Finland, a country in Northern Europe, is a member of the European Union (EU). With about 5.3 million inhabitants, it is a small country, though the total area is not that small. Due to the high Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, Finland is, despite its small population, an important economic power.
President of Finland, Sauli Niinisto
With a life expectancy of over 78 years, the Finns, as they are called, live very long compared to the world’s average of 66.4 years. One reason for that is the very low human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) rate and excellent drinking water and sanitation conditions.
However, on a per capita basis, Finland is a large emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG). It has very good education system and an outstanding tertiary education enrolment rate of almost 90 per cent.
Finland is a republic which became a member of EU in 1995. Of its 5.3 million people, 1.3 million live in Helsinki, the capital city. Neighbours include Sweden, Norway, Russia and Estonia.
The country is an advanced industrial economy; the metal, engineering and electronics industries account for about 60 per cent of export revenue, the forest products industry about 20 per cent. It is one of the leading countries in internet use. Today, there are more mobile phones than fixed network subscriptions. Forests cover three-quarters of the country’s surface area of 338,000km2. Other outstanding features of Finland include some 190,000 lakes and approximately as many islands.
The technologically developed country has some of the cleanest ecosystem in Europe. It is sometimes called the “Land of the Thousand Lakes”.
Finland also enjoys an enviable 69 per cent of forest cover which locals refer to as “green gold”.
Its strengths include information and communication technology (ICT) skills and innovation, as well as the political, legal and business environment, according to the Global Information Technology Report 2012.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Information Technology Report 2012 ranked Finland third in its Networked Readiness Index (NRI), which measures the extent to which 142 economies around the world take advantage of ICT and other new technologies to increase their growth and well-being.
The European country scored consistently well across the whole range of NRI categories examining the country’s ICT environment, readiness, usage and impact. In terms of ICT skills, Finland was ranked as the best in the world. Among the 53 specific indicators used to calculate the NRI ranking, Finland was also adjudged the best for the number of ICT patent applications per capita, the efficiency of its legal system and intellectual property protection.
Finland also scored well for the quality of its educational system, internet access in schools, capacity for innovation, and the availability of the latest technologies. Eighty-seven per cent of individuals use the internet, 83 per cent of households have a personal computer, and almost 61 per cent of people have mobile broadband, according to the report.
Finland’s Ministry for Employment and the Economy has established a high-level working group to prepare a strategy for reforming the ICT sector and to promote its competitiveness.
A trip to Finland would be incomplete without a visit to the Nokia House, the former global headquarters for the world’s largest telephone handset maker. Located in Espoo (about 10-minute car-ride from Helsinki, the capital city of Finland), the Nokia former HQ is a gorgeous structure of curved glass and steel that’s surrounded by lush greenery. As you would expect from the former HQ of a technology giant, the facility includes its own post office, gym, saunas, multiple cafes, research labs and design centres.
The Finnish Travel and Tourism sector offers everything required for doing successful business – a dynamic business climate, a clean and unique environment, and a society that is both safe and internationalised. The number of foreign visitors in Finland has increased significantly during recent years. According to forecasts by the World Travel Tourism Council (WTTC), the total demand for travel in Finland will grow by 33.7 per cent between 2006 and 2016. Currently comprising only 2.4 per cent of GDP, Finland’s travel sector has great potential for growth, as tourism has increased significantly in the Finnish cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Vaasa and Lahti. According to the Finnish Tourist Board, tourism has been growing faster in the country in recent times than in the other Nordic countries.
At the end of World War II, Finland’s economy was in dire straits. About 10 per cent of the country’s productive capacity had been lost to the former USSR, and over 400,000 evacuees had to be absorbed. Between 1944 and 1952, it was burdened with reparation payments to the USSR, rising inflation, and a large population growth. However, the GDP reached the pre-war level by 1947, and since then the economy has shown consistent growth.
Handicapped by relatively poor soil, a severe northern climate, and lack of coal, oil and most other mineral resources necessary for the development of heavy industry, the Finns have nevertheless been able to build a productive and diversified economy. This was made possible by unrivalled supplies of forests and waterpower resources as well as by the Finnish disposition towards hard work, prudence and creativity. Agriculture, long the traditional calling of the large majority of Finns, has been undergoing continuous improvement, with growing specialisation in dairy and cattle. The industries engaged in producing timber, wood products, paper and pulp are highly developed, and these commodities continue to make up a significant proportion of the country’s exports. After World War II, and partly in response to the demands of reparation payments, a metal industry was developed; its most important sectors being foundries and machine shops, shipyards, and engineering works.
The 1990s saw Finland develop one of the world’s leading hi-tech economies. Dependent on foreign sources for a considerable portion of its raw materials, fuels and machinery, and on exports as a source of revenue, the Finnish economy is very sensitive to changes at the international level.
In October 1996, Finland agreed to join the European currency grid and proclaimed its determination to join European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which it joined in 1999. Thus far, it is the only Nordic EU member to join, as Denmark, Norway and Sweden decided to opt out of the EMU.
The success of the Finnish economy in the late 1990s was largely due to the country’s success in the hi-tech sector.
