Finland (2001) | Korea, North (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani | 9 provinces (do, singular and plural) and 4 municipalities (si, singular and plural)
provinces: Chagang-do (Chagang), Hamgyong-bukto (North Hamgyong), Hamgyong-namdo (South Hamgyong), Hwanghae-bukto (North Hwanghae), Hwanghae-namdo (South Hwanghae), Kangwon-do (Kangwon), P'yongan-bukto (North P'yongan), P'yongan-namdo (South P'yongan), Yanggang-do (Yanggang) municipalities: Kaesong-si (Kaesong), Najin Sonbong-si (Najin-Sonbong), Namp'o-si (Namp'o), P'yongyang-si (Pyongyang) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
18% (male 474,967; female 456,584) 15-64 years: 66.97% (male 1,750,660; female 1,715,358) 65 years and over: 15.03% (male 300,569; female 477,645) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 23.3% (male 2,758,826/female 2,679,093)
15-64 years: 68.1% (male 7,852,282/female 8,024,429) 65 years and over: 8.5% (male 709,599/female 1,277,496) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish | rice, corn, potatoes, soybeans, pulses; cattle, pigs, pork, eggs |
Airports | 159 (2000 est.) | 77 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
69 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 26 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
total: 36
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 22 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
90 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 84 (2000 est.) |
total: 41
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 19 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 7 (2007) |
Area | total:
337,030 sq km land: 305,470 sq km water: 31,560 sq km |
total: 120,540 sq km
land: 120,410 sq km water: 130 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Montana | slightly smaller than Mississippi |
Background | Ruled by Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries and by Russia from 1809, Finland finally won its independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and fend off invasions by the Soviet Union and Germany. In the subsequent half century, the Finns have made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now on par with Western Europe. As a member of the European Union, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999. | An independent kingdom for much of its long history, Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 following the Russo-Japanese War. Five years later, Japan formally annexed the entire peninsula. Following World War II, Korea was split with the northern half coming under Soviet-sponsored Communist domination. After failing in the Korean War (1950-53) to conquer the US-backed Republic of Korea (ROK) in the southern portion by force, North Korea (DPRK), under its founder President KIM Il Sung, adopted a policy of ostensible diplomatic and economic "self-reliance" as a check against excessive Soviet or Communist Chinese influence. The DPRK demonized the US as the ultimate threat to its social system through state-funded propaganda, and molded political, economic, and military policies around the core ideological objective of eventual unification of Korea under Pyongyang's control. KIM's son, the current ruler KIM Jong Il, was officially designated as his father's successor in 1980, assuming a growing political and managerial role until the elder KIM's death in 1994. After decades of economic mismanagement and resource misallocation, the DPRK since the mid-1990s has relied heavily on international aid to feed its population while continuing to expend resources to maintain an army of approximately 1 million. North Korea's history of regional military provocations, proliferation of military-related items, and long-range missile development - as well as its nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons programs and massive conventional armed forces - are of major concern to the international community. In December 2002, following revelations that the DPRK was pursuing a nuclear weapons program based on enriched uranium in violation of a 1994 agreement with the US to freeze and ultimately dismantle its existing plutonium-based program, North Korea expelled monitors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In January 2003, it declared its withdrawal from the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. In mid-2003 Pyongyang announced it had completed the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel rods (to extract weapons-grade plutonium) and was developing a "nuclear deterrent." Beginning in August 2003, North Korea, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea, and the US have participated in the Six-Party Talks aimed at resolving the stalemate over the DPRK's nuclear programs. North Korea pulled out of the talks in November 2005. It test-fired ballistic missiles in July 2006 and conducted a nuclear test in October 2006. North Korea returned to the Six-Party Talks in December 2006 and subsequently signed two agreements on denuclearization. The 13 February 2007 Initial Actions Agreement shut down the North's nuclear facilities at Yongbyon in July 2007. In the 3 October 2007 Second Phase Actions Agreement, Pyongyang pledged to disable those facilities and provide a correct and complete declaration of its nuclear programs. Under the supervision of US nuclear experts, North Korean personnel completed a number of agreed-upon disablement actions at the three core facilities at the Yongbyon nuclear complex by the end of 2007. North Korea also began the discharge of spent fuel rods in December 2007, but it did not provide a declaration of its nuclear programs by the end of the year. |
Birth rate | 10.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.06 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$36.1 billion expenditures: $31 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $2.88 billion $NA
expenditures: $2.98 billion $NA |
Capital | Helsinki | name: Pyongyang
geographic coordinates: 39 01 N, 125 45 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 | temperate with rainfall concentrated in summer |
Coastline | 1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations) | 2,495 km |
Constitution | 17 July 1919 | adopted 1948; completely revised 27 December 1972, revised again in April 1992, and September 1998 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Finland conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen Tasavalta local short form: Suomi |
conventional long form: Democratic People's Republic of Korea
