Finland and Kymenlaakso region

    Facts about Finland:
    Area 338 145 sq. km
    Length (Hanko-Utsjoki) 1 157 sq. km
    Population 5 098 754 inhabitants
    Inhabitants/earth sq km 17
    Amount of provinces: 11 and the province of Ahvenanmaa
    Amount of municipalities: 455

    The biggest towns and their population:
    Helsinki 515 765
    Espoo 186 507
    Tampere 179 251
    Vantaa 164 376
    Turku 162 370

    Economic life:
    People employed by the public sector (August 1995) 617 000
    People employed by the private sector (August 1995) 1 465 000
    The share of the unemployed of labour workers (August 1995) 16,2 %
    GDP per capita (1994 in advance) 99 799 FIM

    The most important import partners (1994, FIM mill.):
    Germany 17 736
    Sweden 12 576
    Russia 10 697
    Great-Britain 10 021
    USA 9 202
    Imports (1994, FIM 1000) 14 757 399

    The most important export partners (1994, FIM mill.):
    Germany 20 678
    Sweden 16 846
    Great-Britain 15 917
    USA 11 037
    Russia 8 029
    Netherlands 7 874
    Exports (1994, FIM 1000) 14 712 759

    Source: Central Statistical Office of Finland, October 1995

    Kymenlaakso region...

    Kymenlaakso (valley of the Kymi river), is a region of some 200.000 inhabitants on the southeastern coast of Finland, 125 kilometers east of Helsinki and 280 kilometers northwest of Russia's second city, St. Petersburg.

    ...industrial region...

    Kymenlaakso is the driving force of Finnish export industries. Almost 40 per cent of Finnish woodprocessing industries' exports volumes are produced in Kymenlaakso. Next to the important forest industry, Kymenlaakso hosts a number of important production units in the metal- and engineering industry.

    ... and the logistics hub...

    The Kymenlaakso region is without doubt « the » logistics hub of Finland. The twin ports of Kotka and Hamina are by far the biggest export ports in Finland, and accounts for three quarters of Russian transit traffic routed via Finland.
    The most important junction for railcargo to the CIS is situated in Kouvola, the Hinterland business city of Kymenlaakso.
    The Vaalimaa border station is the most important direct transit point between the European Union and Russia.
    The ports of Kotka and Hamina are import/export crossroads linked with regular shipping routes (conventional and containers) to leading ports in Western Europe and the USA.
    Trucks and container « bloctrains » transfer the cargo quickly to the final destinations in Scandinavia, the Baltic States and to Russia, even untill far into Siberia.
    The E-18 motorway, one of the arterial European roads, cuts through the region, connecting the ports of Kotka and Hamina directly with St. Petersburg.

    ... between East and West.

    The potential provided by Kymenlaakso has already been noted by many international enterprises. A number of them have established subsidiaries in the Kymenlaakso region and are now utilizing the opportunities offered by the region as a business base between East and West. Many leading international brands, on their way to the fastgrowing markets in Russia and the Baltics, are continuously in transit through warehouses in the Kymenlaakso region.