US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Jaakko Tapani LAAJAVA
chancery: 3301 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5800
FAX: [1] (202) 298-6030
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles and New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Derek N. SHEARER
embassy: Itainen Puistotie 14A, FIN-00140, Helsinki
mailing address: APO AE 09723
telephone: [358] (9) 171931
FAX: [358] (9) 174681

Flag description: 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)

@Finland:Economy

Economy-overview: Finland has a highly industrialized, largely
free-market economy, with per capita output roughly that of the UK,
France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is
manufacturing-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 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. The economy has come back from the recession
of 1990-92, which had been caused by economic overheating, depressed
foreign markets, and the dismantling of the barter system between
Finland and the former Soviet Union under which Soviet oil and gas had
been exchanged for Finnish manufactured goods. The Finns voted in an
October 1994 referendum to enter the EU, and Finland officially joined
the Union on 1 January 1995. Attempts to cut the unacceptably high
rate of unemployment and increasing integration with Western Europe
will dominate the economic picture over the next few years. Despite
high unemployment and moderate GDP growth of 3.9% anticipated for
1998, inflation is forecast to rise to 2.5%

GDP: purchasing power parity-$102.1 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 4.6% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$20,000 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 37%
services: 56% (1995)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 1.2% (1997 est.)

Labor force:
total: 2.533 million
by occupation: public services 30.4%, industry 20.9%, commerce 15.0%,
finance, insurance, an