Nigeria (2001) | Finland (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 36 states and 1 territory*; Abia, Abuja Federal Capital Territory*, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara | 6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
43.71% (male 27,842,225; female 27,514,197) 15-64 years: 53.47% (male 34,456,738; female 33,259,194) 65 years and over: 2.82% (male 1,780,862; female 1,782,410) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.9% (male 449,548/female 433,253)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 1,768,996/female 1,727,143) 65 years and over: 16.4% (male 344,798/female 514,722) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cocoa, peanuts, palm oil, corn, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava (tapioca), yams, rubber; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; timber; fish | barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish |
Airports | 70 (2000 est.) | 148 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
36 over 3,047 m: 7 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
total: 76
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 27 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 22 under 914 m: 15 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 18 (2000 est.) |
total: 72
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 68 (2007) |
Area | total:
923,768 sq km land: 910,768 sq km water: 13,000 sq km |
total: 338,145 sq km
land: 304,473 sq km water: 33,672 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of California | slightly smaller than Montana |
Background | Following nearly 16 years of military rule, a new constitution was adopted in 1999 and a peaceful transition to civilian government completed. The new president faces the daunting task of rebuilding a petroleum-based economy, whose revenues have been squandered through corruption and mismanagement, and institutionalizing democracy. In addition, the OBASANJO administration must defuse longstanding ethnic and religious tensions, if it is to build a sound foundation for economic growth and political stability. | 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. 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. |
Birth rate | 39.69 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 10.42 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$3.4 billion expenditures: $3.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $109.6 billion
expenditures: $101.8 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Abuja; note - on 12 December 1991 the capital was officially transferred from Lagos to Abuja; most federal government offices have now made the move to Abuja | 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 |
Climate | varies; equatorial in south, tropical in center, arid in north | cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes |
Coastline | 853 km | 1,250 km |
Constitution | NA 1999 new constitution adopted | 1 March 2000 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Federal Republic of Nigeria conventional short form: Nigeria |
conventional long form: Republic of Finland
conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland local short form: Suomi/Finland |
Currency | naira (NGN) | - |
Death rate | 13.91 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 9.93 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $32 billion (2000 est.) | $251.9 billion (30 June 2006) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Howard Franklin JETER embassy: 8 Mambilla Drive, Abuja mailing address: P. O. Box 554, Lagos telephone: [234] (1) 261-0050, -0078 FAX: [234] (1) 261-0257 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Marilyn WARE
embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14B, 00140 Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (9) 616250 FAX: [358] (9) 6162 5800 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Jibril AMINU chancery: 1333 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 986-8400 FAX: [1] (202) 775-1385 consulate(s) general: Atlanta and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Pekka LINTU
chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800 FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | delimitation of international boundaries in the vicinity of Lake Chad, the lack of which led to border incidents in the past, has been completed and awaits ratification by Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria; dispute with Cameroon over land and maritime boundaries around the Bakasi Peninsula is currently before the ICJ; tripartite maritime boundary and economic zone dispute with Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon is currently before the ICJ | various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands |
Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $850.5 million (2005) |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $250 million (1998) | - |
Economy - overview | The oil-rich Nigerian economy, long hobbled by political instability, corruption, and poor macroeconomic management, is undergoing substantial economic reform under the new civilian administration. Nigeria's former military rulers failed to diversify the economy away from overdependence on the capital-intensive oil sector, which provides 20% of GDP, 95% of foreign exchange earnings, and about 65% of budgetary revenues. The largely subsistence agricultural sector has failed to keep up with rapid population growth, and Nigeria, once a large net exporter of food, now must import food. Following the signing of an IMF stand-by agreement in August 2000, Nigeria received a debt-restructuring deal from the Paris Club and a $1 billion loan from the IMF, both contingent on economic reforms. Increases in foreign investment and oil production combined with high world oil prices should push growth over 4% in 2001-02. | 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; exports equal 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. High unemployment remains a persistent problem. |
