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Finland
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.
Capital City: Helsinki (+2 GMT)
Chief of State: President Tarja HALONEN
Head of Govt.: Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN
Currency: Euro
Main Cities: Espoo, Tampere, Vantaa
Major Languages: Finnish, Swedish
Calling Code: 358
Voltage: 220V
Stock Exchanges: Helsinki Stock Exchange
Primary Religions: Evangelical Lutheran
Main Airports
Helsinki (HEL) (Helsinki-Vantaa) , Tampere (TMP), Turku (TKU)
U.S. Embassy
Itainen Puistotie 14, Helsinki 00140
tel: 358-9-616-250
Statistics
- GDP: purchasing power parity:
- $161.5 billion (2005 est.)
- GDP - real growth rate:
- 2.2% (2005 est.)
- GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity:
- 30,900 (2005 est.)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices):
- 0.9% (2005 est.)
- Labor force:
- 2.61 million (2005 est.)
- Exports:
- $67.88 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
- Exports - partners:
- Russia 11.2%, Sweden 10.7%, Germany 10.5%, UK 6.6%, US 6.2%,
Netherlands 4.8% (2005)
- Imports:
- $56.45 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
- Imports - partners:
- Germany 16.2%, Sweden 14.1%, Russia 13.9%, Netherlands 6.2%,
Denmark 4.6%, UK 4.3%, China 4.2% (2005)
- Population:
- 5,231,372 (July 2006 est.)
- Population growth rate:
- 0.14% (2006 est.)
- Population Below Poverty Line:
- NA%
- Major Industries:
- metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and
scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper,
foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing
- Employing Workers: 111*
- Registering Property: 15*
- Enforcing Contracts: 13*
- Closing a Business: 6*
- *2006 World Bank rank out of 175 countries
- Starting a Business
The table below shows the number of steps and the amount of
time needed to start a business, on average
| Indicator |
Finland |
Region |
| Procedures (number) |
3 |
|
| Time (days) |
14 |
|
Finland Risk Assessment
Country Rating
Rating: A1
The political and
economic situation is very good. A quality business environment has
a positive influence on corporate payment behaviour. Corporate
default probability is very low on average.
Risk Assessment
Strong growth continued in 2007,
driven by foreign demand and household consumption. Exports remained
at a good level thanks to performance in key sectors (electronics.
mechanical engineering) and the buoyant economic conditions enjoyed
by Finland's main trading partners (Germany, Sweden and Russia).
Despite an upsurge of inflation and a limited increase in wages,
household consumption remained dynamic thanks to an improving
employment picture and an increase in spending from savings.
Investment was mainly driven by non-residential construction and
capital goods purchases by companies.
The growth rate will decline further in
2008. Households will ease up somewhat on spending amid persistent
inflationary pressures, more difficult conditions of access to
credit, and high debt. Household consumption will nonetheless remain
at a good level thanks to the expected strong increase in wages and
continuing withdrawals from savings, whose rate will significantly
decline. Foreign demand, albeit less dynamic, will allow export
growth to remain reasonably strong despite the euro appreciation and
constraints related to production capacity. Residential investment
will stall under the effect of high interest rates whereas public
and commercial projects will remain very dynamic. The very
satisfactory financial results achieved by companies overall should
allow them to cope with rising production costs and go forward with
their investment programmes. They will nonetheless have to contend
with a shortage of skilled labour. Public sector finances will
continue to improve with the government having decided to postpone
tax reductions and give budgetary priority to debt reduction.
Corporate bankruptcies stabilised at a
low level in 2007 attesting to their financial health overall, a
fact borne out by the good Coface payment incident index for
Finland. The slowdown of household consumption and residential
construction should nonetheless affect weaker companies in sectors
like leisure, hotel-catering, distribution, and sectors connected
with the home.
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