ORBIS

Country profile · Northern Europe

Finland

Finland has about 5.6 million people (UN, 2025). President Alexander Stubb leads foreign and security policy. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo runs the government. Finland shares a 1,340 km border with Russia. It joined NATO on April 4, 2023, which more than doubled NATO's land border with Russia. Nuclear power makes about 40% of its electricity.

Updated October 2026 · Data from the UN, IMF, SIPRI and IISS

The white Helsinki Cathedral with its green domes stands above wide granite steps on Senate Square, under a cloudy sky Map of Europe with Finland highlighted
Helsinki Cathedral above Senate Square, May 2026. Photo: JIP, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Where Finland ranks

All rankings →

Which alliances is Finland in?

All alliances →

Who runs Finland?

President Alexander Stubb was born on April 1, 1968, in Helsinki, to a family that speaks both Finnish and Swedish. He is married to Suzanne Innes-Stubb, and they have two children. He competes in triathlons. Stubb was foreign minister from 2008 to 2011 and prime minister from 2014 to 2015. He won the presidential runoff on February 11, 2024, with 51.6% of the vote, and took office on March 1 for a six-year term. The president leads foreign and security policy together with the government and commands the armed forces. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo of the National Coalition runs the government. Since June 2023 he has led four parties with 107 of the 200 seats in parliament (chart). The next parliamentary election is on April 18, 2027, and the opposition Social Democrats have led every poll in 2026. Finland belonged to Sweden until 1809 and then to the Russian Empire. It declared independence on December 6, 1917.

Alexander Stubb
Alexander Stubb
President since 2024
Elected as the National Coalition candidate
Seats in parliament (the Eduskunta), October 2026200 seats
101 for a majority
  • Government: National Coalition (48), Finns Party (45), Swedish People's Party (9), Christian Democrats (5) 107
  • Social Democrats, the largest opposition party 43
  • Centre (23), Greens (13), Left Alliance (11) and others (3) 50

Photo (August 2025): The White House, Wikimedia Commons, public domain (cropped)

Who are Finland's allies and rivals?

Finland became NATO's 31st member on April 4, 2023, and Sweden followed in March 2024. A defense agreement with the United States, in force since September 2024, gives US forces access to 15 areas in Finland. On June 6, 2026, NATO set up a land force for Finland, led by Sweden, with its staff in Rovaniemi in Lapland. Finland has sent Ukraine 35 military aid packages worth about 3.6 billion euros. In late 2023 Finland accused Russia of sending asylum seekers to the border. It has kept all road crossings closed since December 15, 2023, and finished a 200 km border fence in September 2026. Russia is building new bases on its side of the border. In December 2024 the tanker Eagle S dragged its anchor across the Gulf of Finland and cut a power cable to Estonia. Finland also suspects that a Russian plane entered its airspace on August 20, 2026.

Allies and partners

  • SwedenLeads NATO's land force in Lapland since June 2026
  • United StatesDefense agreement gives access to 15 areas
  • NorwayNATO neighbor in the far north; fourth-biggest supplier
  • EstoniaAcross the Gulf of Finland; shared power and gas links
  • United KingdomLeads the Joint Expeditionary Force, which includes Finland
  • Ukraine35 aid packages, about 3.6 billion euros

Rivals

  • RussiaBorder closed since December 2023
Map of Finland and its neighbors: Finland, its NATO partners Sweden, Norway and Estonia, and its rival Russia, with pins on Vaalimaa, the Estlink 2 cable, Mikkeli and Rovaniemi
  1. Vaalimaa Road crossing to Russia. Like all the others, it has been closed since December 15, 2023.
  2. Estlink 2 Power cable to Estonia, cut on December 25, 2024, by the anchor of the tanker Eagle S. An appeals court revived the case in August 2026.
  3. Mikkeli Home of NATO's land command for northern Europe since 2025, led by Finland's army commander.
  4. Rovaniemi Staff of NATO's land force in Finland, led by Sweden since June 2026. Finland's first F-35 fighters landed here in September 2026.
  • Finland
  • Partner
  • Rival

Who does Finland trade with?

