Economy - overviewFinland has a highly industrialized, 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. Trade is important; Finland's ratio of exports to GDP has risen from a quarter to 37% over the past 15 years. 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. Although Finland has been one of the best performing economies within the EU in recent years and its banks and financial markets have avoided the worst of global financial crisis, the world slowdown has hit export growth and domestic demand and will serve as a brake on economic growth in 2009 and 2010. The slowdown of construction, other investment, and exports will cause unemployment to rise. During 2009, unemployment will climb to over 8% of the labor force. Long-term challenges include the need to address a rapidly aging population and decreasing productivity that threaten competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth. GDP (purchasing power parity)$193.5 billion (2008 est.) GDP (official exchange rate)$274 billion (2008 est.) GDP - real growth rate0.9% (2008 est.) GDP - per capita (PPP)$36,900 (2008 est.) GDP - composition by sectoragriculture: 2.8% Population below poverty lineNA% Labor force2.703 million (2008 est.) Labor force - by occupationagriculture and forestry 4.5%, industry 18.3%, construction 7.3%, commerce 16%, finance, insurance, and business services 14.5%, transport and communications 7%, public services 32.4% (2008) Unemployment rate6.4% (2008 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage sharelowest 10%: 3.6% Distribution of family income - Gini index29.5 (2007) Investment (gross fixed)20.6% of GDP (2008 est.) Budgetrevenues: $143.8 billion Public debt33.4% of GDP (2008 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices)4.1% (2008 est.) Central bank discount rate3% (31 December 2008) Commercial bank prime lending rate5.04% (December 2008) Stock of money$NA (31December 2008) Stock of quasi money$NA (31 December 2008) Stock of domestic credit$227 billion (31 December 2008) Industriesmetals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing Industrial production growth rate0.4% (2008 est.) Electricity - production74.1 billion kWh (2008) Electricity - production by sourcefossil fuel: 39% Electricity - consumption86.9 billion kWh (2008) Electricity - exports3.2 billion kWh (2008) Electricity - imports16 billion kWh (2008) Oil - production8,951 bbl/day (2007 est.) Oil - consumption217,500 bbl/day (2008) Oil - imports331,200 bbl/day (2007) Oil - exports124,300 bbl/day (2007) Oil - proved reservesNA bbl Natural gas - production0 cu m (2007 est.) Natural gas - consumption2.268 billion cu m (2007 est.) Natural gas - exports0 cu m (2007 est.) Natural gas - imports4.576 billion cu m (2007 est.) Natural gas - proved reserves0 cu m (1 January 2006) Current Account Balance$5.518 billion (2008 est.) Agriculture - productsbarley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish Exports$96.62 billion (2008 est.) Exports - commoditieselectrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals; timber Exports - partnersRussia 11.6%, Sweden 10%, Germany 10%, US 6.4%, UK 5.5%, Netherlands 5.1% (2008) Imports$87.51 billion (2008 est.) Imports - commoditiesfoodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains Imports - partnersRussia 16.3%, Germany 15.7%, Sweden 13.6%, Netherlands 6.3%, China 5.1%, UK 4.2% (2008) Reserves of foreign exchange and gold$8.346 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Debt - external$332.2 billion (31 December 2008) Stock of direct foreign investment - at home$84.44 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad$115.8 billion (31 December 2008 est.) Market value of publicly traded shares$NA (31 December 2008) Economic aid - donorODA, $1.023 billion (2007) Currency (code)EUR Currency (code)euro (EUR) Exchange rateseuros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004) Fiscal yearcalendar year |
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Source: CIA World Factbook | |