##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Sri Lanka (2006) - Finland (2003)
Compare Sri Lanka (2006) z Finland (2003)
| Sri Lanka (2006) | Finland (2003) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 8 provinces; Central, North Central, North Eastern, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, Uva, Western
note: in 1998 the Government of Sri Lanka proposed a merger of the former Northern and Eastern provinces; while this merger was never ratified, the Government treats North Eastern Province as a de facto singular administrative unit |
6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Aland, Etela-Suomen Laani, Ita-Suomen Laani, Lansi-Suomen Laani, Lappi, Oulun Laani |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 24.1% (male 2,488,689/female 2,379,233)
15-64 years: 68.6% (male 6,727,399/female 7,140,751) 65 years and over: 7.3% (male 687,842/female 798,326) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.7% (male 468,077; female 450,785)
15-64 years: 66.9% (male 1,753,760; female 1,719,253) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 312,883; female 486,027) (2003 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | rice, sugarcane, grains, pulses, oilseed, spices, tea, rubber, coconuts; milk, eggs, hides, beef; fish | barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish |
| Airports | 16 (2006) | 150 (2002) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 14
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 7 (2006) |
total: 74
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: 12 (2002) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
total: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 72 (2002) |
| Area | total: 65,610 sq km
land: 64,740 sq km water: 870 sq km |
total: 337,030 sq km
land: 305,470 sq km water: 31,560 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly smaller than Montana |
| Background | The Sinhalese arrived in Sri Lanka late in the 6th century B.C., probably from northern India. Buddhism was introduced beginning in about the mid-third century B.C., and a great civilization developed at the cities of Anuradhapura (kingdom from circa 200 B.C. to circa A.D. 1000) and Polonnaruwa (from about 1070 to 1200). In the 14th century, a south Indian dynasty seized power in the north and established a Tamil kingdom. Occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century and by the Dutch in the 17th century, the island was ceded to the British in 1796, became a crown colony in 1802, and was united under British rule by 1815. As Ceylon, it became independent in 1948; its name was changed to Sri Lanka in 1972. Tensions between the Sinhalese majority and Tamil separatists erupted into war in 1983. Tens of thousands have died in an ethnic conflict that continues to fester. After two decades of fighting, the government and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam formalized a cease-fire in February 2002, with Norway brokering peace negotiations. | 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 finally 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. |
| Birth rate | 15.51 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 10.54 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $3.804 billion
expenditures: $5.469 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
revenues: $36.1 billion
expenditures: $31 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| Capital | name: Colombo
geographic coordinates: 6 56 N, 79 51 E time difference: UTC+5.5 (10.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) |
Helsinki |
| Climate | tropical monsoon; northeast monsoon (December to March); southwest monsoon (June to October) | 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 | 1,340 km | 1,126 km (excludes islands and coastal indentations) |
| Constitution | adopted 16 August 1978, certified 31 August 1978 | 1 March 2000 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka
conventional short form: Sri Lanka local long form: Shri Lamka Prajatantrika Samajaya di Janarajaya/Ilankai Jananayaka Choshalichak Kutiyarachu local short form: Shri Lamka/Ilankai former: Serendib, Ceylon |
conventional long form: Republic of Finland
conventional short form: Finland local long form: Suomen Tasavalta local short form: Suomi |
| Currency | - | euro (EUR)
note: on 1 January 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by financial institutions of member countries; on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole currency for everyday transactions within the member countries |
| Death rate | 6.52 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 9.82 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Debt - external | $11.05 billion (2005 est.) | $30 billion (December 1993) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert O. BLAKE, Jr.
