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Finland-The Cold War and the Treaty of 1948

Finland Index

The Finnish statesman Juho Kusti Paasikivi was a leading proponent of the relationship between Finland and the Soviet Union that permitted Finland's postwar development. For decades, Paasikivi had been the leading noncommunist Finn advocating reconciliation with the Soviet Union. Before World War I, he had been on Old Finn and a Compliant (see The Era of Russification , this ch.), who advocated accommodation with Russification. In the negotiations over the Treaty of Dorpat in 1920, he had argued for drawing Finland's border farther away from Leningrad. In the fall of 1939, he had recommended giving in to some of the Soviet demands, because he considered the ensuing war avoidable. He had also opposed Finland's entry into the Continuation War. As a former prime minister under the Finnish White government of 1918 and as a member of the Conservative National Coalition Party (Kansallinen Kokoomuspuolve--KOK), Paasikivi was politically an anticommunist. His lifelong study of history, however, convinced him that Finland's policies toward the Soviet Union needed to be governed by pragmatism. By late 1944, Finland's previous policy of antagonism to the Soviet Union had been shown to be counterproductive, because it had nearly led to Finland's extinction as an independent state. Summoned out of private life to serve--first as prime minister from October 1944 to March 1946 and then as president from March 1946 to March 1956--Paasikivi established the policy of accommodation with the Soviet Union that, with time, became almost universally accepted among the Finns. The change in Finland's policy was so marked that some observers considered the post-1944 years to be the era of the "Second Republic."

The immediate postwar years of 1944 to 1948 were filled with uncertainty for Finland because it was in a weakened condition and the because new policy of reconciliation was still being formed. The Allied Control Commission, established by the 1944 armistice to oversee Finland's internal affairs until the final peace treaty was concluded in 1947, was dominated by the Soviets. Under the leadership of a Soviet, Marshal Andrei Zhdanov, the commission checked Finland's adherence to the terms of the preliminary peace of September 1944. The first test of Finland's new policy of reconciliation was thus to observe faithfully the treaty with the Soviets, including the punctual payment of reparations and the establishment of war crimes trials. Eight leading Finnish politicians were tried for war crimes in proceedings lasting from November 1945 to February 1946. Among the accused were ex-president Risto Ryti (served 1940-44), who, along with six other prominent Finnish politicians, was convicted of plotting aggressive war against the Soviet Union and was sentenced to prison.

The war crimes trials and other stipulations of the armistice were distasteful to the Finns, but their careful compliance led to the reestablishment of national sovereignty. Compliance may have been facilitated by Finland's having its national hero, Mannerheim, as president to carry out these policies, until he resigned for health reasons in March 1946 and was succeeded by Paasikivi. The signing of the Treaty of Paris on February 10, 1947, led in September 1947 to the removal of the Allied Control Commission.

In their strict fulfillment of the Soviet terms of peace, the Finns faced other difficulties. The armistice agreement of September 1944 had legalized the SKP, which had been outlawed in 1930. In October 1944, the SKP led in the formation of the Finnish People's Democratic League (Suomen Kansan Demokraattinen Liitto--SKDL). Commonly referred to as the People's Democrats, the SKDL claimed to represent a broad spectrum of progressive forces. From its inception, however, the SKDL has been dominated by the SKP and has provided the electoral vehicle by which members of the SKP have been sent to the Eduskunta.

In March 1945, in the first parliamentary elections held after the war, the SKDL scored a major success by winning fifty- one seats and becoming the largest single party in the Eduskunta (the ML had forty-nine and the SDP had forty-eight). Several factors account for the success of the communists. A strong sympathy for communism among a large number of voters had persisted since the Finnish civil war. In addition, many Social Democratic voters were alienated from the SDP because of its ardent support of the recent war that had cost Finland so dearly. Many Finns who suffered under the depressed economic conditions of postwar Finland voted for the SKDL as a protest gesture. Finally, the SKDL proved adept at electoral politics, de- emphasizing its communist ties and emphasizing its devotion to democracy, to full employment, and to a peaceful foreign policy.

The SKDL played a large role in Finnish politics during the immediate postwar years. By November 1944, President Mannerheim recognized the growing power of the communists when he appointed to the cabinet the first communist, Yrj� Leino, ever to hold such a position. Following the election of March 1945, Leino was appointed to the important post of minister of interior, a position from which he controlled, among other things, the state security police and a large mobile police detachment. The power of the communists was at its greatest from 1946 to 1948, when the SKDL held, or shared, as many as eight of twelve cabinet posts. These included that of prime minister, which was held by Mauno Pekkala, who also served as co-minister of defense.

