Creative Industries Finland

Global Development Finland at Red Yellow Blue (RYB)

Creative Finland

What does Finnish creativity mean? We roll up our sleeves and get to work.
Here, in a corner of the world with the most darkness and the most light, we have always had to be resourceful to survive. That is why our creativity is interwoven with a focus on solving problems. Finnish creativity is an ability to entirely re-imagine the world with the mind of an artist, and with the mind of an engineer, begin to solve things for a better tomorrow.

According to the United Nations, Finland is the happiest country in the world. What makes us so happy, you may ask. From the perspective of creativity, our happiness comes from the freedom to choose your path in life, to strengthen your inner world, to do what you are passionate about. This freedom is the wellspring of Finnish creativity: the ability to see the world in your special way and happily try out new things. Finns are a nation of inventors, with a strong design tradition and unique ways of thinking and doing.

Out of the silence-loving mind have sprung soundproofed spaces, in which you can enjoy peace and quiet during the working day. In fact, we redesign the workday, give our employees an assurance of happiness, relax in our urban lives with the soundscapes of nature, and ask little old ladies to knit us woolen hats that bring sparks of joy into the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Creative Finland is your window into the Finnish creative know-how.
> creativefinland.fi

Economy

highly industrialized, export-based EU economy and euro user; high per capita GDP; major timber, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries; manageable public debts; rigid labor laws impose higher regulatory burdens

Finland has a highly industrialized, largely free-market economy with per capita GDP almost as high as that of Austria and the Netherlands and slightly above that of Germany and Belgium. Trade is important, with exports accounting for over one-third of GDP in recent years. The government is open to, and actively takes steps to attract, foreign direct investment.

Finland is historically competitive in manufacturing, particularly in the wood, metals, engineering, telecommunications, and electronics industries. Finland excels in export of technology as well as promotion of startups in the information and communications technology, gaming, cleantech, and biotechnology sectors. Except for timber and several minerals, Finland depends on imports of raw materials, energy, and some components for manufactured goods. Because of the cold climate, agricultural development is limited to maintaining self-sufficiency in basic products. Forestry, an important export industry, provides a secondary occupation for the rural population.

Finland had been one of the best performing economies within the EU before 2009 and its banks and financial markets avoided the worst of global financial crisis. However, the world slowdown hit exports and domestic demand hard in that year, causing Finland’s economy to contract from 2012 to 2014. The recession affected general government finances and the debt ratio. The economy returned to growth in 2016, posting a 1.9% GDP increase before growing an estimated 3.3% in 2017, supported by a strong increase in investment, private consumption, and net exports. Finnish economists expect GDP to grow a rate of 2-3% in the next few years.

Finland’s main challenges will be reducing high labor costs and boosting demand for its exports. In June 2016, the government enacted a Competitiveness Pact aimed at reducing labor costs, increasing hours worked, and introducing more flexibility into the wage bargaining system. As a result, wage growth was nearly flat in 2017. The Government was also seeking to reform the health care system and social services. In the long term, Finland must address a rapidly aging population and decreasing productivity in traditional industries that threaten competitiveness, fiscal sustainability, and economic growth.
Source: World Factbook