embassy: 210 Galle Road, Colombo 3 mailing address: P. O. Box 106, Colombo telephone: [94] (11) 249-8500 FAX: [94] (11) 243-7345 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Bonnie McELVEEN-HUNTER
embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14A, FIN-00140, Helsinki mailing address: APO AE 09723 telephone: [358] (9) 616250 FAX: [358] (9) 174681 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard GOONETILLEKE
chancery: 2148 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-4025 (through 4028) FAX: [1] (202) 232-7181 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles consulate(s): New York |
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 |
| Disputes - international | none | none |
| Economic aid - donor | - | ODA, $379 million (2001) |
| Economic aid - recipient | $577 million (1998) | - |
| Economy - overview | In 1977, Colombo abandoned statist economic policies and its import substitution trade policy for market-oriented policies and export-oriented trade. Sri Lanka's most dynamic sectors now are food processing, textiles and apparel, food and beverages, telecommunications, and insurance and banking. In 2003, plantation crops made up only 15% of exports (compared with 93% in 1970), while textiles and garments accounted for 63%. GDP grew at an average annual rate of about 5.5% in the 1990s, but 2001 saw the first contraction in the country's history, by 1.4%, due to a combination of power shortages, severe budgetary problems, the global slowdown, and continuing civil strife. Growth recovered to 5% between 2002 and 2005. About 800,000 Sri Lankans work abroad, 90% in the Middle East. They send home about $1 billion a year. The struggle by the Tamil Tigers of the north and east for a largely independent homeland continues to cast a shadow over the economy. In late December 2004, a major tsunami took about 31,000 lives, left more than 6,300 missing and 443,000 displaced, and destroyed an estimated $1.5 billion worth of property. | 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 almost 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 European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) on 1 January 1999 - will dominate the economic picture over the next several years. Growth in 2003 was held back by the global slowdown but will pick up in 2004 provided the world economy suffers no further blows. |
| Electricity - consumption | 6.796 billion kWh (2003) | 76.18 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 1.81 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 11.77 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production | 7.308 billion kWh (2003) | 71.2 billion kWh (2001) |
| Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 39%
hydro: 18.7% nuclear: 30.4% other: 11.8% (2001) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pidurutalagala 2,524 m |
lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Halti 1,328 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; wildlife populations threatened by poaching and urbanization; coastal degradation from mining activities and increased pollution; freshwater resources being polluted by industrial wastes and sewage runoff; waste disposal; air pollution in Colombo | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation |
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 |
| Ethnic groups | Sinhalese 73.8%, Sri Lankan Moors 7.2%, Indian Tamil 4.6%, Sri Lankan Tamil 3.9%, other 0.5%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) | Finn 93%, Swede 6%, Sami 0.11%, Roma 0.12%, Tatar 0.02% |
| Exchange rates | Sri Lankan rupees per US dollar - 100.498 (2005), 101.194 (2004), 96.521 (2003), 95.662 (2002), 89.383 (2001) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (2000), 0.94 (1999) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 19 November 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government; Ratnasiri WICKREMANAYAKE (since 21 November 2005) holds the ceremonial title of prime minister
head of government: President Mahinda RAJAPAKSE (since 19 November 2005) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president in consultation with the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 17 November 2005 (next to be held 2011) election results: Mahinda RAJAPAKSE elected president; percent of vote - Mahinda RAJAPAKSE 50.3%, Ranil WICKREMESINGHE 48.4%, other 1.3% |
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 Antti KALLIOMAKI (since 17 April 2003); note - former Prime Minister Anneli JAATTEENMAKI resigned 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 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%, Esko AHO (Kesk) 48.4% note: government coalition - KESK, SDP, and SFP |
| Exports | NA bbl/day | 101,000 bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | textiles and apparel, tea and spices; diamonds, emeralds, rubies; coconut products, rubber manufactures, fish | machinery and equipment, chemicals, metals; timber, paper, pulp (1999) |
| Exports - partners | US 30.9%, UK 11.6%, India 7.3%, Belgium 4.8%, Germany 4.5% (2005) | Germany 11.8%, UK 9.6%, US 9%, Sweden 8.5%, Russia 6.6%, Netherlands 4.6%, France 4.5% (2002) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | yellow with two panels; the smaller hoist-side panel has two equal vertical bands of green (hoist side) and orange; the other panel is a large dark red rectangle with a yellow lion holding a sword, and there is a yellow bo leaf in each corner; the yellow field appears as a border around the entire flag and extends between the two panels | 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 - $133.8 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 17.8%
industry: 27.6% services: 54.5% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 4%
