Country Profile of FINLAND in English

8/20/2019 Country Profile of FINLAND in English

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FINLANDCountry prole

Project number: UK/13/LLP-LdV/TOI-615

Info4Migrants


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337,030 km2POPULATION

GDP per capita

1 & 2 cent coins are not used

Languages FINNISH, SWEDISH

CURRENCY

$36,395



COUNTRY BACKGROUND

Finland used to be a province and then a grand duchy un-

der Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an

autonomous grand duchy of Russia aer 1809. It gained

its complete independence in 1917. During World War II,

it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist

invasions by the Soviet Union – although with some loss ofterritory. In the half century that followed, the Finns made a

remarkable transformaon from a farm/forest economy to

a diversied modern industrial economy. Per capita income

in Finland is now among the highest in Western Europe. A

member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was

the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its inia-

on in January 1999. In the 21st century, the key features

of Finland’s modern welfare state are a high standard of

educaon, equality promoon, and naonal social securitysystem – currently challenged by an aging populaon and

the uctuaons of an export-driven economy.

The Finnish coat of arms, a

crowned lion on a red eld, the

right forepaw replaced with

an armoured hand brandish-

ing a sword, trampling on a

saber with the hindpaws, was

originally created around the

year 1580.

Naonal Flag

Finland

Helsinki


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SisuFinns describe themselves with the word “sisu,” which

roughly translates to a combinaon of courage, strength

and determinaon.

TangoThe Finnish style of tango is popular throughout Finland.

Each year Finland crowns a tango king and queen who

rule over the many tango events held throughout the

country.

FINLAND FACTS

Suomi The Finnish word for the country is “Suomi,” which means marsh-

land. The country has more than 60,000 lakes, but less than

8 percent of the country is arable.

FoodFinnish foods oen use wholemeal products (rye,

barley, oats) and berries (such as blueberries, lingon-

berries, cloudberries, and sea buckthorn). Fish and

meat play a prominent role in tradional Finnish dishes

in some parts of the country, while the dishes in some

other regions have tradionally included various root

vegetables and mushrooms.

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FINLAND FACTS

Naonal CharacterTypical Finnish people are very patrioc, have a very

strong sense of naonal identy and value indepen-

dence very high. Finland, along with Iceland, is Nordic

rather than Scandinavian.

Finns are very modest and downplay their own accom-

plishments. They view being humble and modest asvirtues. Finns believe there is a proper way to act in any

circumstance and always expect polite behaviour.

Ethnic Make-up and ReligionFinns 93%, Swedes 5%, Samis, Romas,Tatars less than 1%

Most Finns belong to the Evangelical-Lutheran Churchwhile a fracon of Finns belong to the Orthodox Church.

The Evangelical-Lutheran Church accepts the ordinaon

of women as priests.

LanguageOf the two ocial languages of Finland, Finnish is the

rst language spoken by 93% of the country’s 5.4 mil-

lion inhabitants. Finnish, unlike Scandinavian languages,

is not Germanic but in a class of its own. Theorecally,

Finnish is related to Hungarian but it sounds a bit like

Estonian.

The other ocial language, Swedish, is spoken by around

5% of the populaon, most of whom live in the south

west and are also speakers of Finnish. Sami is a minority

language in Scandinavia that is spoken by around 2,000

people living in the north of Finland, which is 0.03% of

the Finnish populaon.

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FINLAND FACTS

TracYou must keep your headlights on at all mes. In Fin-

land, trac nes are based on two factors: the sever-

ity of the oense and the driver’s income. The most

expensive speeding cket ever given was in 2003. The

ne: 170,000 Euros for driving 80 km/hr in a 40 km/hr

zone.

Ice swimmingIce swimming is quite a popular winter sport in Finland.

It is done when the water is frozen over. This requires

breaking the ice to make a pool. There are also com-

peons for winter swimming. Many winter swimmers

swim with standard swimming costumes rather than

with wetsuits or other thermal protecon.

