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Finland-Foreign Trade

Finland Index

Trade in agricultural commodities, consumer products, and services had been relatively limited, but exchanges with the outside world were crucial for industry. Not only had the forest industries grown largely in response to foreign demand for wood and paper, but the metal-working industry had also taken off only under the goad of postwar reparations deliveries to the Soviet Union. By the mid-1980s, exports accounted for half of all industrial output and for as much as 80 percent of the output of the crucial forest industries. Similarly, imports of energy, raw materials, and investment goods remained essential for industrial production. The development of export-oriented industries had driven Finland's postwar structural transformation, indirectly affecting the rest of the economy. Industrial competitiveness would largely determine the economy's overall health into the 1990s.

During the postwar period, Finnish exports shifted from lumber and other raw materials to increasingly sophisticated products, a change which reflected the increasing diversification of the country's economic structure. The forest industries continued to dominate exports, but, while they had accounted for about 85 percent of total exports in 1950, they accounted for only 40 percent by the mid-1980s. The relative shares of different forest exports also shifted. Sawn timber and various board products accounted for more than one-third of total exports in 1950, but by 1985 they had fallen to only 8 percent. Exports of pulp and paper fell more gradually during the same period, from 43 percent of exports to about 30 percent. Pulp and cardboard, the main exports of the chemical wood-processing branch, declined in importance, while specialized paper products incorporating higher value added, such as packing material, printed paper, and coated paper, grew in importance.

Taking the place of forest products, exports of metal products grew rapidly during the postwar period from a little over 4 percent of exports to about 28 percent. Here, too, exports of more sophisticated manufactured goods grew faster than those of basic products. By the late 1980s, basic metals accounted for about 20 percent of metal exports, ships for about 25 percent, and machinery and equipment for about 20 percent. Advanced products such as electronics and process-control equipment were gaining on conventionally engineered products. The chemical industry had exported relatively little until the 1970s, but by 1985 it had grown to account for about 12 percent of exports. By contrast, the textile, confectionery, and leather goods industries had peaked at over 10 percent in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and then they had fallen to about 6 percent of exports by the mid-1980s. Minor export sectors included processed foods, building materials, agricultural products, and furs.

Up to the 1970s, Finland tended to export wood-based products to the West, and metal and engineering products to the East. By the mid-1980s, however, Finnish machines and high-technology products were also becoming competitive in Western markets.

Finland's imports had consisted primarily of raw materials, energy, and capital goods for industrial production, and in the late 1980s these categories still accounted for roughly twothirds of all imports. The commodity structure of imports responded both to structural changes in domestic production and to shifts in world markets. Thus, the heavy purchases of raw materials, energy, and capital goods up until the mid-1970s reflected Finland's postwar industrial development, while the subsequent period showed the influences of unstable world energy prices and Finland's shifts toward high-technology production. Imports of investment goods climbed from about 15 percent in 1950 to almost 30 percent in the late 1960s and early 1970s, only to fall again by the 1980s to about 15 percent. Foodstuffs and raw materials for the textile industry accounted for about half of all raw material imports during the 1950s, but by the 1980s inputs for the chemical and metal-processing industries took some 75 percent of raw material imports. World energy prices had strongly influenced Finnish trade because the country needed to import about 70 percent of its energy. After rising slowly until the early 1970s, the value of oil imports had jumped to almost one-third of that of total imports in the mid-1970s, then had fallen with world oil prices to about 13 percent by the late 1980s.

Like its export markets, Finland's import sources were concentrated in Western Europe and the Soviet Union (see table 19, Appendix A). The country usually obtained raw materials, especially petroleum, from the East and purchased capital goods from the West.

Finnish service exports had exceeded service imports until the early 1980s. Up until this time, shipping and tourism earnings had generally exceeded interest payments to service the national debt. In the mid-1980s, however, the balance was reversed as the earnings of the merchant marine declined and Finns began to spend more on tourism abroad. Although Finnish businesses tried to compete in these labor-intensive sectors, the country's high wage levels made shipping and tourism difficult to export.

Like other Nordic countries, Finland's trade was concentrated in the Nordic area and in Europe. Unlike the others, however, Finland had, as its most important trading partner, the Soviet Union. During the postwar years, trade with the Soviets had expanded and contracted in response to political developments and market forces. During the immediate postwar period, the Soviet share of Finland's trade, spurred by reparations payments, rose to over 30 percent. However, the following two decades saw this share gradually decline as Finland expanded exports to Western Europe. A second cycle began after the 1973 oil crisis, when recession in Western markets cut demand for Finnish products while the increased value of Soviet oil deliveries to Finland allowed expanded exports to the East. Finnish exports to the Soviet Union rose sharply during the years after 1973, only to fall--along with world petroleum prices--by 1986.