industry: 34% services: 62% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $25,800 (2002 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 6% (2005 est.) | 1.6% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 7 00 N, 81 00 E | 64 00 N, 26 00 E |
| Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean sea lanes | long boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain |
| Highways | - | total: 77,943 km
paved: 50,305 km (including 750 km of expressways) unpaved: 27,688 km (2001) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.5%
highest 10%: 28% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 4.2%
highest 10%: 21.6% (1991) |
| Imports | NA bbl/day | 318,300 bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | textile fabrics, mineral products, petroleum, foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment | foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains (1999) |
| Imports - partners | India 19.7%, China 9.9%, Singapore 7.2%, Iran 5.5%, Malaysia 4.6%, Hong Kong 4.5% (2005) | Germany 14.5%, Sweden 10.9%, Russia 9.9%, UK 5.7%, France 4.3%, Denmark 4.2% (2002) |
| Independence | 4 February 1948 (from UK) | 6 December 1917 (from Russia) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.2% (2005 est.) | 5% (2002 est.) |
| Industries | processing of rubber, tea, coconuts, tobacco and other agricultural commodities; telecommunications, insurance, banking; clothing, textiles; cement, petroleum refining | metal products, electronics, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, copper refining, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 13.97 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 15.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 3.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 4.21 deaths/1,000 live births female: 3.23 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 11.6% (2005 est.) | 1.9% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | AsDB, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, 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, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOGIP, UNMOP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2002) |
| Irrigated land | 7,430 sq km (2003) | 640 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Appeals; judges for both courts are appointed by the president | Supreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president) |
| Labor force | 8.08 million (2005 est.) | 2.6 million (2000 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 38%
industry: 17% services: 45% (1998 est.) |
public services 32%, industry 22%, commerce 14%, finance, insurance, and business services 10%, agriculture and forestry 8%, transport and communications 8%, construction 6% |
| Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,628 km
border countries: Norway 729 km, Sweden 586 km, Russia 1,313 km |
| Land use | arable land: 13.96%
permanent crops: 15.24% other: 70.8% (2005) |
arable land: 6.98%
permanent crops: 0.01% other: 93.01% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | Sinhala (official and national language) 74%, Tamil (national language) 18%, other 8%
note: English is commonly used in government and is spoken competently by about 10% of the population |
Finnish 93.4% (official), Swedish 5.9% (official), small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities |
| Legal system | a highly complex mixture of English common law, Roman-Dutch, Muslim, Sinhalese, and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | civil law system based on Swedish law; Supreme Court may request legislation interpreting or modifying laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament (225 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of a modified proportional representation system by district to serve six-year terms)
elections: last held 2 April 2004 (next to be held by 2010) election results: percent of vote by party or electoral alliance - SLFP and JVP (no longer in formal UPFA alliance) 45.6%, UNP 37.83%, TNA 6.84%, JHU 5.97%, SLMC 2.02%, UPF 0.54%, EPDP 0.27%, others 0.93%; seats by party - UNP 68, SLFP 57, JVP 39, UNP dissident 1, TNA 22, CWC 8, JHU 7, JHU dissidents 2, SLMC 6, SLMC dissidents 4, Communist Party 2, LSSP 2, MEP 2, NUA 2, UPF 2, EPDP 1 |
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 NA 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: 73.41 years
male: 70.83 years female: 76.12 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 77.92 years
male: 74.28 years female: 81.68 years (2003 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 92.3% male: 94.8% female: 90% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100% (1980 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
| Location | Southern Asia, island in the Indian Ocean, south of India | Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia |
| Map references | Asia | Europe |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM; extends to continental shelf boundary with Sweden territorial sea: 12 NM (in the Gulf of Finland - 3 NM) |
| Merchant marine | total: 22 ships (1000 GRT or over) 144,066 GRT/196,418 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 1, cargo 17, container 2, petroleum tanker 2 foreign-owned: 7 (Germany 5, UAE 2) registered in other countries: 5 (Panama 5) (2006) |
total: 93 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,181,687 GRT/1,185,653 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 24, chemical tanker 5, container 1, passenger 2, petroleum tanker 11, roll on/roll off 32, short-sea passenger 9 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 1, Sweden 1 (2002 est.) |
