Immense forests cover one-half of the area of the country, reaching on the north as far as Lake Enare. They consist chiefly of pine, spruce fir, and birch, the oak growing wild only in the south, where also are found apples, pears, and cherries. Rye is cultivated as far as the Arctic Circle, barley mostly in the north to Lake Enare, oats as far as 65° N. lat., wheat but little and only in the south, buckwheat and flax to 64° N. lat., hemp to 66°, and potatoes everywhere. The flora includes 1080 phanerogams and 1800 cryptogams. Of wild animals the bear, wolf, fox, ermine, hare, and squirrel are the most common, with the lynx, elk, rein-deer; and seals in the sea and in Lakes Ladoga and Saima. Among birds, arc the woodcock, moorcock, black cock, white ptarmigan, partridge, swan, goose, duck. The fish include the salmon, perch, pike, and other common kinds.
The population in 1875 was 1,912,647, divided among the various provinces as follows:
| Sq. miles. | Population. | ||
| Åbo | 9,332 | 318,610 | |
| Kuopio | 16,499 | 238,280 | |
| Nylund | 4,584 | 183,845 | |
| St Michel | 8,818 | 162,836 | |
| Tavastehus | 8,333 | 202,250 | |
| Uleåborg | 63,954 | 193,584 | |
| Wasa | 16,623 | 324,232 | |
| Wiborg | 16,078 | 289,010 | |
| 144,221 | 1,912,647 |
The yearly increase of the population is at the rate of 1.05 per cent.; the density is one person to 148.6 acres. The population of the 35 towns was, in 1875, 148,355, or 7.7 per cent. of the whole. Of the population 98 per cent. belong to the Lutheran Church, somewhat less than 2 per cent. to the Greco-Russian Church, while Roman Catholics and Jews together number only about 1230; in 1870 there were 86 Mahometans. Of the whole population, 85 per cent. are Finns proper, 14 per cent. are Swedish-speaking farmers and peasants, chiefly in the governments of Nyland, Åbo, and Wasa, on the coasts and islands; Russians number about 6000, besides the military, mostly in the towns; Germans 1200, in Helsingfors and Wiborg; gipsies about 1000; and, to the furthest north, Lapps 600. Agriculture occupies about 80 per cent. of the population; trade, shipping, and manufactures, 7 per cent.; the professions, 1.5 per cent.; military, 1 per cent. The proportion of men to women is 1000 to 1056. The average number of illegitimate births is 7 per cent. The mean duration of life is 37 years, being 35.6 among men and 38.4 among women. The epidemic diseases are typhus, nervous fever, and, in dry summers, diarrhœa. Of the deaths 3 per cent., or 1179 (1874), were violent. Nearly 7000 are whole or half blind. There is some emigration to Russia and the north of Norway, and thence to the United States, chiefly to Michigan.
The chief occupation is agriculture, for which the soil in the south-west and on the coast of Wasa is best adapted. Modern methods of agriculture are found only in the south, the hoe being the principal implement in the east. The area under cultivation is about 2,000,000 acres, of which 700,000 are occupied with rye, 300,000 with barley, 240,000 with oats, and 600,000 are fallow. Sometimes, especially in the north, the night-frosts destroy the crops, and then meal has to be largely imported from Russia. There are ten agricultural schools, two of which are of a higher class. Of the land 35 million acres belong to the crown, 6 millions to the upper classes, and 50 millions to the peasantry. Serfdom never existed in the country.
Of the exports about one-half is timber, though the forests are much thinned by fires, uprooting, and extravagance. Of the land under wood (64 per cent.) 39 per cent. belongs to the crown, under the superintendence of forest-masters, there being one school of forestry. In 1876 there were upwards of 200 saw-mills, tho export amounting to 41,536,169 cubic feet—planks, boards, battens, &c., besides 7,432,617 cubic feet of round timber.
Cattle-breeding is successful on account of the many natural meadows, the good pasturage, and abundance of water. Government gives premiums for riding and draught horses, and for improvement in the breeds of horses and cattle. The value of butter and other dairy produce exported in 1875 amounted to nearly £800,000; of horses 250,000, horned cattle 100,000, sheep 900,000, swine 190,000, and rein-deer 60,000 were exported.
The herring fishery is of some importance, while the rivers yield considerable quantities of salmon, and the lakes white-fish (Coregonus albus). The export of fish in 1876 was valued at over £100,000.
Granite, marble, felspar, and quartz are quarried to the north of Lake Ladoga, and porphyry on the island of Hogland. There is also an extensive granite quarry at Pytterlahti near Fredrikshamn. Iron-mining and smelting are important industries. In 1876 68,000 tons of iron ore were raised; 21 iron-works turned out 26,000 tons of cast-iron. Besides this, 13 refining works turned out 16,000 tons of bar-iron. The iron exports in 1874 amounted to 19,230 tons, and the imports were 47,270 tons, half of which consisted of ore; while in 1876 the iron export amounted to only 12,000, and the import to 31,000 tons. Copper and tin are found, and in Lapland a little gold. Lime is obtained nearly everywhere.
Finland has about 420 manufactories of various kinds, giving employment to about 11,000 workpeople. The principal articles manufactured are metal goods, cotton goods, woollen cloth, paper, candles, soap, tobacco, sugar, brandy, beer, leather. The whole production is valued at £1,480,000.
The value of the whole exports in 1876 amounted to £3,948,200, timber representing about one-half, cattle one-seventh, grain about 1 per cent., iron and steel goods about 7 per cent., woven goods 7 per cent., paper 2½ per cent., fish and game nearly 3 per cent., tar 3½ per cent., butter, &c., 21 per cent. The imports were valued at £5,541,710; of this 15 per cent, represented woven goods, grain 17½ per cent., iron and steel 8½ per cent., coffee 7 per cent., sugar 6 per cent., cotton 4½ per cent, tobacco 2½ per cent., salt 2 per cent., wine and spirits 3½ per cent. In 1876 the exports showed an increase in timber, tar, butter, grain, and hides, and a falling off in woollen goods and iron. In the import list a falling off took place in all articles except cotton, petroleum, and coffee. In 1876 the custom-house receipts were £424,603, showing a falling off of about one-tenth as compared with 1875. In the imports Russia holds the first place, Germany being second, Great Britain third, and Norway and Sweden fourth. Russia also comes first in the export list, Great Britain second, and Germany and Norway and Sweden respectively third and fourth. The shipping that entered the various ports numbered 9364 vessels of all kinds, of 1,314,999 registered tons; 9220 vessels of 1,310,679 tons cleared the ports. The Finnish merchant shipping in 1875 numbered 1900 vessels of more than 18½ tons (280,000 tons in all); 125 of these (7103 tons) were steamers. A considerable amount of shipbuilding is carried on on the west coast.
The total length of the state railways is 524 miles, which, with a private railway of 21 miles, connect the capital Helsingfors with Åbo, Hangö, Tammerfors, Tavastehus, Borgå, Wiborg, and St Petersburg. The longest canal is that known as the Saima canal, 37 miles long, connecting Lake Saima with the Gulf of Finland; besides this there are several smaller canals rendering
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