Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Jukka VALTASAARI; Chancery at
3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington DC 20016; telephone (202) 363-2430;
there are Finnish Consulates General in Los Angeles and New York,
and Consulates in Chicago and Houston;
US--Ambassador John G. WEINMANN; Embassy at Itainen Puistotie
14ASF-00140, Helsinki (mailing address is APO New York 09664);
telephone p358o (0) 171931

Flag: white with a blue cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the
vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the
Dannebrog (Danish flag)

- Economy
Overview: Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free market
economy, with per capita output nearly three-fourths the US figure.
Its main economic force is the manufacturing sector--principally
the wood, metals, and engineering industries. Trade is important, with the
export of goods representing about 25% of GNP. Except for timber and
several minerals, Finland depends on imported raw materials, energy, and
some components of manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural
development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic commodities.
Economic prospects are generally bright, the main shadow being the
increasing pressures on wages and prices.

GDP: $74.4 billion, per capita $15,000; real growth rate 4.6% (1989
est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6.5% (1989)

Unemployment rate: 3.4% (1989)

Budget: revenues $28.3 billion; expenditures $28.1 billion,
including capital expenditures of $NA billion (1988 est.)

Exports: $22.2 billion (f.o.b., 1988);
commodities--timber, paper and pulp, ships, machinery, clothing and
footwear;
partners--EC 44.2% (UK 13.0%, FRG 10.8%), USSR 14.9%, Sweden 14.1%,
US 5.8%

Imports: $22.0 billion (c.i.f., 1988);
commodities--foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals,
transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, fodder
grains;
partners--EC 43.5% (FRG 16.9%, UK 6.8%),
Sweden 13.3%, USSR 12.1%, US 6.3%

External debt: $5.3 billion (1989)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.3% (1989)

Electricity: 13,324,000 kW capacity; 49,330 million kWh produced, 9,940
kWh per capita (1989)

Industries: metal manufacturing and shipbuilding, forestry and wood
processing (pulp, paper), copper refining, foodstuffs, textiles, clothing

Agriculture: accounts for 8% of GNP (including forestry); livestock
production, especially dairy cattle, predomi