conventional short form: North Korea local long form: Choson-minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk local short form: Choson abbreviation: DPRK |
Currency | markka (FIM); euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the EU introduced the euro as a common currency that is now being used by financial institutions in Finland at a fixed rate of 5.94573 markkaa per euro and will replace the local currency for all transactions in 2002 |
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Death rate | 9.75 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.21 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $30 billion (December 1993) | $12.5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Carol VAN VOORST embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14B, FIN-00140, Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (9) 171931 FAX: [358] (9) 174681 |
none; note - Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang represents the US as consular protecting power |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jaakko Tapani LAAJAVA chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800 FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York |
none; North Korea has a Permanent Mission to the UN in New York |
Disputes - international | none | risking arrest, imprisonment, and deportation, tens of thousands of North Koreans cross into China to escape famine, economic privation, and political oppression; North Korea and China dispute the sovereignty of certain islands in Yalu and Tumen rivers; Military Demarcation Line within the 4-km wide Demilitarized Zone has separated North from South Korea since 1953; periodic incidents in the Yellow Sea with South Korea which claims the Northern Limiting Line as a maritime boundary; North Korea supports South Korea in rejecting Japan's claim to Liancourt Rocks (Tok-do/Take-shima) |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $379 million (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $372 million
note: approximately 65,000 metric tons in food aid through the World Food Program appeals in 2007, plus additional aid from bilateral donors and non-governmental organizations (2007 est.) |
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, with exports equaling more than one-third of GDP. 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. Rapidly increasing integration with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 11 countries joining the euro monetary system (EMU) on 1 January 1999 - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2001 will be bolstered by strong private consumption, yet may be 1 or 2 points lower than in 2000, largely because of a weakening in export demand. | North Korea, one of the world's most centrally directed and least open economies, faces chronic economic problems. Industrial capital stock is nearly beyond repair as a result of years of underinvestment and shortages of spare parts. Industrial and power output have declined in parallel from pre-1990 levels. Due in part to severe summer flooding followed by dry weather conditions in the fall of 2006, the nation suffered its 13th year of food shortages because of on-going systemic problems including a lack of arable land, collective farming practices, and persistent shortages of tractors and fuel. During the summer of 2007, severe flooding again occurred. Large-scale international food aid deliveries have allowed the people of North Korea to escape widespread starvation since famine threatened in 1995, but the population continues to suffer from prolonged malnutrition and poor living conditions. Large-scale military spending draws off resources needed for investment and civilian consumption. Since 2002, the government has formalized an arrangement whereby private "farmers' markets" were allowed to begin selling a wider range of goods. It also permitted some private farming on an experimental basis in an effort to boost agricultural output. In October 2005, the government tried to reverse some of these policies by forbidding private sales of grains and reinstituting a centralized food rationing system. By December 2005, the government terminated most international humanitarian assistance operations in North Korea (calling instead for developmental assistance only) and restricted the activities of remaining international and non-governmental aid organizations such as the World Food Program. External food aid now comes primarily from China and South Korea in the form of grants and long-term concessional loans. During the October 2007 summit, South Korea also agreed to develop some of North Korea's infrastructure and natural resources and light industry. Firm political control remains the Communist government's overriding concern, which will likely inhibit the loosening of economic regulations. |
Electricity - consumption | 81.611 billion kWh (1999) | 18.57 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 232 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2007) |
Electricity - imports | 11.356 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2007) |
Electricity - production | 75.792 billion kWh (1999) | 22.5 billion kWh (2006 est.) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
41.88% hydro: 16.77% nuclear: 28.82% other: 12.53% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m |
lowest point: Sea of Japan 0 m
highest point: Paektu-san 2,744 m |
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 | water pollution; inadequate supplies of potable water; waterborne disease; deforestation; soil erosion and degradation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Environmental Modification, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Sami 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar 0.02% | racially homogeneous; there is a small Chinese community and a few ethnic Japanese |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); markkaa per US dollar - 5.3441 (1998), 5.1914 (1997), 4.5936 (1996) | official: North Korean won per US dollar - 140 (2007), 141 (2006), 170 (December 2004), market: North Korean won per US dollar - 2,500-3,000 (December 2006) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Paavo LIPPONEN (since 13 April 1995) and Deputy Prime Minister Sauli NIINISTO (since 13 April 1995) cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to Parliament elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term; election last held 6 February 2000 (next to be held NA February 2006); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed from the majority party by the president after parliamentary elections election results: Tarja HALONEN elected president; percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 51.6%, Esco AHO (Kesk) 48.4% note: government coalition - SDP, Kok, Leftist Alliance (People's Democratic Union and Democratic Alternative), SFP, and Green Union |