| Military branches | Sri Lankan Army, Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan Air Force (2006) | Army, Navy, Air Force, Frontier Guard (including Sea Guard) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $606.2 million (2005 est.) | $1.8 billion (FY98/99) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.6% (2005 est.) | 2% (FY98/99) |
| Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,230,934 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,016,693 (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 31,926 (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 4 February (1948) | Independence Day, 6 December (1917) |
| Nationality | noun: Sri Lankan(s)
adjective: Sri Lankan |
noun: Finn(s)
adjective: Finnish |
| Natural hazards | occasional cyclones and tornadoes | NA |
| Natural resources | limestone, graphite, mineral sands, gems, phosphates, clay, hydropower | timber, copper, zinc, iron ore, silver |
| Net migration rate | -1.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | gas 694 km (2003) |
| Political parties and leaders | All Ceylon Tamil Congress or ACTC [KUMARGURUPARAM]; Ceylon Workers Congress or CWC [Arumugam THONDAMAN]; Communist Party or CP [D. GUNASEKERA]; Democratic United National (Lalith) Front or DUNLF [Shrimani ATULATHMUDALI]; Eelam People's Democratic Party or EPDP [Douglas DEVANANDA]; Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front or EPRLF [Suresh PREMACHANDRAN]; Janatha Vimukthi Perumuna or JVP [Somawansa AMARASINGHE]; Lanka Sama Samaja Party or LSSP; Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) or MEP [D. GUNAWARDENE]; National Heritage Party or JHU [Tilak KARUNARATNE]; National Unity Alliance or NUA [Ferial ASHRAFF]; People's Liberation Organization of Tamil Eelam or PLOTE [D. SIDHARTHAN]; Sihala Urumaya or SU; Sri Lanka Freedom Party or SLFP [Chandrika Bandaranaike KUMARATUNGA]; Sri Lanka Muslim Congress or SLMC [Rauff HAKEEM]; Sri Lanka Progressive Front or SLPF [P. Nelson PERERA]; Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization or TELO [SABARATNAM]; Tamil National Alliance or TNA [R. SAMPANTHAN]; Tamil United Liberation Front or TULF [V. ANANDASANGAREE]; United National Party or UNP [Ranil WICKREMASINGHE]; Up-country People's Front or UPF [P. CHANDRASEKARAN]; several ethnic Tamil and Muslim parties, represented in either Parliament or provincial councils | Center Party or Kesk [Matti VANHANEN]; Christian Democrats or KD [Bjarne KALLIS]; Green League or VIHR [Osmo SOININVAARA]; Left Alliance or VAS (Communist) composed of People's Democratic League and Democratic Alternative [Suvi-Anne SIIMES]; National Coalition (conservative) Party or Kok [Ville ITALA]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Paavo LIPPONEN]; Swedish People's Party or SFP [Jan-Erik ENESTAM] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Buddhist clergy; labor unions; Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam or LTTE [Velupillai PRABHAKARAN](insurgent group fighting for a separate state); radical chauvinist Sinhalese groups such as the National Movement Against Terrorism; Sinhalese Buddhist lay groups | - |
| Population | 20,222,240
note: since the outbreak of hostilities between the government and armed Tamil separatists in the mid-1980s, several hundred thousand Tamil civilians have fled the island and more than 200,000 Tamils have sought refuge in the West (July 2006 est.) |
5,190,785 (July 2003 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 22% (1997 est.) | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 0.78% (2006 est.) | 0.14% (2003 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Hamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Loviisa, Oulu, Pori, Rauma, Turku, Uusikaupunki, Varkaus |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 26, FM 45, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 186, shortwave 1 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 1,449 km
broad gauge: 1,449 km 1.676-m gauge (2005) |
total: 5,850 km
broad gauge: 5,850 km 1.524-m gauge (2,400 km electrified) (2002) |
| Religions | Buddhist 69.1%, Muslim 7.6%, Hindu 7.1%, Christian 6.2%, unspecified 10% (2001 census provisional data) | Evangelical Lutheran 89%, Russian Orthodox 1%, none 9%, other 1% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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: 0.64 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: very inadequate domestic service, particularly in rural areas; likely improvement with privatization of national telephone company and encouragement to private investment; good international service (1999)
domestic: national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and two fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems; telephone density remains low (1999) international: country code - 94; submarine cables to Indonesia and Djibouti; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (1999) |
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) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.244 million (2005) | 2,847,900 (2001) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.362 million (2005) | 3,728,600 (2001) |
| Television broadcast stations | 21 (1997) | 120 (plus 431 repeaters) (1999) |
| Terrain | mostly low, flat to rolling plain; mountains in south-central interior | mostly low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills |
| Total fertility rate | 1.84 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.7 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 7.7% (2005 est.) | 8.5% (2002 est.) |
| Waterways | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2005) | 6,675 km
note: includes Saimaa Canal; 3,700 km suitable for large ships |
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