Country prole FINLAND

ShoesWhen we enter into any Finnish home we always take

our shoes o.

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FINLAND FACTS


FashionMarimekko is one of the staples in Finnish fashion.

One of their most monumental pieces was the Unik-

ko, which contained large 70s style oral and retro

prints. Marimekko can be found in over 20 countries

worldwide, and has over 800 retailers.

PhonesThere are no public payphones in Finland! There are

over 5 million mobile phones in Finland for a popu-

laon of 5.4 million.

ReindeerIn Finland, anyone living within the area of Finnish

reindeer husbandry who is a cizen of the EuropeanUnion has the right to own reindeer. The total area

of reindeer husbandry in Finland is approximately

33 % of the surface of the country. There are over

200,000 reindeer in Finland.



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1 January: New Year’s Day

Uudenvuodenpäivä,

Nyårsdagen

Tradionally, the president

gives a speech to address

cizens at noon.

6 January: Epiphany

Loppiainen, TreondedagenEpiphany is celebrated to

commemorate the visit of

the Biblical Magi to the Baby

Jesus.

Moveable Friday in spring:

Good Friday

Pitkäperjantai,

Långfredagen

Good Friday commemo-

rates the crucixion of Jesus

Christ.

Moveable Sunday in

spring: Easter Sunday

Pääsiäispäivä, Påskdagen

The resurrecon of Jesus

Christ is celebrated on Eas-

ter Day.

Moveable Monday in

spring: Easter Monday

2. pääsiäispäivä,

Andra påskdagen

Easter Monday is the day

following Easter Day.

1 May: May Day

Vappu, ValborgsmässoaonMay Day is a versale fes-

val: it is a celebraon of

spring, youth and work.

Moveable Thursday in

spring: Ascension Day

Helatorstai,

Kris himmelfärds dag

Ascension is a Chrisan hol-

iday marking the day resur-

rected Jesus was taken up to

heaven.

Friday 19 June - 25 June:

Midsummer Eve

Juhannusaao,

Midsommaraon

It is the me of summer sol-

sce. In the evening, people

tradionally make bonres.

Saturday 20 June - 26 June:

Midsummer Day

Juhannuspäivä,

Midsommardagen

A lot of the Midsummer

fesvies take place in the

countryside.

Saturday 31 October -6 November: All Saints’ Day

Pyhäinpäivä,

Alla helgons dag

All Saint’ Day is a day to hon-

or the saints and deceased

loved ones.

6 December:

Independence Day

Itsenäisyyspäivä, Självstän-

dighetsdagen

Finland declared its inde-

pendence on December 6th,

1917.

24-26 December: Christmas

Joulu, Jul

Christmas is a family holiday

spent together with family

and loved ones.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS



IMPORTANT TIPS

SilenceFinns place great value on words, which is reected in the tendency to say lile and avoid

‘unnecessary’ small talk. They are beer at listening than at talking.

Finns rarely enter into conversaon with strangers, unless a parcularly strong impulse

prompts it. Finns are curiously silent in the metro, the bus or the tram. In lis, they suf -

fer from the same mute embarrassment as everyone else in the world. However, a visitor

clutching a map will have no trouble in geng advice on a street corner or in any other

public place, since the hospitality of Finns easily overrides their customary reserve.

Introducing yourself

When introducing themselves, Finns will say their forename followed by their surname.Women who use both their maiden name and their husband’s surname will state them

in that order. Although Finns are conscious and proud of any ocial tles they may have,

they rarely menon these when introducing themselves. In contrast, they do expect to be

addressed by their tle in professional and ocial contexts.

TippingTipping has never ed very comfortably into the Finnish way of life. This may have origi-

nally been due to the tradions of a religion which emphasized frugality; today, the rather

blunt reason for not pping is that the price paid includes any unusual instances of service

or politeness i.e. the atude is that “service is included”. However, nobody will object to

being pped, very few will mind not being pped.

