Finland: Economy Overview

Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy with per capita output roughly that of the Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden. Trade is important with exports accounting for over one third of GDP in recent years.

Economy Overview

Finland is strongly competitive in manufacturing - principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Finland excels in high-tech exports such as mobile phones. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export earner, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population. Finland had been one of the best performing economies within the EU in recent years and its banks and financial markets avoided the worst of global financial crisis. However, the world slowdown hit exports and domestic demand hard in 2009, with Finland experiencing one of the deepest contractions in the euro zone, and will serve as a brake on economic growth in 2010. The slowdown of construction, other investment, and exports will cause unemployment to rise further from the 2009 level. The recession will leave a deep, long-lasting mark on general government finances and the debt ratio. It turned previously strong public finances into deficit within a year. In the next few years, the great challenge of economic policy will be to implement a post-recession exit strategy in which measures supporting growth will be combined with general government adjustment measures. Longer-term, Finland must address a rapidly aging population and decreasing productivity that threaten competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth.

GDP (purchasing power parity):

$178.9 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 56
$194.7 billion (2008 est.)
$192.8 billion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP (official exchange rate):

$238.6 billion (2009 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:

-8.1% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 207
1% (2008 est.)
5.3% (2007 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):

$34,100 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
$37,100 (2008 est.)
$36,800 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars

GDP - composition by sector:

agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 28.2%
services: 69% (2009 est.)

Labor force:

2.678 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 107

Labor force - by occupation:

agriculture and forestry 4.5%, industry 18.2%, construction 7.3%, commerce 15.9%, finance, insurance, and business services 14.5%, transport and communications 6.9%, public services 32.7% (2008)

Unemployment rate:

8.2% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 93
6.4% (2008 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):

19.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 100

Budget:

revenues: $123.5 billion
expenditures: $129.9 billion (2009 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):

0% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 26
4.1% (2008 est.)

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

3.51% (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
5.79% (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of domestic credit:

$259.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
$241.6 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Agriculture - products:

barley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish

Industries:

metal and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing

Industrial production growth rate:

-16.3% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 159

Oil - production:

8,718 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 86

Natural gas - production:

NA (2008 est.)

Current account balance:

$3.444 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 31
$8.206 billion (2008 est.)

Exports:

$62.69 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 39
$96.92 billion (2008 est.)

Exports - commodities:

electrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals; timber

Exports - partners:

Imports:

$57.68 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 42
$86.71 billion (2008 est.)

Imports - commodities:

foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains

Imports - partners:

Russia 16.28%, Germany 15.76%, Sweden 14.65%, Netherlands 6.99%, China 5.29%, France 4.22% (2009)

Debt - external:

$364.9 billion (30 June 2009)
country comparison to the world: 22
$339.5 billion (31 December 2008)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:

$85.71 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
$83.14 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:

$118.7 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 23
$116.1 billion (31 December 2008 est.)

Exchange rates:

Source: CIA - The World Factbook