The Finnish economy is knowledge-based and strong on innovation. It is among the top countries globally in terms of research and development (R&D) spending per capita, the first in terms of utility patents in the EU, and also has the biggest turnover (16 per cent) from new products in the Nordic countries. Finnish companies and consumers are early adopters of emerging technologies, which makes Finland an ideal test bed for new solutions and technologies.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Finland is often related to knowledge-driven investments. The country has several hi-tech clusters with many technology companies that have cutting edge expertise. These include companies specialising in wireless and mobile solutions, clean-tech, healthcare and life sciences, and new materials and processes.
It has fast business set-up procedure, high quality transport infrastructure, cheapest electricity prices of all Nordic countries, one of the least corrupt countries in the world, and lively trade with the EU, Russia and Asia.
Business is served by excellent transport systems. Finland has 24 airports serving air freight and passenger traffic, including the Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, which is ranked among the best international airports in International Air Transport Association (IATA) surveys. The airport offers global connections to more than 120 destinations and is an increasingly popular gateway to the East as the most direct route between northern Europe and Asia.
Efficient power generation, transmission and distribution systems have kept electricity prices in Finland among the lowest in Europe. A diversified approach to power generation ensures a very stable energy supply. Nuclear and hydro powers are currently the two largest sources of energy. About 30 per cent of all the energy consumed in Finland today is produced from renewable raw materials, and it is possible to purchase exclusively green electricity generated from environmentally-friendly sources.
As a telling measure of its macroeconomic stability, Finland enjoys the highest possible status with the global credit rating agencies – Fitch Ratings, Moody’s, and Standard & Poors. According to the latest report, Finland is underpinned by sound public finances, a solid external position, high income per capita, demonstrable political and social stability and an impeccable debt service record.
Finland’s banking sector has largely escaped the turmoil caused by the global financial crisis. Being the only euro zone country in northern Europe, Finland has also benefited from reduced uncertainty over interest rates and exchange rates. As a result, its growth forecast remains better than that of many other EU countries.
Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, recently stated: “Finland has created wealth not through easy money, not with casino money, but with work, discipline and ideas.”
Finland’s multi-party democracy is characterised by a strong penchant towards consensus and pragmatic policies implemented by coalition governments. Although some Finns may complain that this makes for slightly dull politics, the system has produced a level of political stability and continuity undreamt of in most countries. The long border that Finland shares with Russia is also the eastern border of the EU. Finland’s role as a bridge between the East and the West, coupled with its active participation in the comity of nations, has brought respect and stature for a country of just 5.3 million people. In 2008, former President Martti Ahtisaari was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in resolving international conflicts.
Ever since the governments of Scandinavian countries announced tuition-free education, many international students including Nigerians, have trooped in their hundreds to Finland, Sweden and Norway to get their undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degrees. Nigerians from all backgrounds are attracted to Scandinavian universities. However, most of those from lower and middle class backgrounds jump at opportunities to study in such countries for their post-graduate degrees mainly because of the tuition- free system.
Forty years ago, Finland was a poor country with tough environment and limited natural resources. It had an under-performing education system and a poor agrarian economy based on one product – trees, and they were chopping them down at a rapid rate.
They figured out the importance and urgency of completely revamping their education system, to create a true knowledge-based economy. Its leaders envisioned a brighter future with technology. The nation decided that the way to get there was with a better educated workforce, and it took a generation to do it.
Finland’s blueprint included a tough national curriculum, master’s degrees for all teachers, with up to three teachers per class – two focus on instructions and the third works on students who are struggling. The result; there is no such thing as a failing school in Finland.
Investors from the Republic of Finland are to invest in the energy sector in Nigeria, as part of efforts to assist the country boost its power base and jumpstart industrialisation in the country, according to the Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Riitta Korpivaara, during a meeting with Finnish investors in Vaasa, Finland, who are willing to invest their capital in both East and West African sub-regions, noted that Finland is currently working on strategies aimed at increasing her presence in Nigeria.
She stressed the need to help Nigeria improve on its energy efficiency and renewable energy needs.
Nigeria, as the giant of Africa, is supposed to have an Embassy in Finland. Unfortunately, that is not the case. If smaller and poorer countries can maintain an Embassy in Finland, then there’s no reason in this world why Nigeria shouldn’t have an embassy in such a large country where many Nigerians live.
The embassy would save Nigerians the hassles of getting to Sweden where the Embassy of Nigeria for the Nordic countries is situated. Finland was among the first nations to establish bilateral diplomatic relations with Nigeria in 1963, although she stopped her technical cooperation with Nigeria in the 1970s because, according to the former Finnish Ambassador to Nigeria, Anneli Vourinen, it was then thought that Nigeria would develop very rapidly, as was earlier projected by economic indicators. Unfortunately, this projection did not come to fruition.
One of the major problems facing diaspora Nigerians today is that of imbibing their culture, especially the Nigerian languages, in their children. Of all Nigerian ethnic groups in the Diaspora, Igbo, it seems, is the worst hit by this problem. Most times, parents are under pressure to make ends meet. They get too busy during the week, leaving their children in the hands of daycare centres or other such institutions within the system. Another reason is that most parents prefer to use English language at home, so the child gets use to English language from day one.
One begins to wonder why Asians, for instance, do not have this kind of problem? When a child learns his or her native language, it is much easier to understand the other aspects of the culture.
Majority of Nigerians resident in Finland are married to Finnish women. Their offspring will have a serious identity problem if their identity is not defined as early as possible. Children of migrants who have a good background of their culture of origin integrate to a new culture better than those who don’t.