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Dining and EntertainmentThe sauna is an esteemed Finnish tradi-

on. Business discussions may be held in a

sauna, or a business lunch may be preced-

ed or followed by a sauna.

All Finns go to sauna naked. You do not

have to go to sauna naked, but it is consid-

ered strange not to. You may wrap a towelaround yourself or wear a bathing suit.

Finns insist on punctuality for social occa-

sions.

Conversaon may connue for approx-

imately one to two hours aer dinner.

Never leave unl coee/dessert/cognac

is nished. Business can be discussed at

any me during lunch, but is not discussed

during dinner, only aer coee.

Checks in restaurants are never split. If you

make the invitaon, you pay.

GisWhen invited to someone's home, always

bring a small gi for the hostess.

Give: owers (odd numbers are best; white

and yellow owers are for funerals only;

tulips are a favorite), wine, chocolates.

Do not give: poed plants.

Gis are normally not exchanged in busi-

ness meengs, but small gis may be

appropriate at the successful conclusion of

negoaons.

Give: books, cognac, local/naonal gis,

recordings, art, glass, liquor (very expen-

sive in Finland).

Helpful HintsDo not show emoons in public.

Never ask personal quesons, such as

those related to someone's religion, job or

polical party.

IMPORTANT TIPS




Loyalty, reliability, self-suciency and independence are highly valued.

Finns are proud of their heritage and current society (they are leaders

in peace conferences and internaonal peace iniaves). They enjoy

nature and proudly protect their environment, which is one of the

cleanest in the world. Finns value their privacy and appreciate others

respecng it.

PEOPLE IN FINLANDIndependent & Reliable

Meeng and GreengShake hands with everyone present – men,

women and children – at a business or

social meeng. Shake hands again when

leaving.

Body LanguageKeep some physical distance from Finns.

Respect their shyness and desire for pri-

vacy. If you try to engage a Finn in conver-

saon on a bus, restaurant or other public

places, they may see it as unusual.

• Do not hug, kiss or touch a Finn unlessyou know them well.

• Maintain eye contact when speaking to

someone.

Corporate CultureFinns take punctuality for business meet-

ings very seriously and expect the same

from you;

• Call if you will be more than ve min-

utes late.

• The Managing Director is the decision

maker.

• Finns do not make small talk; they get

right to business.

• Doing business in Finland takes me

and paence.

• Two- to three-minute pauses of silenceare common. Don't interrupt this si-

lence.



SOCIETY

In 1906, Finland was the rst naon in the

world to give full surage (the right to vote

and to run for oce) to all adult cizens,

including women.

Finnish women were the rst in Europe to

gain the franchise, and by the 1980s they

rounely constuted about one-third of

the membership of the Eduskunta (parlia-ment) and held several ministerial posts.

In the 1980s, about 75% of adult women

worked outside the home; they made up

about 48% of the work force.

Finnish women were as well educated

as their male counterparts, and, in some

cases, the number of women studying atuniversity level, for example, was slightly

ahead of the number of men.

In addion to an expanding welfare sys-

tem, which since World War II had come to

provide them with substanal assistance in

the area of childbearing and child-rearing,

women had made notable legislave gains

that brought them closer to full equality

with men.

The Equality Law that took eect in 1987commied the country to achieving full

equality for women.

Finland was ranked second in the Global

Gender Gap Report 2012.

Finland is highly producve in scienc

research. In 2005, Finland had the fourth

most scienc publicaons per capitaamong the OECD countries.

According to UNICEF, Finland

ranks fourth in the world in

child well-being (behind the

Netherlands, Sweden and

Denmark).



The objecve is that women and menshould have equal rights, obligaons and

opportunies in all elds of life. It is widely

acknowledged that society can progress in

a more posive and democrac direcon

when the competence, knowledge, experi-

ence and values of both women and men

are allowed to inuence and enrich the

development.

