years male: 75.48 years female: 82.61 years (2009 est.)
|
|
Total fertility rate(children born/woman) | | 1.73 children born/woman (2009 est.)
|
|
Nationality | | noun: Finn(s) adjective: Finnish
|
|
Ethnic groups(%) | | Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006)
|
|
Religions(%) | | Lutheran Church of Finland 82.5%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 15.1% (2006)
|
|
Languages(%) | | Finnish 91.2% (official), Swedish 5.5% (official), other 3.3% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2007)
|
|
Country name | | conventional long form: Republic of Finland conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland local short form: Suomi/Finland
|
|
Government type | | republic
|
|
Capital | | name: Helsinki geographic coordinates: 60 10 N, 24 56 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
|
|
Administrative divisions | | 6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Ahvenanmaan Laani (Aland), Etela-Suomen Laani (Southern Finland), Ita-Suomen Laani (Eastern Finland), Lansi-Suomen Laani (Western Finland), Lapin Laani (Lapland), Oulun Laani
|
|
Constitution | | 1-Mar-00
|
|
Legal system | | civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
|
|
Suffrage | | 18 years of age; universal
|
|
Executive branch | | chief of state: President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Jyrki KATAINEN (since 19 April 2007) cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2012); the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister from the majority party or the majority coalition after parliamentary elections and the parliament must approve the appointment; Prime Minister VANHANEN reelected 17 April 2007 election results: percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 46.3%, Sauli NIINISTO (Kok) 24.1%, Matti VANHANEN (Kesk) 18.6%, Heidi HAUTALA (VIHR) 3.5%; a runoff election between HALONEN and NIINISTO was held 29 January 2006 - HALONEN 51.8%, NIINISTO 48.2%; Matti VANHANEN reelected prime minister; election results 121-71 note: government coalition - Kesk, KOK, VIHR, and SFP
|
|
Legislative branch | | unicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 18 March 2007 (next to be held March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - Kesk 23.1%, Kok 22.3%, SDP 21.4%, VAS 8.8%, VIHR 8.5%, KD 4.9%, SFP 4.5%, True Finns 4.1%, other 3.4%; seats by party - Kesk 51, Kok 50, SDP 45, VAS 17, VIHR 15, SFP 9, KD 7, True Finns 5, other 1
|
|
Judicial branch | | Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president)
|
|
International organization participation | | ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
|
|
Flag description | | white with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag); the blue represents the thousands of lakes scattered across the country, while the white is for the snow that covers the land in winter
|
|
Economy - overview | | Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Trade is important; Finland's ratio of exports to GDP has risen from a quarter to 37% over the past 15 years. Finland excels in high-tech exports such as mobile phones. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Although Finland has been one of the best performing economies within the EU in recent years and its banks and financial markets have avoided the worst of global financial crisis, the world slowdown has hit export growth and domestic demand and will serve as a brake on economic growth in 2009 and 2010. The slowdown of construction, other investment, and exports will cause unemployment to rise. During 2009, unemployment will climb to over 8% of the labor force. Long-term challenges include the need to address a rapidly aging population and decreasing productivity that threaten competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth.
|
|
GDP (purchasing power parity) | | $194 billion (2008 est.) $192.4 billion (2007 est.) $184.8 billion (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate) | | $271.9 billion (2008 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate(%) | | 0.8% (2008 est.) 4.1% (2007 est.) 4.9% (2006 est.)
|
|
GDP - per capita (PPP) | | $37,000 (2008 est.) $36,700 (2007 est.) $35,300 (2006 est.) note: data are in 2008 US dollars
|
|
GDP - composition by sector(%) | | agriculture: 2.8% industry: 32.4% services: 64.9% (2008 est.)
|
|
Labor force | | 2.703 million (2008 est.)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation(%) | | agriculture and forestry 4.5%, industry 18.3%, construction 7.3%, commerce 16%, finance, insurance, and business services 14.5%, transport and communications 7%, public services 32.4% (2008)
|
|
Unemployment rate(%) | | 6.4% (2008 est.) 6.9% (2007 est.)
|
|
Population below poverty line(%) | | NA%
|
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%) | | lowest 10%: 3.6% highest 10%: 24.7% (2007)
|
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index | | 29.5 (2007) 25.6 (1991)
|
|
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP) | | 20.6% of GDP (2008 est.)
|
|
Budget | | revenues: $143.8 billion expenditures: $132.3 billion (2008 est.)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%) | | 4.1% (2008 est.) 2.5% (2007 est.)