By the late 1980s, the geographical distribution of Finland's trade was moving back to the pre-1973 pattern. In 1986, for example, although the Soviet Union continued to be Finland's single largest trade partner, trade with West European countries, which together accounted for about 61 percent of Finnish trade, was much more important than trade with the Soviet Union. Finland's main trade partners in Western Europe were Sweden, which took the biggest share of Finnish exports, and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), which supplied the largest slice of Finnish imports. East European countries other than the Soviet Union accounted for only slightly over 2 percent of trade. Non-European countries were responsible for some 19 percent of trade. The United States, Finland's main non-European trade partner, accounted for over 5 percent of Finnish exports and imports in 1987.

As in many small European countries, the postwar trade policy of Finland had been to pursue free trade in industrial products while protecting agriculture and services. During the 1980s, strict quotas still blocked imports of most agricultural commodities (except for tropical products that could not be produced domestically), but liberalized regulations allowed increased imports of services, especially financial services. Most industrial imports and exports were free of surcharges, tariffs, and quotas under multilateral and bilateral agreements between Finland and its major trading partners (see Regional Economic Integration , this ch.). Health and security concerns, however, inspired restrictions on imports of products such as radioactive materials, pharmaceuticals, arms and ammunition, live animals, meat, seeds, and plants. With a few exceptions, Finland discontinued export licensing in the early 1960s. The State Granary, however, controlled all trade in grains, while the Roundwood Export Commission reviewed all lumber exports.

Data as of December 1988



BackgroundFinland was a province and then a grand duchy under Sweden from the 12th to the 19th centuries, and an autonomous grand duchy of Russia after 1809. It won its complete independence in 1917. During World War II, it was able to successfully defend its freedom and resist invasions by the Soviet Union - albeit with some loss of territory. In the subsequent half century, the Finns made a remarkable transformation from a farm/forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy; per capita income is now among the highest in Western Europe. A member of the European Union since 1995, Finland was the only Nordic state to join the euro system at its initiation in January 1999.
LocationNorthern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Sweden and Russia
Area(sq km)total: 338,145 sq km
land: 303,815 sq km
water: 34,330 sq km
Geographic coordinates64 00 N, 26 00 E
Land boundaries(km)total: 2,654 km
border countries: Norway 727 km, Sweden 614 km, Russia 1,313 km

Coastline(km)1,250 km

Climatecold temperate; potentially subarctic but comparatively mild because of moderating influence of the North Atlantic Current, Baltic Sea, and more than 60,000 lakes

Elevation extremes(m)lowest point: Baltic Sea 0 m
highest point: Haltiatunturi 1,328 m
Natural resourcestimber, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, limestone
Land use(%)arable land: 6.54%
permanent crops: 0.02%
other: 93.44% (2005)

Irrigated land(sq km)640 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources(cu km)110 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural)total: 2.33 cu km/yr (14%/84%/3%)
per capita: 444 cu m/yr (1999)
Natural hazardsNA
Environment - current issuesair pollution from manufacturing and power plants contributing to acid rain; water pollution from industrial wastes, agricultural chemicals; habitat loss threatens wildlife populations
Environment - international agreementsparty to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - notelong boundary with Russia; Helsinki is northernmost national capital on European continent; population concentrated on small southwestern coastal plain
Population5,250,275 (July 2009 est.)
Age structure(%)0-14 years: 16.4% (male 438,425/female 422,777)
15-64 years: 66.8% (male 1,773,495/female 1,732,792)
65 years and over: 16.8% (male 357,811/female 524,975) (2009 est.)
Median age(years)total: 42.1 years
male: 40.5 years
female: 43.7 years (2009 est.)
Population growth rate(%)0.098% (2009 est.)
Birth rate(births/1,000 population)10.38 births/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Death rate(deaths/1,000 population)10.07 deaths/1,000 population (July 2009 est.)

