Russian sanctions have hit Finland hard, but this is not the country’s only problem.

Economically, the bigger problem is the longer-term slow-down that the global economy faces. This affects Finland, the eurozone and Russia. In addition, the Finnish economy is in the middle of a severe structural change, as employment is decreasing in the traditional wood-processing, paper and heavy industry sectors. Surprisingly, employment is also decreasing in certain service sector areas, such as banking. The situation has further deteriorated because of the ageing population of Finland. This poses a triple challenge to our economy and growth prospects. Russia and sanctions are not our main economic concern.

Finland is a country that ranks high on all indices of transparency, lack of corruption and press freedom.  Are its problems an indication of what is in store for other aging economies?

Here is a trenchant interview of Finland/’s former finance minister, Jutta Urpalainen by a prominent Iranian journalist, Kourosh Zibari.  Finland