chief of state: KIM Jong Il (since July 1994); note - on 3 September 2003, rubberstamp Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) reelected KIM Jong Il chairman of the National Defense Commission, a position accorded nation's "highest administrative authority"; SPA reelected KIM Yong Nam president of its Presidium also with responsibility of representing state and receiving diplomatic credentials
head of government: Premier KIM Yong Il (since 11 April 2007); Vice Premiers KWAK Pom Gi (since 5 September 1998), JON Sung Hun (since 3 September 2003), RO Tu Chol (since 3 September 2003), THAE Jong Su (since 16 October 2007) cabinet: Naegak (cabinet) members, except for Minister of People's Armed Forces, are appointed by SPA elections: last held in September 2003 (next to be held in September 2008) election results: KIM Jong Il and KIM Yong Nam were only nominees for positions and ran unopposed |
Exports | $44.4 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 0 bbl/day (2006) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp | minerals, metallurgical products, manufactures (including armaments), textiles, agricultural and fishery products |
Exports - partners | EU 58% (Germany 13%, Sweden 10%, UK 9%, France 5%, Netherlands 4%), US 8%, Russia, Japan (1999) | South Korea 32%, China 29%, Thailand 9% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | white with a blue cross that extends 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) | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in white; on the hoist side of the red band is a white disk with a red five-pointed star |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $118.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
3.5% industry: 29% services: 67.5% (1999) |
agriculture: 23.3%
industry: 43.1% services: 33.6% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $22,900 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2000 est.) | -1.1% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 64 00 N, 26 00 E | 40 00 N, 127 00 E |
Geography - note | long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain | strategic location bordering China, South Korea, and Russia; mountainous interior is isolated and sparsely populated |
Heliports | - | 23 (2007) |
Highways | total:
77,796 km paved: 49,789 km (including 444 km of expressways) unpaved: 28,042 km (1999) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
4.2% highest 10%: 21.6% (1991) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | for years, from the 1970s into the 2000s, citizens of the Democratic People's Republic of (North) Korea (DPRK), many of them diplomatic employees of the government, were apprehended abroad while trafficking in narcotics, including two in Turkey in December 2004; police investigations in Taiwan and Japan in recent years have linked North Korea to large illicit shipments of heroin and methamphetamine, including an attempt by the North Korean merchant ship Pong Su to deliver 150 kg of heroin to Australia in April 2003 |
Imports | $32.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 10,520 bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains | petroleum, coking coal, machinery and equipment, textiles, grain |
Imports - partners | EU 60% (Germany 15%, Sweden 11%, UK 7%), US 8%, Russia 7%, Japan 6% (1999) | China 27%, South Korea 16%, Thailand 9%, Russia 7% (2006) |
Independence | 6 December 1917 (from Russia) | 15 August 1945 (from Japan) |
Industrial production growth rate | 7.5% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | metal products, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing | military products; machine building, electric power, chemicals; mining (coal, iron ore, limestone, magnesite, graphite, copper, zinc, lead, and precious metals), metallurgy; textiles, food processing; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | 3.79 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 22.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.2 deaths/1,000 live births female: 20.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2000 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNTSO, UPU, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | ARF, FAO, G-77, ICAO, ICRM, IFAD, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, NAM, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 23 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 640 sq km (1993 est.) | 14,600 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president) | Central Court (judges are elected by the Supreme People's Assembly) |
Labor force | 2.6 million (2000 est.) | 20 million
note: estimates vary widely (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | public services 32%, industry 22%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%, agriculture and forestry 8%, transport and communications 8%, construction 6% | agriculture: 37%
industry and services: 63% (2004 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,628 km border countries: Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km |
total: 1,673 km
border countries: China 1,416 km, South Korea 238 km, Russia 19 km |
Land use | arable land:
8% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 76% other: 16% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 22.4%
permanent crops: 1.66% other: 75.94% (2005) |
Languages | Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Lapp- and Russian-speaking minorities | Korean |
Legal system | civil law system based on Swedish law; Supreme Court may request legislation interpreting or modifying laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on Prussian civil law system with Japanese influences and Communist legal theory; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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 21 March 1999 (next to be held NA March 2003) election results: percent of vote by party - SDP 22.9%, Kesk 22.5%, Kok 21.0%, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 10.9%, SFP 5.1%, Green Union 7.2%, SKL 4.2%; seats by party - SDP 51, Kesk 48, Kok 46, Leftist Alliance (Communist) 20, SFP 11, Green Union 11, SKL 10, other 3 |