Net migration rate(migrant(s)/1,000 population)0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2009 est.)
Urbanization(%)urban population: 63% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: 0.8% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio(male(s)/female)at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
Infant mortality rate(deaths/1,000 live births)total: 3.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 3.78 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 3.15 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth(years)total population: 78.97 years
male: 75.48 years
female: 82.61 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate(children born/woman)1.73 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Finn(s)
adjective: Finnish
Ethnic groups(%)Finn 93.4%, Swede 5.6%, Russian 0.5%, Estonian 0.3%, Roma (Gypsy) 0.1%, Sami 0.1% (2006)

Religions(%)Lutheran Church of Finland 82.5%, Orthodox Church 1.1%, other Christian 1.1%, other 0.1%, none 15.1% (2006)
Languages(%)Finnish 91.2% (official), Swedish 5.5% (official), other 3.3% (small Sami- and Russian-speaking minorities) (2007)

Country nameconventional long form: Republic of Finland
conventional short form: Finland
local long form: Suomen tasavalta/Republiken Finland
local short form: Suomi/Finland
Government typerepublic
Capitalname: Helsinki
geographic coordinates: 60 10 N, 24 56 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions6 provinces (laanit, singular - laani); Ahvenanmaan Laani (Aland), Etela-Suomen Laani (Southern Finland), Ita-Suomen Laani (Eastern Finland), Lansi-Suomen Laani (Western Finland), Lapin Laani (Lapland), Oulun Laani
Constitution1-Mar-00

Legal systemcivil law system based on Swedish law; the president may request the Supreme Court to review laws; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations

Suffrage18 years of age; universal
Executive branchchief of state: President Tarja HALONEN (since 1 March 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Matti VANHANEN (since 24 June 2003); Deputy Prime Minister Jyrki KATAINEN (since 19 April 2007)
cabinet: Council of State or Valtioneuvosto appointed by the president, responsible to parliament
elections: president elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 15 January 2006 (next to be held in January 2012); the president appoints the prime minister and deputy prime minister from the majority party or the majority coalition after parliamentary elections and the parliament must approve the appointment; Prime Minister VANHANEN reelected 17 April 2007
election results: percent of vote - Tarja HALONEN (SDP) 46.3%, Sauli NIINISTO (Kok) 24.1%, Matti VANHANEN (Kesk) 18.6%, Heidi HAUTALA (VIHR) 3.5%; a runoff election between HALONEN and NIINISTO was held 29 January 2006 - HALONEN 51.8%, NIINISTO 48.2%; Matti VANHANEN reelected prime minister; election results 121-71
note: government coalition - Kesk, KOK, VIHR, and SFP
Legislative branchunicameral Parliament or Eduskunta (200 seats; members are elected by popular vote on a proportional basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 18 March 2007 (next to be held March 2011)
election results: percent of vote by party - Kesk 23.1%, Kok 22.3%, SDP 21.4%, VAS 8.8%, VIHR 8.5%, KD 4.9%, SFP 4.5%, True Finns 4.1%, other 3.4%; seats by party - Kesk 51, Kok 50, SDP 45, VAS 17, VIHR 15, SFP 9, KD 7, True Finns 5, other 1

Judicial branchSupreme Court or Korkein Oikeus (judges appointed by the president)

International organization participationADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Arctic Council, Australia Group, BIS, CBSS, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, G-9, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURCAT, NC, NEA, NIB, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, Schengen Convention, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WEU (observer), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Flag descriptionwhite with a blue cross extending to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side in the style of the Dannebrog (Danish flag); the blue represents the thousands of lakes scattered across the country, while the white is for the snow that covers the land in winter

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)$194 billion (2008 est.)
$192.4 billion (2007 est.)
$184.8 billion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate)$271.9 billion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate(%)0.8% (2008 est.)
4.1% (2007 est.)
4.9% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)$37,000 (2008 est.)
$36,700 (2007 est.)
$35,300 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector(%)agriculture: 2.8%
industry: 32.4%
services: 64.9% (2008 est.)
Labor force2.703 million (2008 est.)

Labor force - by occupation(%)agriculture 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 rate(%)6.4% (2008 est.)
6.9% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line(%)NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share(%)lowest 10%: 3.6%
highest 10%: 24.7% (2007)
Distribution of family income - Gini index29.5 (2007)
25.6 (1991)
Investment (gross fixed)(% of GDP)20.6% of GDP (2008 est.)
Budgetrevenues: $143.8 billion
expenditures: $132.3 billion (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)(%)4.1% (2008 est.)
2.5% (2007 est.)

