Päivitetty 27.3.2000
Inquiries: Mr Tuomas Rothovius +358 9 1734
3360, kansantalous.suhdanteet@stat.fi
Director in charge: Mr Markku Suur-Kujala
GDP grew by 3.5 per cent at the end of last year
In the last quarter of 1999, Finland's gross domestic product went up by 3.5 per cent compared to the same period the year before. The growth slowed down in the third quarter but accelerated again towards the end of the year. In the first and second quarters the growth was just under four per cent and in the third quarter three per cent. This is indicated by the preliminary data on National Accounts compiled by Statistics Finland.
Over the year, the volume of the gross domestic product increased by 3.5 per cent. The nominal gross domestic product amounted to FIM 718 billion in 1999.
In the course of the year, exports recovered and the volume of exports grew by as much as 21 per cent in the last quarter. Imports also picked up towards the year-end. Imports increased by nearly eight per cent from the year before.
Private consumption increased by 2.1 per cent in the fourth quarter. The growth in the latter part of the year was mainly slowed by car purchases being postponed until the new millennium. Construction investments were up by four per cent from the year before, but investments in machinery and equipment shrunk by nearly one per cent in the last quarter.
Output in the whole manufacturing industry grew by 6.4 per cent. Output in the wood and paper industry increased by nearly 14 per cent from the year before, while output still contracted in the first quarter of the year. In the metal industry, output grew by close on six per cent. Wholesale and retail trade grew by about four per cent and construction by under three per cent.
The wages and salaries bill of the national economy increased by 6.5 per cent in the October to December period. Operating surplus went up by 3.7 per cent. In the last quarter, national income grew in nominal terms by 4.8 per cent.
Source: National Accounts 1999, 4th
quarter. Statistics Finland