Economic growth in Finland remained rather brisk in 2019. Export growth continued and consumption increased steadily, while investment growth was rather modest. The favourable cycle in the Finnish economy towards the end of the decade has improved the state of public finances. Both general and central government debt in relation to GDP decreased also in 2019.

Finland’s GDP increased by 1.6% in 2019, according to the Ministry of Finance’s December forecast. World trade growth was weak in 2019 due to trade conflicts and cyclical reasons, but the volume of Finnish exports still rose by 4.0% in 2019. The current account showed a deficit of 1.2% in relation to GDP. The unemployment rate declined to 6.7% and the employment rate increased to 72.6%. Inflation in Finland remained subdued at 1.1%.