Finland...What makes their educational system "better"?

Frequently, I have come across articles and conversation about Finland's education system being among the best in the world.  So, I decided to look into the reasons.  Here are some points I encountered -

• kids learn to read very early
• relatively relaxed educational environment
• the competition to get into a good school isn't so intense
• intense individualization...Finnish teachers are expected to customize lessons for students
• teachers are trained extensively. They must have master's degrees, and 40 people apply for every job.
• acceleration is possible

The point that seemed to be repeated in many news articles is "high-quality teachers at the heart of Finland’s education success story"