Flýtilyklar
Finland at a glance
The population of Finland is 5.3 million. Of the total population 300,000 represent the Swedish-speaking minority. Finland is a large country and one of the least densely populated countries in the EU. The country’s overall population density is only 17 people per square kilometre. Finland is more than a thousand kilometres long, and its northernmost end is located in the northern periphery of Europe. The southern coastal area at the Baltic Sea has good connections to the central areas of Europe.
Some facts about Finland
The past decades have seen a concentration of both business and population in the largest urban regions and southern Finland. More than 80 per cent of the country's 5.3 million inhabitants live in densely populated areas, and rural areas have less than a million inhabitants. Population density is highest in the large urban areas in Southern Finland and the coastal regions. Half of the Finns live within 160 kilometres from the centre of Helsinki. Lapland, the northernmost region, equals Portugal or Hungary in size, but it has a population of less than 200,000, which makes only about 2 people per square kilometre. The Finns have plenty of space for everyone to enjoy the forests, lakes and unspoilt countryside, particularly at their 470,000 holiday residences and summer cottages.
Finland is a highly industrialised welfare state. The main industries in Finland include metal and engineering, forest products and information and communications technology. In the 2000s, electronics has been the most important sector in terms of both value added and exports. The services are the biggest sector in the industrial structure.
In 2004 the Finland’s industrial structure was the following (Industrial structure 2004, share of employed population, Statistics Finland 2007):
· Public service 32,4 %
· Industry 19,1 %
· Trade 15,3 %
· Business services, finance and insurance 13,8 %
· Transport 7,5 %
· Construction 6,1 %
· Agriculture 4,2 %
Bulgaria
Finland
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