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Capital: Helsinki
Population(2005): 5,223,000
Size: 130,119 sq mi (337,009 sq km)
Land and People
Finland borders on the Gulf of Bothnia and Sweden in the west, on Norway in the north, on Russia in the east, and on the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea in the south. Helsinki is Finland's capital and its largest city.
Finnish and Swedish are both official languages, and about 6% of the population speaks Swedish as a first language; nearly all Swedish speakers are bilingual. In addition, there are about 3,000 Lapps living in Finnish Lapland. About 90% of Finland's inhabitants belong to the established Evangelical Lutheran Church.
 Economy
In agriculture, livestock production is predominant, and dairy products are important. Large numbers of poultry, cattle, hogs, reindeer, and sheep are raised. Leading agricultural commodities include hay, oats, barley, wheat, rye, sugar beets, and potatoes. Though Finland's mining output is small, it includes a number of important minerals such as iron ore, copper, zinc, nickel, cobalt, titanium, vanadium, mercury, silver, and gold. The Finnish lumbering industry is one of the largest in Europe, producing a variety of wood and paper products.
Among the country's chief manufactures are iron, steel, ships, petroleum products, machinery, chemicals, processed food, metal products, transportation and agricultural equipment, electrical and electronic equipment (especially cellular phones), textiles, and clothing. Finland is also known for its design of glass, ceramics, and stainless-steel cutlery. Its tourism industry is based mostly on winter sports and fishing. About one quarter of the country's electricity is generated by hydroelectric plants; additional electricity and fossil fuels must be imported.
The chief imports are food, mineral fuels, chemicals, transportation equipment, crude materials, textiles, and iron and steel. The leading exports are forest products (which account for about 50% of exports), machinery, transportation equipment, ships, clothing, and foodstuffs. The principal trade partners are Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, the United States, Russia, and Japan.
*Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright (c) 2005.
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