In 2025 Finland exported 74.3 billion euros of goods and imported 75.2 billion euros (Finnish Customs). Sweden, the United States and Germany were the biggest buyers, and Germany was the biggest supplier (chart). Machinery and metals make up about 37% of exports, chemicals about 20%, and paper, pulp and wood about 17%. Russia was Finland's biggest supplier in 2013, with about 18% of imports. By 2025 its share had fallen to 0.8%. The economy has grown only about 3% since 2008 (University of Helsinki), after the fall of Nokia's phone business and the closure of paper mills. Unemployment was 10.3% in August 2026, the highest in the EU. Government debt reached 88.5% of GDP at the end of 2025, and the EU opened a deficit procedure against Finland in January 2026. In September 2026 Google announced at least 13 billion euros for data centers in Finland.

Sells to

Share of Finland's exports

  1. Sweden11.3%
  2. United States10.4%
  3. Germany9.8%
  4. Netherlands7.5%
  5. China4.3%

Buys from

Share of Finland's imports

  1. Germany13.3%
  2. Sweden11.4%
  3. China9.4%
  4. Norway6.9%
  5. United States5.5%

Goods, 2025. UN Comtrade, as reported by Finland.

Why did Finland join NATO?

Finland fought the Soviet Union in the Winter War of 1939 to 1940. It kept its independence but gave up about a tenth of its land, and about 420,000 people had to move. After a second war, Finland signed a treaty with Moscow in 1948 and stayed out of military alliances for decades. Support for joining NATO was about 30% in early 2022. After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it rose to 76% by May. Parliament voted 188 to 8 to apply, and Finland joined on April 4, 2023. Finland never ended conscription. Its wartime army is 280,000 strong, and about 900,000 people are trained reservists. Finland spent 2.6% of its GDP on defense in 2025 (chart) and plans to reach 3% by 2029. Its first two F-35 fighters arrived in September 2026. In June 2026 parliament lifted Finland's ban on nuclear weapons for defense, but President Stubb said Finland would not host them in peacetime.

Military spending, share of GDP, 2025

Full ranking →
  1. Poland4.5%
  2. Latvia3.6%
  3. Estonia3.4%
  4. Norway3.3%
  5. Denmark3.3%
  6. Lithuania3.1%
  7. Finland2.6%
  8. Sweden2.5%
  9. Germany2.3%

SIPRI Military Expenditure Database, 2026 edition

Why does Finland rely on nuclear power?

Nuclear power made about 40% of Finland's electricity in 2025 (chart). Finland has five reactors at two sites, Loviisa and Olkiluoto. The newest, Olkiluoto 3, started regular production on April 16, 2023, about 14 years late. In 2025, 96% of Finland's electricity was carbon-neutral, and its wholesale prices were the third-lowest in Europe. Imports of Russian power, about a tenth of what Finland used, stopped in May 2022. That month the company Fennovoima cancelled a plant that Russia's Rosatom was to build. In October 2026 an arbitration court ordered Rosatom companies to pay Fennovoima a net 606 million euros. Under Olkiluoto, Finland has dug Onkalo, the world's first deep store for spent nuclear fuel, about 430 m down. The regulator approved it in August 2026, but the government has yet to grant the license. In September 2026 Google agreed to buy up to half of Loviisa's power for 22 years.

Nuclear power's share of electricity, 2025

Full ranking →
  1. France68.8%
  2. Slovakia66.4%
  3. Czechia42.3%
  4. Hungary40.0%
  5. Finland39.9%
  6. Sweden27.4%
  7. Russia18.3%
  8. United States17.4%

IAEA Power Reactor Information System and Ember

7 days free cancel anytime
Get the app