unicameral Supreme People's Assembly or Ch'oego Inmin Hoeui (687 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 August 2003 (next to be held in August 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA; ruling party approves a list of candidates who are elected without opposition; some seats are held by minor parties |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.58 years male: 73.92 years female: 81.36 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 71.92 years
male: 69.18 years female: 74.8 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% |
Location | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia | Eastern Asia, northern half of the Korean Peninsula bordering the Korea Bay and the Sea of Japan, between China and South Korea |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM territorial sea: 12 NM (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 NM) |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm note: military boundary line 50 nm in the Sea of Japan and the exclusive economic zone limit in the Yellow Sea where all foreign vessels and aircraft without permission are banned |
Merchant marine | total:
98 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,172,808 GRT/1,138,175 DWT ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 23, chemical tanker 5, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 11, railcar carrier 1, roll on/roll off 37, short-sea passenger 11 (2000 est.) |
total: 171 ships (1000 GRT or over) 854,268 GRT/1,225,453 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 12, cargo 131, chemical tanker 1, container 1, livestock carrier 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 14, refrigerated cargo 4, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 29 (Egypt 1, India 1, Israel 1, Lebanon 3, Lithuania 1, Pakistan 1, Romania 6, Russia 1, Syria 7, Turkey 1, UAE 4, Yemen 2) registered in other countries: (unknown 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Frontier Guard (includes Sea Guard) | North Korean People's Army: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force; civil security forces (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.8 billion (FY98) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY98) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,251,700 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,033,188 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 17 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
33,883 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 6 December (1917) | Founding of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), 9 September (1948) |
Nationality | noun:
Finn(s) adjective: Finnish |
noun: Korean(s)
adjective: Korean |
Natural hazards | NA | late spring droughts often followed by severe flooding; occasional typhoons during the early fall |
Natural resources | timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver | coal, lead, tungsten, zinc, graphite, magnesite, iron ore, copper, gold, pyrites, salt, fluorspar, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | natural gas 580 km | oil 154 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Center Party or Kesk [Esko AHO]; Finnish Christian Union or SKL [C. P. Bjarne KALLIS]; Green Union [Satu HASSI]; Leftist Alliance (Communist) composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative [Suvi-Anne SIIMES]; National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Sauli NIINISTO]; Reform Group [Risto KUISMA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Paavo LIPPONEN]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Jan-Erik ENESTAM]; True Finns [Timo SOINI] | major party - Korean Workers' Party or KWP [KIM Jong Il]; minor parties - Chondoist Chongu Party [RYU Mi Yong] (under KWP control), Social Democratic Party [KIM Yong Dae] (under KWP control) |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Communist Workers Party [Timo LAHDENMAKI]; Constitutional Rightist Party; Finnish Communist Party-Unity [Yrjo HAKANEN]; Finnish Pensioners Party | none |
Population | 5,175,783 (July 2001 est.) | 23,301,725 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.16% (2001 est.) | 0.785% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Loviisa, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku, Uusikaupunki, Varkaus | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 17 (including 11 stations of Korean Central Broadcasting Station; North Korea has a "national intercom" cable radio station wired throughout the country that is a significant source of information for the average North Korean citizen; it is wired into most residences and workplaces and carries news and commentary), FM 14, shortwave 14 (2006) |
Radios | 7.7 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
5,865 km broad gauge: 5,865 km 1.524-m gauge (2,192 km electrified; 480 km double or multiple track) (1998) |
total: 5,235 km
standard gauge: 5,235 km 1.435-m gauge (3,500 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Greek Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other 1% | traditionally Buddhist and Confucianist, some Christian and syncretic Chondogyo (Religion of the Heavenly Way)
note: autonomous religious activities now almost nonexistent; government-sponsored religious groups exist to provide illusion of religious freedom |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.979 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.555 male(s)/female total population: 0.945 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 17 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
modern system with excellent service domestic: cable, microwave radio relay, and an extensive cellular net provide domestic needs international: 1 submarine cable; 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) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2.861 million (1997) | 980,000 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,162,574 (1997) | - |
Television broadcast stations | 130 (plus 385 repeaters) (1995) | 4 (includes Korean Central Television, Mansudae Television, Korean Educational and Cultural Network, and Kaesong Television targeting South Korea) (2003) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills | mostly hills and mountains separated by deep, narrow valleys; coastal plains wide in west, discontinuous in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.7 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.05 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 9.8% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 6,675 km
note: includes Saimaa Canal; 3,700 km suitable for large ships |
2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2007) |