Military of Finland
The Finnish Defence Forces (Finnish: Puolustusvoimat) consist of 34,700 persons in uniform (27,300 army; 3,000 navy; and 4,400 air force); the country's defense budget equals about 2% of GDP. There is universal male conscription under which all men serve from six to 12 months. As of 1995, women were permitted to serve as volunteers. A reserve force ensures that Finland can field 490,000 trained military personnel in case of need. The Defence Forces have a common website in English.The Finnish Defence Forces are under the command of the Chief of Defence, who is directly subordinate to the President in matters related to military command.
Military doctrine: Self-defensive; independent defense of all of domestic territory; NATO Partnership for Peace affiliate; committed to pan-European (incl. Russia) treaty of trust-enhancing cooperation like access provided for international observers during major excercises.
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2 History 3 UN peacekeeping operations 4 External link |
Military manpower - military age:
18 years of age
Military manpower - availability:
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$1.8 billion (FY98)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
2% (FY98)
After the Winter War and the Continuation War the strength of the Finnish Army was reduced to 34,000 men, the Navy to 4,500 men and a maximum displacement of 10,000 tonnes for ships. The Air Force was limited to 3,000 men and 60 planes.
Finland has taken part in UN peacekeeping operations cince 1956 and 43,000 Finnish peacekeepers have taken part so far. In 2003 over 1000 persons took part. According to Finnish law a maximum of 2000 peacekeepers can serve at the same time.
Since 1996 the Pori brigade has trained a jaeger battalion, the Finnish Rapid Deployment Force (FRDF), which can take part in crisis management operations at short notice.
Finnish participation in UN peacekeeping operations (2003):
Military branches
The Frontier Guard (Rajavartiolaitos) is under the Ministry of the Interior but can be incorporated into the Defence Forces when required by defence readiness.
males age 15-49:
1,262,526 (2000 est.)
males age 15-49:
1,041,795 (2000 est.)
males:
34,651 (2000 est.)
History
The armed forces of an independent Finland were formed on January 25, 1918 when the White Guard were declared to be the governments troops.
After the Finnish Civil War the armed forces were organised after the German system. In February 1919 the White Guard became an independent organisation from the armed forces. UN peacekeeping operations