Pressures on Finland reached a peak in early 1948. In February the communists took Czechoslovakia by coup, an act that heightened international tensions considerably. The Soviets then requested that Finland sign a treaty nearly identical to those forced on some of their satellite states in Eastern Europe. By March there were rumors of a possible communist coup in Finland. Although it is not clear that a coup was imminent, President Paasikivi took precautionary measures. The Finnish armed forces were under his control, and he summoned them in strength to Helsinki, where they would have proved more than a match for the police units of the ministry of interior that were suspected of involvement in the coup.

In negotiating the requested treaty, meanwhile, the Soviets showed a willingness to accept a neutralized Finland. Paasikivi secured significant changes in the treaty that gave Finland substantially more independence with respect to the Soviet Union than was enjoyed by the East European states under Soviet domination. Paasikivi had served notice on the Soviets that they would not get their way through pressure, but rather would have to use military force. This they were reluctant to do in the tense international atmosphere of early 1948.

The Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance (FCMA--see Appendix B), which was signed on April 6, 1948, has since then provided the foundation for Soviet-Finnish relations. The key provision of the treaty, in Article 1, calls for military cooperation between Finland and the Soviet Union if Germany, or a country allied with it, attempts to invade Finland or the Soviet Union by way of Finnish territory. Article 2 of the treaty calls for military consultations to precede actual cooperation. Finland's sovereignty is safeguarded, however, because mutual assistance is not automatic but must be negotiated. The treaty helped to stabilize Soviet-Finnish relations by giving the Soviet Union guarantees that it would not face a military threat from the direction of Finland. The Soviets have been pleased with the treaty, and before expiration its original ten-year term has been extended to twenty years on three occasions--1955, 1970, and 1983.

When new elections were held in July 1948, the SKDL suffered a sharp drop in support, falling from fifty-one to thirty-eight seats in the Eduskunta. Communists were not included in the new government formed under the Social Democrat Karl-August Fagerholm, and there was no communist participation in Finland's government again until 1966.

The end of World War II had found Finland in a thoroughly weakened state economically. In addition to its human and physical losses, Finland had to deal with more than 400,000 refugees from the territories seized by the Soviets. In an attempt to resolve the refugee problem through a program of resettlement, the parliament adopted the Land Act of 1945. Through the program thus established, the state bought up farmland through compulsory purchases and redistributed it to refugees and to ex-servicemen, creating in the process 142,000 new holdings. Finland's large class of independent farmers was thereby expanded considerably. Although many of the resulting holdings were too small to be economically viable, they speeded the integration of the refugees into the social and economic fabric of the country.

Reparations were another burden for Finland. From the failure of the reparations demands imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, the Soviets had drawn the lesson that, to be effective, reparations should take the form of deliveries of goods in kind, rather than of financial payments. As a result, the Finns were obligated to make deliveries of products, mainly machine goods, cable products, merchant ships, paper, wood pulp, and other wood products. About one-third of the goods included as reparations came from Finland's traditionally strong forest industries, and the remainder came from the shipbuilding and the metallurgical industries, which were as yet only partially developed in Finland. The reparations paid from 1944 to 1952 amounted to an annual average of more than 2 percent of Finland's gross national product (GNP--see Glossary). The reparations were delivered according to a strict schedule, with penalties for late shipments. As the earnestness of the Finns in complying with the Soviet demands became apparent, the Soviets relented somewhat by extending the payment deadline from 1950 to 1952, but they still prevented Finland from participating in the Marshall Plan (European Recovery Program). The United States played an important role, nonetheless, by mediating the extension of financial credits of more than US$100 million from its Export- Import Bank to help Finland rebuild its economy and meet its reparations obligations punctually.

The Finns turned adversity into advantage by using the industrial capacities created to meet the reparations obligations as the basis for thriving export trades in those products. As a result, Finland's industrial base acquired greater balance than before, between, on the one hand, Finland's traditional industries of lumber, wood pulp, and paper products, and on the other hand, the relatively new industries of shipbuilding and machine production. Finland's growing integration into the world economy was demonstrated by its joining the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT--see Glossary) in 1949.

Data as of December 1988

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)

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