Economy
Finland’s economy has traditionally been based on its most plentiful natural resource: wood. The forest product industries are still important, even if they face increased international competition, but manufacturing industries, engineering and high technology have also played a big economic role in recent decades. The main economic phenomenon of the last two decades has been the rise of telecommunications giant Nokia and the industrial cluster surrounding the IT business.
Finnish economic growth has proceeded at a faster pace than most OECD countries. In investments, the record level of the period before the 1990s recession has not been reached again in spite of recent rapid growth. GDP is forecast at 3.7 per cent for 2006. The unemployment rate remains relatively high at 8.7 per cent, but is falling. Inflation rate, at 1.1 per cent for June 2005, has remained below the OECD average. Corporate investment as a proportion of total national R&D expenditure increased from 57 per cent in 1991 to 69 per cent in 2004. The electronics and electro-technics industries were the main drivers behind this growth.
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