Stock of money$NA (31December 2008)
$NA (31 December 2007)
note: see entry for the European Union for money supply in the euro area; the European Central Bank (ECB) controls monetary policy for the 16 members of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU); individual members of the EMU do not control the quantity of money and quasi money circulating within their own borders
Stock of quasi money$NA (31 December 2008)
$NA (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit$241.1 billion (31 December 2008)
$225.4 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares$NA (31 December 2008)
$369.2 billion (31 December 2007)
$265.5 billion (31 December 2006)
Public debt(% of GDP)33.7% of GDP (2008 est.)
46.8% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - productsbarley, wheat, sugar beets, potatoes; dairy cattle; fish
Industriesmetals and metal products, electronics, machinery and scientific instruments, shipbuilding, pulp and paper, foodstuffs, chemicals, textiles, clothing

Industrial production growth rate(%)0.4% (2008 est.)

Current account balance$5.518 billion (2008 est.)
$10.12 billion (2007 est.)
Exports$96.62 billion (2008 est.)
$90.2 billion (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities(%)electrical and optical equipment, machinery, transport equipment, paper and pulp, chemicals, basic metals; timber
Exports - partners(%)Russia 11.6%, Sweden 10%, Germany 10%, US 6.4%, UK 5.5%, Netherlands 5.1% (2008)
Imports$87.51 billion (2008 est.)
$78.22 billion (2007 est.)

Imports - commodities(%)foodstuffs, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, transport equipment, iron and steel, machinery, textile yarn and fabrics, grains
Imports - partners(%)Russia 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.)
$8.385 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external$339.5 billion (31 December 2008)
$314.1 billion (31 December 2007)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home$84.44 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$88.69 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad$116 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
$114.2 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Exchange rateseuros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6827 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)

Currency (code)euro (EUR)

Telephones - main lines in use1.65 million (2008)
Telephones - mobile cellular6.83 million (2008)
Telephone systemgeneral assessment: modern system with excellent service
domestic: digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs
international: country code - 358; submarine cables provide links to Estonia and Sweden; satellite earth stations - access to Intelsat transmission service via a Swedish satellite earth station, 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions); note - Finland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries (Denmark, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)
Internet country code.fi; note - Aland Islands assigned .ax
Internet users4.383 million (2008)
Airports148 (2009)
Pipelines(km)gas 694 km (2008)
Roadways(km)total: 78,141 km
paved: 50,914 km (includes 700 km of expressways)
unpaved: 27,227 km (2009)

Ports and terminalsHamina, Helsinki, Kokkola, Kotka, Naantali, Pori, Raahe, Rauma, Turku
Military branchesFinnish Defense Forces (FDF): Army, Navy (includes Coastal Defense Forces), Air Force (Suomen Ilmavoimat) (2007)
Military service age and obligation(years of age)18 years of age for male voluntary and compulsory - and female voluntary - national military and nonmilitary service; service obligation 6-12 months; mandatory retirement at age 60 (2008)
Manpower available for military servicemales age 16-49: 1,169,910
females age 16-49: 1,121,187 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military servicemales age 16-49: 962,479
females age 16-49: 920,297 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annuallymale: 33,784
female: 32,621 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures(% of GDP)2% of GDP (2005 est.)
Disputes - internationalvarious groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union, but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands

Electricity - production(kWh)77.24 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source(%)fossil fuel: 39%
hydro: 18.7%
nuclear: 30.4%
other: 11.8% (2001)
Electricity - consumption(kWh)86.9 billion kWh (2008)
Electricity - exports(kWh)3.335 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports(kWh)16.11 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production(bbl/day)9,789 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - consumption(bbl/day)215,600 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - exports(bbl/day)133,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Oil - imports(bbl/day)347,400 bbl/day (2008 est.)
Economic aid - donorODA, $1.023 billion (2007)

Oil - proved reserves(bbl)0 bbl
Natural gas - production(cu m)0 cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - consumption(cu m)4.735 billion cu m (2008 est.)
Natural gas - exports(cu m)0 cu m (2008)
Natural gas - proved reserves(cu m)0 cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate(%)less than 0.1% (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS2,400 (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deathsfewer than 100 (2003 est.)
Literacy(%)definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 100%
male: 100%
female: 100% (2000 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)(years)total: 17 years
male: 17 years
female: 18 years (2006)
Education expenditures(% of GDP)6.4% of GDP (2005)



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