Location

• Finland in brief
• About Finland
• Economic and Political Overview
• Helsinki in brief
• About Helsinki
• Helsinki at glance

Finland in brief

• Name: Republic of Finland
• Population: 5,180,000 (2000)
• Number of reindeer: 230,000
• Capital: Helsinki
• Largest city: Helsinki (Greater Helsinki area, which includes Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa)
• Other cities: The greatest are Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Lahti
• Area: 338,424 km2
• Currency: Euro (€) (EUR)
• GDP Per Capita (PPP): $33,556
• Agriculture – products: barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish
• Industries: metals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing
• Main exports: electrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals; timber
• Language: Official language Finnish and Swedish; Recognised regional language is Saami
• Religion: Evangelical Lutherian Church of Finland (79.7%)
• Life expectancy: 82 years for women and 75 years for men
• Finland is part of the European Union

SME's in Finland:

Criteria for SME's classification
(according to European Commission 1.1.2005)

Size	Personnel	Turnover OR	Result of the balance sheet
Micro	<10	2 milj. euro	<2 milj. euro
Small	10-49	10 milj. euro	10 milj. euro
Medium	50-249	50 milj. euro	43 milj. euro

About Finland

Finland (officially the Republic of Finland) is a Nodic country situated in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden on the west, Norway on the North and Russia on the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.

Finland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income 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 initiation in January 1999. In the 21st century, the key features of Finland's modern welfare state are a high standard of education, equality promotion, and national social security system; currently challenged by an aging population and the fluctuations of an export-driven economy.

Economic and Political Overview

Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy with per capita output roughly that of Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Trade is important with exports accounting for over one third of GDP in recent years. Finland is strongly competitive in manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Finland excels in high-tech exports such as mobile phones. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods.

Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland had been one of the best performing economies within the EU in recent years and its banks and financial markets avoided the worst of global financial crisis. However, the world slowdown hit exports and domestic demand hard in 2009, with Finland experiencing one of the deepest contractions in the euro zone, and will serve as a brake on economic growth in 2010. The slowdown of construction, other investment, and exports will cause unemployment to rise further from the 2009 level.

The recession will leave a deep, long-lasting mark on general government finances and the debt ratio. It turned previously strong public finances into deficit within a year. In the next few years, the great challenge of economic policy will be to implement a post-recession exit strategy in which measures supporting growth will be combined with general government adjustment measures. Longer-term, Finland must address a rapidly aging population and decreasing productivity that threaten competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth.

The head of state is the President of the Republic who is elected for a period of six years and may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. The President is chosen by direct popular vote, with a run-off between the two leading candidates if no candidate wins an overall majority in the first round of voting. In 2000, the Finns elected their first female president, Tarja Halonen who was re-elected again in 2006.

The Government must enjoy the confidence of parliament (the Eduskunta) which has 200 members elected every four years. In recent decades, the three biggest parties in parliament have consistently been the Social Democratic Party, the Centre Party, and the moderate conservative National Coalition Party. Multiparty coalition governments, the prevailing type, usually include two of the aforementioned parties.

The leader of the Government, the Prime Minister, normally comes from the party with the most seats in parliament. Finland's present constitution, adopted in 2000, allocates more power to the Prime Minister than its predecessor did.

In its foreign policy Finland promotes sustainable development, stability and security in the international community and endeavours to strengthen Finland’s international position. Finland attaches special importance to principles such as democracy, the rule of law and human rights, in line with long-established Nordic values.

As a member of the European Union since 1995, Finland is part of an influential body in world politics. Finland is an active member of the Union and supports a further strengthening of its Common Foreign and Security Policy, including its capability to act in crisis management. Finland is also a firm proponent of the Union’s enlargement process.

Finland’s foreign and security policy is based on military non-alliance and credible national defence. Finland cooperates with NATO in the PfP programme. Finland also has long experience of participation in UN peacekeeping operations.

Finland works actively to strengthen multilateral cooperation, the United Nations and international law in general. Finland has launched the Helsinki Process which aims to improve current global governance structures.

