A brief guide to Finland economy, Finland economy overview, Inflation rates GDP and other economic indicators in Finland.



Finland has a highly developed industrial economy.
Despite the climate and its geographical location that permit a very short growing period, agriculture is fairly developed and Finland is self-sufficient as far as basic foods are concerned.
Agriculture contributes some 4% to the GDP. Other GDP sources in Finland are industry 32%, and services 64%.
Significant factors in the GDP are the paper and timber industries, which is not surprising because of the forests that cover a considerable percentage of the State's territory.
Apart from the timber resources and small reserves of diamonds that were discovered in Finland, the country is highly dependent on the import of raw materials.

In the year 2003, the main export components were electronic products and electric appliances that accounted for approximately 26% of exports.
The prominent import components were raw materials - some 39%, investment products - some 21% and energy - some 12%.
Finland is among the world leaders in the manufacture of cellular phones, machines, paper and medical accessories.
The Nokia Corporation is considered the world's largest manufacturer of cellular telephones.



The Finnish economy benefits from an excellent location that enables a fast overland infrastructure to Russia and Eastern Europe.
The infrastructure is extremely developed and the work force has considerable technological knowledge.
Some 68% of the residents of the country have a cellular telephone.
The number of connections to the Internet is among the highest in the world.
In 2003 export was mainly to the European countries, some 12% to Germany, 9.9% to Sweden and 8.2% to Britain.
In 2003 the two main sources of imports were Germany (approximately 16.2%) and Sweden (approximately 14.1%).
Finland GDP for the year 2003 was approximately US $ 27,300 per capita.
(compared to world average-$8,200).
Apart from the severe recession that hit the country in the years 1990 - 1993, the economy has developed comparatively quickly.
From 1993, the rate of inflation has been reduced to an annual average of 1% - 1.5%, although it rose again in the year 2000.
The annual average real gdp growth in Finland is around 2%,compared with a higher rate till 2000.
The rate of unemployment in Finland is 9% (2003).
Finland has been a member of the European Union since the year 1995.