Compare Finland (2005) - British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

Compare Finland (2005) z British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

	Finland (2005)	British Indian Ocean Territory (2003)

Administrative divisions	6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani	-
Age structure	0-14 years: 17.3% (male 460,977/female 443,859) 15-64 years: 66.8% (male 1,764,874/female 1,723,385) 65 years and over: 15.9% (male 328,952/female 501,395) (2005 est.)	-
Agriculture - products	barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish	-
Airports	148 (2004 est.)	1 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 75 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 13 (2004 est.)	total: 1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 73 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 69 (2004 est.)	-
Area	total: 338,145 sq km land: 304,473 sq km water: 33,672 sq km	total: 60 sq km land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than Montana	about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC
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 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.	Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order that had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia.
Birth rate	10.5 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-
Budget	revenues: $96.43 billion expenditures: $91.95 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)	-
Capital	Helsinki	-
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	tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds
Coastline	1,250 km	698 km
Constitution	1 March 2000	-
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Finland conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen Tasavalta local short form: Suomi	conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT
Death rate	9.79 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-
Debt - external	$30 billion (December 1993)	-
Dependency status	-	overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Earle I. MACK embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14B, 00140 Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (9) 616250 FAX: [358] (9) 6162 5800	none (overseas territory of the UK)
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Jukka Robert VALTASAARI 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 (overseas territory of the UK)
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	Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain
Economic aid - donor	ODA, $379 million (2001)	-
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 two-fifths of GDP. Finland excels in high-tech exports, e.g., 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. Rapidly increasing integration with Western Europe - Finland was one of the 12 countries joining the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2003 was held back by the global slowdown but picked up in 2004. High unemployment remains a persistent problem.	All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing.
Electricity - consumption	78.58 billion kWh (2002)	NA kWh
Electricity - exports	1.5 billion kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - imports	13.5 billion kWh (2002)	-
Electricity - production	71.59 billion kWh (2002)	NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 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	NA
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	-
Ethnic groups	Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Russian 0.4%, Estonian 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Sami 0.1%	-
Exchange rates	euros per US dollar - 0.81 (2004), 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000)	-
Executive branch	chief of state: President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003) and Deputy Prime Minister Eero HEINALUOMA (since 24 September 2005) 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 16 January 2000 and 6 February 2000 (next to be held February 2006); 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 election results: Tarja HALONEN elected president; percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 51.6%, Esko AHO (Kesk) 48.4% note: government coalition - Kesk, SDP, and SFP	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch
Exports	101,000 bbl/day (2001)	-
Exports - commodities	machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999)	-
Exports - partners	Sweden 11.1%, Germany 10.7%, Russia 8.9%, UK 7%, US 6.4%, Netherlands 5.1% (2004)	-
Fiscal year	calendar year	-
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)	white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 3.3% industry: 30.2% services: 66.5% (2004 est.)	-
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $29,000 (2004 est.)	-
GDP - real growth rate	3% (2004 est.)	-
Geographic coordinates	64 00 N, 26 00 E	6 00 S, 71 30 E
Geography - note	long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain	archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility
Highways	total: 78,197 km paved: 50,539 km (including 794 km of expressways) unpaved: 27,658 km (2004)	total: NA km paved: short section of paved road between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: 4.2% highest 10%: 21.6% (1991)	-
Imports	318,300 bbl/day (2001)	-
Imports - commodities	foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains (1999)	-
Imports - partners	Germany 16.2%, Sweden 14.3%, Russia 12.8%, Netherlands 6.3%, Denmark 5.2%, UK 4.6%, France 4.3% (2004)	-
Independence	6 December 1917 (from Russia)	-
Industrial production growth rate	2% (2004 est.)	-
Industries	metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing	-
Infant mortality rate	total: 3.57 deaths/1,000 live births male: 3.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)	-
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	0.7% (2004 est.)	-
International organization participation	AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G- 9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC	-
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	-	1 (2000)
Irrigated land	640 sq km (1998 est.)	0 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president)	-
Labor force	2.66 million (2004 est.)	-
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture and forestry 8%, industry 22%, construction 6%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%, transport and communications 8%, public services 32%	-
Land boundaries	total: 2,681 km border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 7.19% permanent crops: 0.03% other: 92.78% (2001)	arable land: NEGL permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.)
Languages	Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003)	-
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	the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply
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 16 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - Kesk 24.7%, SDP 24.5%, Kok 18.5%, VAS 9.9%, VIHR 8%, KD 5.3%, SFP 4.6%; seats by party - Kesk 55, SDP 53, Kok 40, VAS 19, VIHR 14, KD 7, SFP 8, others 4	-
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 78.35 years male: 74.82 years female: 82.02 years (2005 est.)	-
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% (2000 est.) male: 100% female: 100%	-
Location	Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia	archipelago in the Indian Ocean, south of India, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia
Map references	Europe	Political Map of the World
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm) continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden	exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 3 NM
Merchant marine	total: 94 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,152,175 GRT/1,053,906 DWT by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 27, chemical tanker 6, container 1, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 7, roll on/roll off 25 foreign-owned: 2 (Norway 1, United States 1) registered in other countries: 42 (2005)	-
Military - note	-	defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016
Military branches	Finnish Defense Forces: Army, Navy (includes Coastal Defense Forces), Air Force (2003)	-
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$1.8 billion (FY98/99)	-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2% (FY98/99)	-
National holiday	Independence Day, 6 December (1917)	-
Nationality	noun: Finn(s) adjective: Finnish	-
Natural hazards	NA	NA
Natural resources	timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone	coconuts, fish, sugarcane
Net migration rate	0.89 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-
Pipelines	gas 694 km (2004)	-
Political parties and leaders	Center Party or Kesk [Matti VANHANEN]; Christian Democrats or KD [Paivi RASANEN]; Green League or VIHR [Tarja CRONBERG]; Left Alliance or VAS composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative [Suvi-Anne SIIMES]; National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Jyrki KATAINEN]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eero HEINALUOMA]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Jan-Erik ENESTAM]	-
Population	5,223,442 (July 2005 est.)	no indigenous inhabitants note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles in the 1960's and 1970's, in November 2000 they were granted the right of return by a British High Court ruling, though no timetable has been set; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2003 est.)
Population below poverty line	NA	-
Population growth rate	0.16% (2005 est.)	-
Ports and harbors	Hamina, Hanko, Helsinki, Kotka, Naantali, Pori, Porvou, Raahe, Rauma, Turku	Diego Garcia
Radio broadcast stations	AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998)	AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998)
Railways	total: 5,851 km broad gauge: 5,851 km 1.524-m gauge (2,400 km electrified) (2004)	-
Religions	Lutheran National Church 84.2%, Greek Orthodox in Finland 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 13.5% (2003)	-
Sex ratio	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: 0.66 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)	-
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	-
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; 1 submarine cable (Finland Estonia Connection); 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: separate facilities for military and public needs are available domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000)
Telephones - main lines in use	2.548 million (2003)	NA
Telephones - mobile cellular	4.7 million (2003)	-
Television broadcast stations	120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999)	1 (1997)
Terrain	mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills	flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation)
Total fertility rate	1.73 children born/woman (2005 est.)	-
Unemployment rate	8.9% (2004 est.)	-
Waterways	7,842 km note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2004)	none

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