Finland has taken part in many of the world organisation's peace keeping operations. Last century Finland embarked on the road to industrialisation by harnessing its forest resources. Today, forests are still Finland's most crucial raw material resource, although the metal and engineering industry has long been Finland's leading branch of manufacturing both in terms of value added and as an employer. The net wealth of Finnish households is higher than the average for the European Union. In 1998 Finland's GDP per capita was USD 24,553 while the average for EU countries was USD 22,416.
Unemployment is the most serious problem burdening the Finnish economy.
The high tech sector is very strong in the Finnish economy. Finland has one of the highest rates of mobile phones and internet usage per capita in the world. Among others, the mobile phone giant Nokia is a Finnish company. There has been complete freedom of religion in Finland since 1923. Both denominations are designated as state churches.