19, Swedish People's Party 12, Green League 10, Finnish Christian League
8, Rural 7, Liberal People's Party 1
_#_Communists: 28,000 registered members; an additional 45,000 persons
belong to People's Democratic League
_#_Other political or pressure groups:
Finnish Communist Party-Unity, Esko-Juhani TENNILA;
Constitutional Rightist Party;
Finnish Pensioners Party;
Communist Workers Party, Timo LAHDENMAKI
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, CCC, CE, CSCE, EBRD,
ECE, EFTA, ESA (associate), FAO, G-9, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), NC, NEA, NIB, OAS
(observer), OECD, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNIIMOG, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
WMO, WTO
_#_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
14A, SF-00140, Helsinki (mailing address is APO New York 09664);
telephone [358] (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 30% of GDP. 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. The economy, which experienced an average of 4.9%
annual growth between 1987 and 1989, leveled off in 1990 and is now
in a recession facing negative growth in 1991. The clearing account
system between Finland and the Soviet Union in the postwar period--mainly
Soviet oil and gas for Finnish manufactured goods--had kept Finland
isolated from world recessions; the system, however, was dismantled on
1 January 1991 in favor of hard currency trade. As a re
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