Electricity - consumption | 17.372 billion kWh (1999) | 81.11 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 19 million kWh (1999) | 933 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 17.92 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 18.7 billion kWh (1999) | 67.09 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
52.94% hydro: 47.06% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Chappal Waddi 2,419 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m |
Environment - current issues | soil degradation; rapid deforestation; desertification | 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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous country, is composed of more than 250 ethnic groups; the following are the most populous and politically influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo (Ibo) 18%, Ijaw 10%, Kanuri 4%, Ibibio 3.5%, Tiv 2.5% | Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.7%, Russian 0.4%, Estonian 0.2%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.2%, Sami 0.1% |
Exchange rates | nairas per US dollar - 110.005 (January 2001), 101.697 (2000), 92.338 (1999), 21.886 (1998), 21.886 (1997), 21.884 (1996) | euros per US dollar - 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Olusegun OBASANJO (since 29 May 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Federal Executive Council elections: president is elected by popular vote for no more than two four-year terms; election last held 27 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Olusegun OBASANJO elected president; percent of vote - Olusegun OBASANJO (PDP) 62.8%, Olu FALAE (APP-AD) 37.2% |
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 relected prime minister; election results 121-71 note: government coalition - Kesk, SDP, and SFP |
Exports | $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 118,300 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum and petroleum products 95%, cocoa, rubber | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999) |
Exports - partners | US 36%, India 9%, Spain 8%, Brazil 6%, France 6%, (1999) | Germany 11.3%, Sweden 10.5%, Russia 10.1%, UK 6.5%, US 6.5%, Netherlands 5.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green | 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) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $117 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
40% industry: 40% services: 20% (1999 est.) |
agriculture: 2.5%
industry: 32.3% services: 65.1% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $950 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.5% (2000 est.) | 4.9% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 10 00 N, 8 00 E | 64 00 N, 26 00 E |
Geography - note | - | long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
194,394 km paved: 60,068 km (including 1,194 km of expressways) unpaved: 134,326 km note: many of the roads reported as paved may be graveled; because of poor maintenance and years of heavy freight traffic - in part the result of the failure of the railroad system - much of the road system is barely usable (1997) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.6% highest 10%: 40.8% (1996-97) |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 22.6% (2000) |
Illicit drugs | facilitates movement of heroin en route from Southeast and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and North America; increasingly a transit route for cocaine from South America intended for European, East Asian, and North American markets | - |
Imports | $10.7 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | 333,400 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, food and live animals | foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains |
Imports - partners | UK 11%, Germany 10%, US 9%, France 8%, China 6% (1999) | Germany 15.6%, Russia 14%, Sweden 13.7%, Netherlands 6.6%, China 5.4%, UK 4.7%, Denmark 4.5% (2006) |
Independence | 1 October 1960 (from UK) | 6 December 1917 (from Russia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.5% (2000 est.) | 3% (2006 est.) |
Industries | crude oil, coal, tin, columbite, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood, hides and skins, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food products, footwear, chemicals, fertilizer, printing, ceramics, steel | metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing |
Infant mortality rate | 73.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 3.52 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.84 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.5% (2000 est.) | 1.6% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOT, UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | AfDB, Arctic Council, AsDB, 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, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 9,570 sq km (1993 est.) | 640 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the Provisional Ruling Council); Federal Court of Appeal (judges are appointed by the federal government on the advice of the Advisory Judicial Committee) | Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 66 million (1999 est.) | 2.65 million (2006 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 10%, services 20% (1999 est.) | agriculture and forestry 4.4%, industry 17.5%, construction 6%, commerce 22%, finance, insurance, and business services 12%, transport and communications 8%, public services 30.2% (2000 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
4,047 km border countries: Benin 773 km, Cameroon 1,690 km, Chad 87 km, Niger 1,497 km |
total: 2,681 km
border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,340 km |
Land use | arable land:
33% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 44% forests and woodland: 12% other: 8% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 6.54%
permanent crops: 0.02% other: 93.44% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo (Ibo), Fulani | Finnish 92% (official), Swedish 5.6% (official), other 2.4% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2003) |
