Far from a crowded nation yet deeply urban, Finland is a fascinating paradox of vast forests, a rapidly aging society, and the world's happiest people, as revealed by its population of 5.6 million, a median age of 43.2 years, and an 82-year life expectancy.
Key Takeaways
- Finland's population as of December 2023 is 5,592,265 people
- The median age in Finland is 43.2 years as of 2023
- Finland's population density is 18.4 people per square kilometer in 2023
- Finland's GDP nominal is 300.4 billion USD in 2023
- GDP per capita in Finland is 53,745 USD in 2023
- Finland's GDP growth rate is 0.5% in 2023
- Finland's total area is 338,424 square kilometers
- Land area of Finland is 303,815 square kilometers
- Water area constitutes 11.5% of Finland's total area
- Finland's PISA score average is 489 in reading, 484 in math, 507 in science 2022
- Tertiary education attainment rate is 45% for ages 25-34 in 2023
- Finland spends 5.9% of GDP on education in 2022
- Finland has world's happiest population ranking 1st in World Happiness Report 2023
- Finnish language is spoken by 87.3% as native
- Finland independence from Russia on December 6, 1917
Finland maintains global wellbeing despite economic pressures and an aging population.
Culture, History, and Society
- Finland has world's happiest population ranking 1st in World Happiness Report 2023
- Finnish language is spoken by 87.3% as native
- Finland independence from Russia on December 6, 1917
- Lutheran Church members are 63.6% of population in 2023
- Sauna density is 1 per 2 people, about 3 million saunas in Finland
- Finland wins 108 Olympic medals historically as of 2023
- Ice hockey is national sport with 5 world championships won
- Nobel laureates from Finland: 5 including Martti Ahtisaari in 2008
- Kalevala epic compiled in 1835 influences national identity
- Finland has 3.3 million TV households with 99% coverage in 2023
- Press freedom rank 5th globally in 2023 World Press Freedom Index
- Metal music scene produces bands like Nightwish, with 42% Finns liking heavy metal
- Finland hosts Eurovision Song Contest wins in 2006 with Lordi
- Winter War 1939-1940 against USSR with 26,000 Finnish deaths
- Continuation War 1941-1944 involved 95,000 Finnish casualties
- Sisu cultural concept embodies perseverance
- Coffee consumption is 12 kg per capita annually highest globally
- Gender equality index scores 75.0/100 in 2023 EU ranking 2nd
- Corruption Perceptions Index rank 2nd least corrupt in 2023
- Trust in others is 68% in Finland per World Values Survey 2022
- Public libraries number 778 with 15 million loans annually
- Finland's parliament unicameral Eduskunta with 200 seats since 1906
- Women hold 46% of parliamentary seats in 2023
- Moomin characters created by Tove Jansson sell 10 million books yearly
- Finland has 188,000 summer cottages used by 2 million annually
- Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi attracts 600,000 visitors yearly
- Finland's freedom of speech protected since 1788
Culture, History, and Society Interpretation
Finland seems to have mastered the quiet art of defiant coziness, defending its right to be both fiercely independent and profoundly content by fortifying saunas, guarding libraries, and drinking heroic amounts of coffee in between winning wars, hockey games, and global happiness rankings.
Demographics
- Finland's population as of December 2023 is 5,592,265 people
- The median age in Finland is 43.2 years as of 2023
- Finland's population density is 18.4 people per square kilometer in 2023
- 86.5% of Finland's population lives in urban areas as of 2023
- Finland's fertility rate is 1.32 children per woman in 2022
- Life expectancy at birth in Finland is 82.0 years for both sexes in 2023
- Finland has 5.3% of its population aged 0-14 years in 2023
- 22.5% of Finland's population is aged 65 and over in 2023
- Net migration rate to Finland is 2.7 migrants per 1,000 population in 2023
- Finland's sex ratio is 0.98 males per female overall in 2023
- Ethnic Finns make up 89.3% of the population, with 5.3% Swedes in 2023
- Finland's infant mortality rate is 1.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023
- 26.3% of Finland's population was born abroad as of 2023
- Finland's total dependency ratio is 59.3% in 2023
- The largest city Helsinki has 686,448 inhabitants as of 2023
- Finland's population growth rate is 0.38% annually in 2023
- 51.4% of Finland's population is female in 2023
- Finland has 2.2 million households as of 2023
- Average household size in Finland is 2.5 persons in 2023
- Finland's youth unemployment rate affecting demographics is 16.5% for ages 15-24 in 2023
- Sami people constitute 0.1% of Finland's population, around 10,000 individuals in 2023
- Finland's Roma population is approximately 10,000-12,000 people in 2023
- Immigrants from Estonia make up 4.5% of foreign-born in Finland in 2023
- Finland's working-age population (15-64) is 62.2% in 2023
- Divorce rate in Finland is 2.4 per 1,000 population in 2022
- Marriage rate in Finland is 3.5 per 1,000 population in 2022
- Finland's population pyramid shows a narrowing base due to low birth rates in 2023
- 18.9% of Finland's population speaks Swedish as mother tongue in 2023
- Finland's largest age cohort is 50-54 years with 347,000 people in 2023
Demographics Interpretation
With a median age of 43.2, a fertility rate of 1.32, and its largest cohort being 50-54, Finland is a nation expertly aging in place, quietly importing youth through migration to keep its vibrant urban spaces from becoming glorified retirement villages.
