Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Century of Success
Since independence from Russia in 1917, re-
mote, forested, cold, sparsely populated Finland
has had a hell of a century. It has propelled it-
self from agricultural backwater of the Russian
Empire to one of the world's most prosperous
nations, with great standards of living and edu-
cation, low crime, a practical, deep-rooted sense
of environmentalism, strong cultural output and
a muscular technology industry. On the centen-
ary in 2017 Finns can toast a remarkable suc-
cess story.
Population
5.5 MILLION
Area
338,145 SQ KM
Percentage of Water
10%
GDP Per Capita
€27,833
Russia
The enormous eastern neighbour has been one
of the main talking points in Finland since some
time in the 12th century, when Russian power
began to loom large over the land. Long experi-
ence with the Bear has stood Suomi in good
stead, and the two countries have a strong rela-
tionship, with much exchange of commerce and
tourism. It's a very important market for both
import and export of goods and services, and
any Russian counter-sanctions against the EU could cost Finland dear. Nevertheless, Finns
on the street are understandably nervous of a nationalistic Moscow, exacerbated by events
in Ukraine in 2014. Memories of bitter fights for freedom are too painful for national ser-
vice and the army not to be taken seriously here.
Unemployment
8.7%
Average Cups of Coffee Per
Day
4
External Relations
The 2011 parliamentary elections in Finland sent a shockwave through Europe as the na-
tionalistic, populist True Finns party came from nowhere to seize 19% of the vote. Their
absolute rejection of bailouts of other EU economies meant that rather than compromise
