WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT Finland ??
Finland is a Nordic country situated in northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki. Around 5.3mio people reside in Finland, with the majority concentrated in the southern part of the country.

It is the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. The native language for most of the population is Finnish. Main cities are Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, and Oulu.

Finland joined the European Union in 1995, and the Eurozone in 1999. Finland has seen very good results in many international comparisons of national performance such as the share of high-technology manufacturing, public education, health care, the rate of gross domestic product growth, and the protection of civil liberties.

The share of foreign citizens in Finland is 2.5% the lowest of the European Union countries. Most of them are from Russia, Estonia and Sweden. 60% percent of residents know English and 17% know German. Ranking those claiming to know English, Finland ranked fifth behind Malta, the Netherlands (86%), Sweden (85%), and Denmark (83%).

Finland has a highly industrialized free-market economy with a per capita output equal to that of other western economies such as France, Germany, Sweden or the UK. The largest sector of the economy is services at 65.7%.For foreign trade the key economic sector is manufacturing. The largest industries are electronics and machinery. The Greater Helsinki area generates around a third of GDP. High-technology manufacturing in Finland ranks second after Ireland. Knowledge-intensive services rank as well second after Ireland. Overall short-term outlook is good and GDP growth has been above many EU peers.

Finland is highly integrated in the global economy, and international trade is a third of GDP. The European Union makes 60% of the total trade. The largest trade flows are with Germany, Russia, Sweden, UK, USA, Netherlands and China. Finland is the only Nordic country to have joined the Eurozone.

Private sector employees amount to 1.8mio of which a third with tertiary education. As of 2008 the average purchasing power-adjusted income levels are similar to Germany, and France. The strongest economic growth stems from middle seized companies. Female employment rate is high. In early 2008 unemployment rate was 6.8%

Most pre-tertiary education is arranged at municipal level. Even though most schools were started as private schools, today only around 3% students are enrolled in private schools many times less than in most other developed countries. The country has high continuing teacher training, Trade schools prepare for professions. Academically-oriented gymnasiums have higher entrance requirements and specifically prepare for Abitur and tertiary education. Graduation from either formally qualifies for tertiary education.

In tertiary education, two, mostly separate and non-interoperating sectors are found: the profession-oriented polytechnics and the research-oriented universities. There are 20 universities and 30 polytechnics in the country. The World Economic Forum ranks Finland's tertiary education #1 in the world. Around 33% of residents has a tertiary degree more than in most other OECD countries except Canada (44%), US (38%) and Japan(37%). The proportion of foreign students is 3% of all tertiary enrolments while in advanced programs it is 7.3%

More than 30% of tertiary graduates are in science-related fields. Finnish researchers are leading contributors to such fields as forest improvement, new materials, neural networks, low-temperature physics, brain research, biotechnology, genetic technology and communications.
Finland is rated 13th in the Ease of Doing Business Index. It indicates exceptional ease to trade across borders, enforce contracts and close a business , while workers and staff are highly protected and taxes are high.

Finns have made major contributions to handicrafts and industrial design. Finnish architecture is famous around the world.

Around 79% of the population use the Internet. Finland had around 1.5mio broadband Internet connections by end June 2007 or around 287 per 1,000 inhabitants. All Finnish schools and public libraries have Internet and a few computers.