Sharing land borders with Sweden to its northwest, Norway to its north and Russia to its east, the Republic of Finland shipped US$82.4 billion worth of exported products around the world in 2023.

That dollar amount reflects a 13.2% advance from five years earlier in 2019 when Finnish exports totaled $72.8 billion.

Year over year, the value of Finland’s exported products fell by -4.4% from $86.2 billion for 2022.

Based on the average exchange rate for 2023, Finland uses the euro which depreciated by -3.5% against the US dollar since 2019 but appreciated by 2.6% from 2022 to 2023. The weaker European Union currency after 2019 made Finland’s exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively lesser expensive for American buyers.

Countries Spending the Most on Products Exported by Finland

The latest available country-specific data shows that 66.8% of products exported from Finland was bought by importers in: United States of America (11% of the Finnish total), Sweden (10.5%), Germany (10.4%), Netherlands (8%), mainland China (4.5%), Estonia (3.6%), United Kingdom (3.39%), Poland (3.37%), France (3.29%), Belgium (3.03%), Norway (2.95%) and Italy (2.8%).

From a continental perspective, 66.1% of Finland’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 15.1% was sold to importers in Asia. Finland shipped another 13.4% worth of goods to North America.

Finland is a member in good standing of the European Union. Finnish exports to fellow EU members amounted to 62.3% of Finland’s total export sales.

Smaller percentages went to buyers in Africa (2.2%), Latin America (2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, then Oceania (1.2%) led by Australia and New Zealand.

Given Finland’s population of 5.61 million people, its total $82.4 billion in 2023 exports translates to roughly $14,700 for every resident in the Northern European nation. That dollar metric lags than the average $15,500 per capita one year earlier in 2022.

Finland’s Top 10 Exports

The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Finnish global shipments during 2023. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Finland.

1. Machinery including computers: US$11.8 billion (14.4% of total exports)
2. Mineral fuels including oil: $8.1 billion (9.8%)
3. Electrical machinery, equipment: $7.7 billion (9.4%)
4. Paper, paper items: $6.8 billion (8.2%)
5. Iron, steel: $5.8 billion (7%)
6. Vehicles: $4.3 billion (5.2%)
7. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $3.7 billion (4.4%)
8. Wood: $3.2 billion (3.9%)
9. Woodpulp: $3 billion (3.6%)
10. Ships, boats: $2.6 billion (3.2%)

Finland’s top 10 exports accounted for 69.1% of the overall value of Finnish shipments.

Ships and boats was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 47.3% from 2021 to 2022.

In second place for improving export sales was machinery including computers via a 14.5% advance.

Finland’s shipments of electrical machinery and equipment posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 6.6%.

The leading decliner among Finland’s top 10 export categories was wood, pulled down by a -24.2% year-over-year drop.

At the more detailed four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, Finland’s most valuable exported products are refined petroleum oils (7.7% of the Finnish total). In second place was coated paper (4.2%) trailed by Finnish exports of flat-rolled stainless steel items (3.9%), non-dissolving chemical woodpulp (3.4%), cruise or cargo ships and barges (2.7%), sawn wood (2.4%), electrical converters and power units (2.2%), medication mixes in dosage (1.8%), electro-medical equipment (1.7%) like xray machines, then cars (1.6%).

Products Generating Finland’s Biggest Trade Surpluses

The following types of Finnish product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.

In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.

1. Paper, paper items: US$6.2 billion (Down by -16.1% since 2022)
2. Iron, steel: $2.8 billion (Up by 17.2%)
3. Woodpulp: $2.8 billion (Down by -1.1%)
4. Wood: $2.4 billion (Down by -26.2%)
5. Ships, boats: $2.1 billion (Up by 72.5%)
6. Machinery including computers: $1.5 billion (Down by -238.9%)
7. Gems, precious metals: $1.3 billion (Up by 28.6%)
8. Optical, technical, medical apparatus: $1.2 billion (Down by -0.6%)
9. Copper: $849.7 million (Down by -41.9%)
10. Zinc: $795 million (Down by -6.8%)

Finland has highly positive net exports in the international trade of paper and products made from paper. In turn, these cashflows indicate Finland’s strong competitive advantages under the paper and paper items category.

Products Causing Finland’s Worst Trade Deficits

Finland incurred an overall -US$299.3 million trade deficit for 2023, shrinking by -97.3% from -$11.1 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2022.

Below are exports from Finland that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Finland’s goods trail Finnish importer spending on foreign products.

1. Mineral fuels including oil: US-$4.1 billion (Down by -60.3% since 2022)
2. Vehicles: -$3.6 billion (Up by 52.6%)
3. Ores, slag, ash: -$2 billion (Down by -14%)
4. Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.7 billion (Down by -27.7%)
5. Articles of iron or steel: -$987.2 million (Down by -30.3%)
6. Pharmaceuticals: -$720.9 million (Down by -44.9%)
7. Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: -$624.6 million (Down by -22.3%)
8. Animal/vegetable fats, oils, waxes: -$610.8 million (Down by -20.1%)
9. Cereal/milk preparations: -$583.5 million (Up by 21.4%)
10. Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: -$574.5 million (Down by -19.4%)

Finland has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the mineral fuels-related products category, notably for crude oil, electrical energy and coal.

Finland’s Major Export Companies

Twelve Finnish corporations rank among Forbes Global 2000. Below is a sample of Finland’s major companies that Forbes included.

• Metso (miscellaneous industrial equipment)
• Neste Oil (oil, gas)
• Nokia (communications equipment)
• Outokumpu (iron, steel)
• Stora Enso (paper, paper products)
• UPM-Kymmene (paper, paper products)
• Wärtsilä (heavy equipment)

Wikipedia also lists companies headquartered in Finland that engaged in international trade transactions.

• Altia (alcoholic beverages)
• Fiskars (scissors, gardening tools, kitchenware)
• HKScan (meat products)
• Kemira Oyj (chemicals)
• Metsä Group (wood products, paper)
• Neste (refined petroleum)

 

In macroeconomic terms, Finland’s total exported goods represent 24.6% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2023 ($335.8 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 24.6% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2023 compares to 26.4% for 2022. Those percentages suggest a relatively decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Finland’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.

Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Finland’s unemployment rate averaged 7.3% in 2023, down from an average 7.767% one year earlier in 2022 according to International Monetary Fund statistics.

Finland’s capital city is Helsinki.

See also Finland’s Top Imports, Finland’s Top Trading Partners, Germany’s Top Trading Partners, Russia’s Top Trading Partners and Sweden’s Top Trading Partners

Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Europe: Finland. Accessed on April 7, 2024

Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on April 7, 2024

International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (National Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on April 7, 2024

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on April 7, 2024

International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on April 7, 2024

Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on April 7, 2024

Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on April 7, 2024

Wikipedia, List of Companies of Finland. Accessed on April 7, 2024

Wikipedia, Finland. Accessed on April 7, 2024

Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on April 7, 2024