Helsinki in brief

Helsinki: 686 km2 of which 500 km2 sea

Helsinki region: 5,518 km2 of which 1,678 km2 sea

Population (2009)

• Helsinki: 576 632
• Density: 3,003/km2 (land area)
• Men 46.9 %
• Women 53.1 %
• Finnish-speaking 84.9 %
• Swedish-speaking 6.1 %
• Helsinki region: 1,274,746
• Density of Helsinki region: 332/km2 (land area)

Infrastruture: Data from 2009 – www.hel.fi

• 3 Ports
• 1 International Airport
• 1 railway station – the Central Railway Station
• Roads to all the neighbouring (by land) States
  • 315 islands
  • 98 km shoreline
  • 11,448 boat moorings
  • 25 beaches

About Helsinki

By decree of King Gustav Vasa of Sweden in 1550, the city was founded at the mouth of river Vantaa. From there, the city was moved further south to its present location in 1643. Helsinki has been the capital city since 1812, three years after Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy of the Russian Empire. Helsinki continued as the capital after Finland gained its independence in 1917. Today, Helsinki is the centre of the Helsinki Region, a functional urban region.

Helsinki has grown into a vibrant European capital with a character all its own. As a city that works, Helsinki is the ideal setting for meetings. Plenty of centrally located, full-service hotels and meeting facilities are just part of what makes Helsinki a dedicated conference end events city.

In many ways Helsinki is the perfect city: big enough to enjoy both extensive variety and rich diversity, yet contained enough to experience easily, enjoyably and safely. Compact in size, there’s only half a million inhabitants in the city itself. This translates into a relaxed, friendly and safe atmosphere that invites delegates to enjoy and to make use of their stay to the full. Practically everything in central Helsinki – hotels, restaurants, cafes, shops and sights – are within a walking distance. And if not in the mood for a stroll, you can always take a taxi or use Helsinki’s efficient public transport. Traffic in a city this small is a breeze compared to many.

Both Helsinki and its residents have a personality and charm that are easy to get to know. The people are open and uncomplicated, regardless of whether they are serving customers or enjoying their time off. The city is open to new winds and trends, as demonstrated by the trendy and laid-back atmosphere. Language is not a problem either. As most Finns take it for granted that you don’t speak their language, they are glad to make use of their English or other European languages they master. Finland is in fact a bilingual country, the second official language being Swedish.

Helsinki is a dynamic hub for international business, and therefore focusing on entrepreneurial issues falls in naturally right there, in the commercial, political and cultural capital of Finland, at the heart of the Baltic Sea Region, which is a rapidly developing market of more than a hundred million people. Helsinki is also at the geographical and cultural crossroads between East and West.

The entire Metropolitan Area is a dynamic world-class centre for business and innovation. Its high-quality services, arts and science, creativity and adaptability promote the prosperity of its citizens and bring benefits to all of Finland. The Metropolitan Area is being developed as a unified region close to nature where it is good to live, learn, work and do business.

The EU Committee of the Regions has labelled Helsinki-Uusimaa as the European Entrepreneurial Region (EER) 2012. Awarded for the first time, Helsinki was chosen out of 36 nominees.The award serves as recognition to those areas with the most credible plan of action promoting entrepreneurship with realistic foresight and outstanding political vision. In its application, Helsinki-Uusimaa Region emphasized that tomorrow’s entrepreneurship will increasingly be founded on expertise, higher education and specialization.

The particular strength of the region stems from the collaborative partnership between enterprises, educational institutions and the public sector. In the future, the region will be a competitive, secure and attractive metropolitan area in the Baltic Region with its 120 million population.

Helsinki, as a capital city of Finland, is a typical example of today’s successful “city-alliances” . A sector that is clearly gaining in importance beside entrepreneurship within the Helsinki Metropolitan Area is design. As Mr. Jussi Pajunen, the Mayor of Helsinki City states: “Helsinki’s passion for designing good life for our citizens received a great recognition, when we were nominated to carry the title of World Design Capital in 2012. Thanks to a uniquely broad consortium of private and public partners Helsinki was able to present a shared vision and will in its bid”.

In order to nurture some of the very crucial elements of entrepreneurial life, one of the key speakers is Managing Director Mr. Yves-Henri Robillard from the WEF - World Entrepreneurship Forum. He will speak about the topic “Shaping the World of 2050: the entrepreneurial impact” .

Depending on the business context, entrepreneurs and the organizations they represent need to master various professional and organizational competencies. Identifying, selecting, transferring and updating these competencies provide a key challenge for a knowledge-based economy. Robillard emphasizes, how an environment influences entrepreneurial skills, how these skills can be transferred depending on the stages of professional life and organizational maturity, and how they can be used to create a global entrepreneurial mindset.

Helsinki at glance

From this map you can find Tourist Information, museums, buildings and architecture, culture and other points of interest. You can also look at zoomable 360-degree pictures.

http://www.visithelsinki.fi/in_english/map.iw3