Legal system | based on English common law, Islamic Shariah law (only in some northern states), and traditional law | civil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly consists of Senate (109 seats, three from each state and one from the Federal Capital Territory; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives (360 seats, members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003); House of Representatives - last held 20-24 February 1999 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 23%, AD 19%; seats by party - PDP 67, APP 23, AD 19; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - PDP 58%, APP 30%, AD 12%; seats by party - PDP 221, APP 70, AD 69 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
51.07 years male: 51.07 years female: 51.07 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 78.66 years
male: 75.15 years female: 82.31 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 57.1% male: 67.3% female: 47.3% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% male: 100% female: 100% (2000 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea, between Benin and Cameroon | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 nm)
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | total:
41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 357,372 GRT/636,254 DWT ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 10, chemical tanker 4, petroleum tanker 24, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 92 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,362,014 GRT/1,002,280 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 26, chemical tanker 6, container 3, passenger 5, passenger/cargo 20, petroleum tanker 4, roll on/roll off 23, vehicle carrier 2 foreign-owned: 5 (Germany 2, Norway 1, Sweden 2) registered in other countries: 43 (Bahamas 8, Germany 4, Gibraltar 3, Marshall Islands 2, Netherlands 14, Norway 1, Sweden 10, UK 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Finnish Defense Forces (FDF): Army, Navy (includes coastal defense forces), Air Force (Suomen Ilmavoimat) (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $360 million (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 10% (FY00) | 2% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
29,940,922 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
17,201,367 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
1,375,112 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 1 October (1960) | Independence Day, 6 December (1917) |
Nationality | noun:
Nigerian(s) adjective: Nigerian |
noun: Finn(s)
adjective: Finnish |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts | NA |
Natural resources | natural gas, petroleum, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, limestone, lead, zinc, arable land | timber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone |
Net migration rate | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0.78 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,042 km; petroleum products 3,000 km; natural gas 500 km | gas 694 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Party or APP [Alhaji Yusuf ALI]; Alliance for Democracy or AD [contested between Yusuf MAMMAN and Alhasi Adamu ABDULKADIR]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Barnabas GEMADE] | Center Party or Kesk [Matti VANHANEN]; Christian Democrats or KD [Paivi RASANEN]; Green Party or VIHR [Tarja CRONBERG]; Left Alliance or VAS [Martti KORHONEN] (composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative); National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Jyrki KATAINEN]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eero HEINALUOMA]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Stefan WALLIN]; True Finns |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | - |
Population | 126,635,626
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
5,238,460 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 45% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.61% (2001 est.) | 0.127% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Calabar, Lagos, Onne, Port Harcourt, Sapele, Warri | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 82, FM 35, shortwave 11 (1998) | AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 23.5 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
3,557 km narrow gauge: 3,505 km 1.067-m gauge standard gauge: 52 km 1.435-m gauge note: years of neglect of both the rolling stock and the right-of-way have seriously reduced the capacity and utility of the system; a project to restore Nigeria's railways is now underway |
total: 5,741 km
broad gauge: 5,741 km 1.524-m gauge (2,619 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Muslim 50%, Christian 40%, indigenous beliefs 10% | Lutheran Church of Finland 84.2%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 13.5% (2003) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.038 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.024 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.958 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
an inadequate system, further limited by poor maintenance; major expansion is required and a start has been made domestic: intercity traffic is carried by coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, a domestic communications satellite system with 19 earth stations, and a coastal submarine cable; mobile cellular facilities and the Internet are available international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean); coaxial submarine cable SAFE (South African Far East) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 500,000 (2000) | 1.92 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 26,700 (1997) | 5.67 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 government-controlled; note - in addition, in 1993, 14 licenses to operate private television stations were granted (1999) | 120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999) |
Terrain | southern lowlands merge into central hills and plateaus; mountains in southeast, plains in north | mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills |
Total fertility rate | 5.57 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.73 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 28% (1992 est.) | 7% (2006 est.) |
Waterways | 8,575 km
note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks |
7,842 km
note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2006) |