Finland LIVING CONDITIONS
View of Tapiola, a planned community outside of Helsinki
Courtesy Embassy of Finland, Washington
By the 1980s, Finland enjoyed one of the highest living
standards in the world. It ranked eighth in the world with
regard
to per capita GDP, just behind the Federal Republic of
Germany
(West Germany) and slightly ahead of Canada. When measured
against other countries, it almost invariably ranked among
the
world's best, whether economic, social, medical,
educational, or
political criteria were being applied. Finns were as
surprised as
they were pleased by this excellence, because for much of
its
history Finland had been poor and backward. Evidence of
this
could be found in the national anthem, which declared that
Finland would always be poor.
However wealthy Finland had become since the 1960s,
observers
noted some shortcomings. In addition to the problem of
relatively
high mortality and the need for a more comprehensive
child-care
system, Finland faced serious environmental issues.
Another longstanding problem was the standard of housing. Although
improvements had occurred since the 1950s, thirty years
later
Finns were still not so well housed as their Nordic
neighbors.
Data as of December 1988
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