Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General. Prime minister : Peter O'Neill
Population
5,262,930
6,310,129
Life Expectancy
79.410 years
66.460 years
Capital City
Helsinki
Port Moresby
Largest city
Helsinki (population: 558,457)
Port Moresby (population: 283,733)
Human Development Index
0.954
0.516
GDP per capita
$36,700 US
$2,600 US
Literacy Rate
100%
57.3%
Corruption Perception Index
9
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
41.5%
0.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
7.800%
1.900%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Abolished in practice
Political System
republic
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
6 December 1917 (from Russia)
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Religions
Lutheran Church of Finland 82.5%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 15.1% (2006)
Roman Catholic 27%, Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other Protestant 8.9%, Bahai 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)
Languages
Finnish 91.5% (official), Swedish 5.5% (official), other 3% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2006)
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)
Exports
electrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals; timber
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
kina (PGK) per US dollar - 2.6956 (2008 est.), 3.03 (2007), 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.000%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
4
0
Location
Northern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia
Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
Area
338,145 km sq
462,840 km sq
Coastline
1,250 km
5,152 km
Climate
cold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes
tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