The Act on Equality between Women and

Men (609/86), in force since 1987, has

three major goals:

• the prevenon of sex discriminaon

• the promoon of equality between

women and men

• the improvement of women’s status,

especially in working life

The Act places a duty for promong equal-

ity purposefully and systemacally on all

authories and employers as well as in

educaon, teaching and research. In 1992,

discriminaon on grounds of pregnancy and

family care responsibilies was prohibited.

Since 1995, employers with 30 or more reg-

ular workers have been obliged to includemeasures to promote equality in annual

sta and training programmes or in labourprotecon programmes. The Amendment

of 1995 includes a quota system; in ocial

commiees and councils the proporon of

representaves of either sex should not be

below 40%.

The ban on discriminaon in employment

covers hiring, wages, other working condi-

ons, including sexual harassment, supervi-sion and terminaon of employment.

The Ombudsman for Equality monitors the

observance of the Equality Act and parc-

ularly the observance of the prohibion on

discriminaon and discriminatory job and

training adversing.

The Equality Act does not apply to:• Acvies connected with the religious

pracces of religious communies, or

• Families’ internal aairs or people’s pri-

vate life

In 2004, a new Act on Equality between

Women and Men has been in the process

of preparaon. The new Act is based on

the old legislaon supplemented by the EUlegislaon and direcves.


GENDER EQUALITY

Equality between women and men is

a crucial part of the Finnish welfare

state model.




DO’S AND DON’ТS

DO Keep some physical distance from Finns.

Respect their shyness and desire for privacy.

DOLearn a few words in Finnish, even though

it’s hard. It’s an ego-booster for a Finn to

hear a foreigner speak his language.

DOApologize even if you are only a few min-

utes late. Being late for longer usually re-

quires a short explanaon. 15 minutes is

usually considered the threshold between

being “acceptably” late and very late. Some

will leave the arranged meeng points aer

15 minutes. Send a text message even if you

are only a few minutes late. Being late for a

business meeng, even by 1-2 minutes, is

considered bad form.

DON’TDon’t visit without calling rst. The doormay not open without a prior noce,

especially on weekends.

DON’TDon’t make empty promises. If you say to a

Finn, “Let’s do lunch,” he or she truly

believes you have set up a lunch meeng

and expects to hear from you.

DON’TDon’t complain or cricise. It is never in

your interest to be crical or opinionated, as

any kind of negavity will oend your Finn-

ish colleagues.

DON’TDon’t be oended if your Finnish partners

seem rather blunt and to the point. This is

typical in Finnish communicaon as Finns

prefer to tell the truth directly and takepride in their maer of fact atudes.

DON’TDon’t brag. Finns are modest and down-

play their own accomplishments and hardly

make a fuss about anything. In Finland,

humility and grace will get you far, as they

view modesty as the biggest virtue.

Do poke fun at yourself and your

country but never make fun of

others. Finns appreciate dry wit and

enjoy self-deprecang humour.They tend to enjoy irony and have

a rather subtle sense of humour.



DO’S AND DON’TS

DO When invited to someone’s home, always

bring a small gi for the hostess. Give: ow-

ers (odd numbers are best; white and yel-

low owers are for funerals only; tulips are

a favourite), wine, chocolates. Do not give:

poed plants.

DOIt is normal to drink ridiculous quanes of

alcohol in Finland, so be prepared to have

an “open-minded” atude towards it.

DOExpect direct communicaon from Finns.

Expect your colleagues to tell you what they

think rather than what you want to hear.

DOWait for your turn. First listen to the speak-

er, wait for them to nish, and then reply.

Interrupng is rude.

DOTalk in moderate tones and do not do any-

thing to call aenon to yourself.

DON’TTake your shoes o if you are invited to

someone’s home. First thing aer entering a

house or an apartment: shoes o.

