The Swedes and the Russians think highly of Finland

Press release 347/2008
22 September, 2008

Last spring, Finland joined for the first time an extensive international survey, where people’s country images of 50 different nations were studied. Among them, the country image of Finland ranked 18th. All other Nordic Countries were placed higher than Finland. Finland received the highest evaluations from the Swedes and the Russians, and the lowest from Latin America and Africa.

The survey studied solely the image people have of the country, in other words, not facts.

A total of 20,000 interviews were conducted as online surveys in 20 countries in order to examine the country images. From each country, a representative distribution of respondents was selected in terms of age, sex, education level and other factors. The survey was conducted by Gfk Group, encompassing a total of 115 companies in 90 countries. The parent company is German.

As far as the six special sectors included in the study are concerned, Finland ranked the highest, 11th, in terms of administration. When it comes to individual survey questions, Finland received good points for excellent environmental responsibility, sharing the fourth position. In the overall points, Finland rose above its own level also in creativity and top ideas, ranking 15th and 13th, whereas when it came to Finland as an interesting tourist destination and cultural nation, at the position 27, Finland’s ranking was lower than the overall position.

In the report, high-level professionals estimated that, objectively speaking, Finland would deserve a better ranking than what it achieves, since it is overshadowed by some other countries enjoying a higher profile. The relatively low ranking of Finland gives some reason for concern also because it reflects the personality and self-respect of a nation. It is generally regarded that culturally rich nations have a high self-respect and that it is difficult to respect someone who does not think highly of himself. However, the report does offer some comforting words by pointing out that of the six sectors studied in the survey the competition is the hardest in the arena of culture. After all, it is not easy for Finland to score high points under the shadow of Rembrandt or the pyramids of Egypt.

Further information: Director General Petri Tuomi-Nikula, Department for Communication and Culture, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 1605 5800, and Director General Jaakko Lehtonen, Finnish Tourist Board, tel. +358 10 6058 232