Finland Permanent Virtual Exhibition and Business Directory

The hilly terrain of Finland is 70% forested and home to 188,000 lakes, 179,584 islands and mobile phone giant Nokia. The Finns spent the latter half of the twentieth century transforming Finland from an agrarian country into one of the world’s leading diversified industrial economies – today their per capita income is one of the highest in the world. Finland joined the European Union in 1995 and became a member of the euro zone in 1999.

Finnish exports account for about 35% of GDP. Finnish companies are strong in manufacturing, particularly in the chemicals, clothing, electronics, foodstuffs, machinery and scientific instruments, metals and metal products, pulp and paper, shipbuilding, telecommunications and textiles industries. The country’s agricultural products – barley, dairy cattle, fish, potatoes, sugar beets and wheat – are largely for domestic consumption. Finland’s key export partners are Germany, Sweden, Russia, the USA, Netherlands, the UK and China. The country imports most of its raw materials.

Finland’s banks and financial markets were resilient during the global economic downturn of 2008-09, but reduced demand for Finnish exports contracted GDP – an increase in exports in 2010 has helped return the Finnish economy to growth. Going forward, the Finnish government will grow the country’s economy by increasing productivity, enhancing Finnish competitiveness in the world marketplace and maintaining fiscal sustainability.

Doing Business in Finland

Foreign owned companies can benefit from government investment incentives and access to the latest research from the extensive cooperation between Finnish universities and the private sector. Foreign investment in Finland is welcomed as a boost to the dynamism of the economy. Read Full Article

Investing in Finland

Finland has a highly industrialised, largely free-market economy, with per capita output roughly that of the UK, France, Germany, and Italy. Its key economic sector is manufacturing—principally the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Read Full Article