DON’TGet to know Finns. They are good conver-

saonalists once they get to know you and

feel comfortable around you. Finns follow

the news, both domesc and internaonal,

and have strong opinions about the events.

No such atude as “whatever.”

Don’t be confused if you see people

walking with poles even if there is

no snow on the ground. It is called

Nordic Walking, and it is a very

popular acvity among all ages.



Finland is a naon of 5.4 million people and 3.3

million saunas, found in homes, oces, factories,

sports centres, hotels, ships and deep below the

ground in mines.

Types of saunas in Finland:

• Smoke sauna (savusauna), 80-160C: Known as

the original sauna and mainly found in rural areas.

Smoke lls the room as wood is burned in a large

stove. Once heated, the re is allowed to die and

smoke is vented via a hole in the ceiling.

• Wood-heated sauna 70-130C: Most common type

in the countryside. Stones are placed on a metal

stove red by well-dried birch wood – preferred for

its good smell and long-lasng burn.

• Electric sauna 80-105C: Most common type as it

is the safest and easiest to heat in homes. An elec-tric stove is acvated at the press of a buon. Some

apartment blocks have basement saunas that can be

booked for private sessions.

No swimsuits are needed. Men and women visit the

sauna separately, unless they are members of the

same family.


FINNISH SAUNA

The only Finnish wordto make it into everyday

English is “sauna”.

“An invigorang bath originang in Finland inwhich the bather is subjected to hot steam, usu-

ally followed by a cold plunge or by being lightly

beaten with birch twigs”

Collins Diconary




BUSINESS IN FINLAND

TitlesIt is very important that you

call the individual by their

last name; if you don’t pos-

sess this informaon, the

simple Miss, Mr, and Mrs

will do as well. It is consid-

ered disrespecul to call

a Finn by their rst name,

wait for the individual to

make the switch rst.

StyleDo not over-dress, for the

Finns take that as a sign of

arrogance. When you fold

you arms, you may also beviewed as arrogant.

LingoThe main language for doing

business in Finland is English

and/or German.

Small talkFinns are very reserved

people and they don’t liketalking just for the fun of it.

If you do, you will get suspi-

cious looks.

HandshakeA handshake is customary

when meeng someone for

the rst me.

PunctualityPunctuality is very import-

ant for business and social

occasions.

ContactTo call you over, Finns will

most oen simply ask youto approach them. Physical

contact is not very common

in Finland, so you should

avoid it unless necessary.

We understand that

as a new person do-

ing business in Fin-

land it is imperave

to know how you

should do business

eecvely. So in or -

der to do this, below

are a few things you

should know when

meeng a Finn for

the rst me.



UNUSUAL COMPETITIONS

Air Guitar ChampionshipsSince 1996, the annual Air Guitar World

Championships have been a part of the

Oulu Music Video Fesval in Oulu, Fin-land. The idea of the contest was originally

coined as a joke, meant only to be a side at-

tracon for the music video fesval, but has

since become a major draw in its own right.

Wife carrying championshipsThe event has been organized in Sonkajärvi

in 1992. The number of couples interested

in the world wide known event is growing

steadily; qualifying games, in which physical

condion and sense of humour are test-

ed, are being organised in many countries

around the world.

World Cell Phone Throwing

ChampionshipsFinland was the home of the mobile manu-

facturer Nokia and the event takes place in

August each year in Savonlinna.

Swamp Soccer World

ChampionshipsThe Swamp world soccer championship

requires the body to be very physical andcoordinated. The event is held in Hyrynsal-

mi in Northern Finland.

Mosquito Swang

ChampionshipsTry swang as many mosquitoes as you

can, in 5 minutes.

Milking Stool Throwing

ContestsFarms hosng milking stool throwing con-

tests take place in early summer.

Anthill compeonSing bare-boomed in an anthill to ndout who can stay put the longest.


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Country Profile of FINLAND in English