|
|
Stock of money | | $NA (31December 2008) $NA (31 December 2007) note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 16 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money and quasi money circulating within their own borders
|
|
Stock of quasi money | | $NA (31 December 2008) $NA (31 December 2007)
|
|
Stock of domestic credit | | $241.1 billion (31 December 2008) $225.4 billion (31 December 2007)
|
|
Market value of publicly traded shares | | $NA (31 December 2008) $369.2 billion (31 December 2007) $265.5 billion (31 December 2006)
|
|
Public debt(% of GDP) | | 33.7% of GDP (2008 est.) 46.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
|
|
Agriculture - products | | barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish
|
|
Industries | | metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing
|
|
Industrial production growth rate(%) | | 0.4% (2008 est.)
|
|
Current account balance | | $5.518 billion (2008 est.) $10.12 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports | | $96.62 billion (2008 est.) $90.2 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities(%) | | electrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals; timber
|
|
Exports - partners(%) | | Russia 11.6%, Sweden 10%, Germany 10%, US 6.4%, UK 5.5%, Netherlands 5.1% (2008)
|
|
Imports | | $87.51 billion (2008 est.) $78.22 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities(%) | | foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains
|
|
Imports - partners(%) | | Russia 16.3%, Germany 15.7%, Sweden 13.6%, Netherlands 6.3%, China 5.1%, UK 4.2% (2008)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $8.346 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $8.385 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Debt - external | | $339.5 billion (31 December 2008) $314.1 billion (31 December 2007)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | | $84.44 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $88.69 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | | $116 billion (31 December 2008 est.) $114.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Exchange rates | | euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
|
|
Currency (code) | | euro (EUR)
|
|
Telephones - main lines in use | | 1.65 million (2008)
|
|
Telephones - mobile cellular | | 6.83 million (2008)
|
|
Telephone system | | general assessment: modern system with excellent service domestic: digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs international: country code - 358; submarine cables provide links to Estonia and Sweden; satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)
|
|
Internet country code | | .fi; note - Aland Islands assigned .ax
|
|
Internet users | | 4.383 million (2008)
|
|
Airports | | 148 (2009)
|
|
Pipelines(km) | | gas 694 km (2008)
|
|
Roadways(km) | | total: 78,141 km paved: 50,914 km (includes 700 km of expressways) unpaved: 27,227 km (2009)
|
|
Ports and terminals | | Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Naantali, Pori, Raahe, Rauma, Turku
|
|
Military branches | | Finnish Defense Forces (FDF): Army, Navy (includes Coastal Defense Forces), Air Force (Suomen Ilmavoimat) (2007)
|
|
Military service age and obligation(years of age) | | 18 years of age for male voluntary and compulsory - and female voluntary - national military and nonmilitary service; service obligation 6-12 months; mandatory retirement at age 60 (2008)
|
|
Manpower available for military service | | males age 16-49: 1,169,910 females age 16-49: 1,121,187 (2008 est.)
|
|
Manpower fit for military service | | males age 16-49: 962,479 females age 16-49: 920,297 (2009 est.)
|
|
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually | | male: 33,784 female: 32,621 (2009 est.)
|
|
Military expenditures(% of GDP) | | 2% of GDP (2005 est.)
|
|
Disputes - international | | various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands
|
|
Electricity - production(kWh) | | 77.24 billion kWh (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production by source(%) | | fossil fuel: 39% hydro: 18.7% nuclear: 30.4% other: 11.8% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption(kWh) | | 86.9 billion kWh (2008)
|
|
Electricity - exports(kWh) | | 3.335 billion kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Electricity - imports(kWh) | | 16.11 billion kWh (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - production(bbl/day) | | 9,789 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - consumption(bbl/day) | | 215,600 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports(bbl/day) | | 133,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Oil - imports(bbl/day) | | 347,400 bbl/day (2008 est.)
|
|
Economic aid - donor | | ODA, $1.023 billion (2007)
|
|
Oil - proved reserves(bbl) | | 0 bbl
|
|
Natural gas - production(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption(cu m) | | 4.735 billion cu m (2008 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports(cu m) | | 0 cu m (2008)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m) | | 0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%) | | less than 0.1% (2007 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | | 2,400 (2007 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths | | fewer than 100 (2003 est.)
|
|
Literacy(%) | | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.)
|
|
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years) | | total: 17 years male: 17 years female: 18 years (2006)
|
|
Education expenditures(% of GDP) | | 6.4% of GDP (2005)
|