After examining the position of women around the world,
the
Washington-based Population Crisis Committee reported in
1988
that Finland, slightly behind top-ranked Sweden and just
ahead of
the United States, was one of the very best places in
which a
woman could live. The group reached this conclusion after
examining the health, educational, economic, and legal
conditions
that affect women's lives.
When compared with women of other nations, Finnish
women, who
accounted for just over 50 percent of the population in
the mid1980s , did have a privileged place
(see
fig. 10). They
were the
first in Europe to gain the franchise, and by the 1980s
they
routinely constituted about one-third of the membership of
the
Eduskunta (parliament) and held several ministerial posts.
In the
1980s, about 75 percent of adult women worked outside the
home;
they made up about 48 percent of the work force. Finnish
women
were as well educated as their male counterparts, and, in
some
cases, the number of women studying at the university
level, for
example, were slightly ahead of the number of men. In
addition to
an expanding welfare system, which since World War II had
come to
provide them with substantial assistance in the area of
childbearing and child-rearing, women had made notable
legislative
gains that brought them closer to full equality with men.
In 1972 the Council for Equality was established to
advise
lawmakers on methods for realizing full legal equality for
women.
In 1983 legislation arranged that both parents were to
have equal
rights for custody of their children. A year later, women
were
granted equal rights in the establishment of their
children's
nationality. Henceforth any child born of a Finnish woman
would
have Finnish citizenship. After a very heated national
debate,
legislation was passed in 1985 that gave women an equal
right to
decide what surname or surnames they and their children
would
use. These advances were capped by a law that went into
effect in
early 1987 forbidding any discrimination on the basis of
sex and
providing protection against it. Once these laws were
passed,
Finnish authorities signed the United Nations Convention
on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,
in
1986.
In a number of areas, however, the country's small
feminist
movement maintained that the circumstances in which
Finnish women
lived needed to be improved. Most striking was the
disparity in
wages. Although women made up just under half the work
force and
had a tradition of working outside the home, they earned
only
about two-thirds of the wages paid to men. Occupations in
which
women predominated, such as those of retail and office
personnel,
were poorly paid in contrast to those in which men
constituted
the majority. Despite the sexes' equal educational
attainments,
and despite a society where sexual differentiation played
a
smaller role than it did in many other countries,
occupational
segregation in Finland was marked. In few of the twenty
most
common occupations were the two sexes equally represented.
Only
in occupations relating to agriculture, forestry, and
school
teaching was a rough parity approached, and as few as 6
percent
of Finns worked in jobs where 40 to 60 percent of workers
were of
the opposite sex. Studies also found that equal
educational
levels did not--in any category of training--prevent
women's
wages from lagging behind those paid to men. Women tended
to
occupy lower positions, while males were more often
supervisors
or managers. This was the case everywhere, whether in
schools or
universities, in business, in the civil service, or in
politics
at both the local level and the national level.
In addition to their occupying secondary position in
the
workplace, women had longer workdays because they
performed a
greater share of household tasks than did men. On the
average,
their workweek outside the home was several hours shorter
than
men's because a greater portion of them were employed only
parttime or worked in the service sector where hours were
shorter
than they were in manufacturing. Studies have found,
however,
that women spent about twice as much time on housework as
men--
about three hours and forty minutes a day, compared with
one hour
and fifty minutes for men. Men did twice as many household
repairs and about an equal amount of shopping, but they
devoted
only one-third to one-fourth as much time to cleaning,
cooking,
and caring for children. Given that the bulk of family
chores
fell to women, and that they were five times more likely
than men
to head a single-parent family, the shortcomings of
Finland's
child day-care system affected women more than it did men.
The Equality Law that went into effect in 1987
committed the
country to achieving full equality for women. In the late
1980s,
there was a timetable listing specific goals to be
achieved
during the remainder of the twentieth century. The
emphasis was
to be equality for everyone, rather than protection for
women.
Efforts were undertaken not only to place women in
occupations
dominated by males, but also to bring males into fields
traditionally believed to belong to the women's sphere,
such as
child care and elementary school teaching. Another aim was
for
women to occupy a more equal share of decision-making
positions.
|
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)
|