Economy
- Finland's GDP nominal is 300.4 billion USD in 2023
- GDP per capita in Finland is 53,745 USD in 2023
- Finland's GDP growth rate is 0.5% in 2023
- Unemployment rate in Finland is 7.2% in 2023
- Inflation rate (CPI) in Finland is 6.2% in 2023 average
- Public debt to GDP ratio is 73.6% in 2023
- Finland's exports of goods and services are 40.2% of GDP in 2022
- Imports of goods and services are 39.7% of GDP in 2022
- Current account balance is -1.8% of GDP in 2023
- Finland's labor force participation rate is 69.1% for ages 15+ in 2023
- Average gross monthly earnings in Finland are 3,745 EUR in 2023
- Minimum wage in Finland is not statutory but averages 11.50 EUR/hour in manufacturing 2023
- Corporate tax rate in Finland is 20% as of 2023
- VAT standard rate in Finland is 24% in 2023
- Finland's forest products industry contributes 20% to exports in 2023
- Nokia contributes significantly but telecom sector is 2.5% of GDP in 2023
- Finland's R&D expenditure is 2.9% of GDP in 2022
- Government expenditure is 55.8% of GDP in 2023
- Finland ranks 13th in Global Innovation Index 2023
- Tourism contributes 2.7% to GDP with 4.5 million visitors in 2023
- Energy imports cost Finland 12 billion EUR in 2022 due to crisis
- Finland's stock market capitalization is 150 billion USD in 2023
- Average house price in Finland is 2,800 EUR per sqm in 2023
- Consumer confidence index averaged -7.2 in 2023
- Finland's foreign direct investment inflow is 5.2 billion USD in 2022
- Industrial production growth is -0.8% in 2023
- Retail sales growth in Finland is 1.2% in 2023
Economy Interpretation
Finland is a wealthy, innovative, and stable economy, cautiously sipping its GDP growth while its citizens, highly paid but mildly pessimistic, navigate modest inflation, manageable debt, and the expensive reality of importing energy its famous forests cannot power.
Education and Health
- Finland's PISA score average is 489 in reading, 484 in math, 507 in science 2022
- Tertiary education attainment rate is 45% for ages 25-34 in 2023
- Finland spends 5.9% of GDP on education in 2022
- Student-teacher ratio in primary education is 13.5 in Finland 2022
- Adult literacy rate is 100% in Finland
- Finland has 13 universities and 22 universities of applied sciences in 2023
- Healthcare expenditure is 9.6% of GDP in 2022
- Physicians density is 4.0 per 1,000 people in 2022
- Hospital beds per 1,000 people is 2.6 in Finland 2022
- Immunization measles coverage is 94% for children 12-23 months 2022
- Obesity rate among adults is 23.1% in 2022
- Suicide rate is 13.5 per 100,000 population in 2022
- Finland's education index score is 0.930 in 2022
- Mean years of schooling is 12.9 years in Finland 2022
- Expected years of schooling is 20.1 years in 2022
- Finland ranks 1st in education system quality globally per OECD 2023
- Alcohol consumption per capita is 8.4 liters pure alcohol in 2022
- Smoking prevalence among adults is 14.7% in 2022
- Mental health disorders affect 20% of population annually
- Finland has 192 hospitals in 2023
- Cancer incidence rate is 286 per 100,000 in 2022
- Cardiovascular disease mortality is 152 per 100,000 in 2022
- Finland's compulsory education is 9 years until age 18 effectively
- Vocational education enrollment is 43% of upper secondary students
- University graduation rate is 38% within target time in 2023
- Air pollution PM2.5 exposure is 5.5 micrograms per cubic meter in 2022
Education and Health Interpretation
Finland’s impressive classroom scores and national literacy shine brightly, but they are soberingly bookended by challenges in adult mental health and lifestyle-related diseases, proving that even the world’s top-educated society can’t quite pencil in perfect well-being.
Geography and Environment
- Finland's total area is 338,424 square kilometers
- Land area of Finland is 303,815 square kilometers
- Water area constitutes 11.5% of Finland's total area
- Coastline length of Finland is 1,250 kilometers
- Highest point in Finland is Halti at 1,324 meters
- Lowest point is Baltic Sea at 0 meters
- Finland has 187,888 lakes larger than 500 square meters
- Lake Saimaa is the largest at 4,400 square kilometers
- Forest covers 77.6% or 23 million hectares of land area in 2023
- Arable land is 6.6% of total land in 2022
- Permanent crops are 0% as Finland has no significant permanent crop areas
- Finland's mean elevation is 164 meters above sea level
- Annual precipitation averages 712 mm nationwide in Finland
- Average temperature in Helsinki is 5.9°C annually
- Finland experiences 179 days with snowfall on average per year
- Protected areas cover 11.2% of land and inland water in 2023
- Finland's renewable water resources are 110 billion cubic meters per year
- Carbon dioxide emissions are 7.4 metric tons per capita in 2022
- Forested area growth rate is 0.4% annually due to sustainable management
- Finland has 40 national parks totaling 1.1 million hectares
- Gulf of Finland is 30,000 square kilometers shared with Estonia and Russia
- Lapland region covers 100,000 square kilometers in northern Finland
- Midnight sun visible for 73 days above Arctic Circle in Finland
- Northern lights visible 200 nights per year in Lapland
- Finland's exclusive economic zone is 65,000 nautical square miles
- Biodiversity includes 45,000 species of insects in Finland
- Peatlands cover 31% of land area in Finland
- Wind power capacity is 5,800 MW installed in 2023
Geography and Environment Interpretation
Finland is essentially a rugged, waterlogged forest of staggering scale, where trees vastly outnumber people, lakes outnumber just about everything else, and the sky puts on a free light show to make up for the bone-chilling winters and remarkably flat topography.
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