Finland's national economy on the rise in the first quarter of 2026

Growth in gross domestic product accelerated at the beginning of 2026

According to Statistics Finland, the upward trend in the volume of GDP continued in January to March. GDP growth turned positive at the end of 2025, and the growth rate accelerated in the first quarter of 2026. In addition to exports, private consumption picked up. The level of gross domestic product was also raised by defence investments. This was because the growth in defence investments increased the accrual of taxes on products, which increases gross domestic product.

According to preliminary data compiled by Eurostat, GDP in the EU area grew by 0.2 per cent in January to March 2026 from the previous quarter.

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Output of the national economy grew in January to March

The volume of value added grew in January to March 2026. Value added grew most in the forest and chemical industries, energy and water supply, transport, and accommodation and food service activities.

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Construction has suffered for several years from rising interest rates and the consequent lack of demand, but now there have been signs of growth already for two successive quarters. Similarly, the industries of trade, where development has been weak for a long time, already grew during the latter half of last year, and a clearly brisker growth spurt was seen now in January to March.

Demand of the national economy grew in January to March

In the first quarter of 2026, total demand in the national economy grew by 5.2 per cent compared to October to December. Exports, investments and private consumption expenditure grew, public investments most.

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Public investments rose to a new level when the deliveries of fighter aircraft included in investments in defence expenditure started. The deliveries will continue in coming quarters, and they will be recorded in public investments when ownership of aircraft changes.

Employment pension schemes have reduced their real estate investments in the first quarter. This is visible as decreases in residential building investments.

Private consumption grew in January to March. Consumption expenditure on semi-durable and non-durable products increased briskly, but the consumption of services did not grow.

Net lending

Net lending of non-financial corporations, financial corporations and households remained positive in 2025. The financial position of the public sector also improved slightly.

Net lending by sector will be next updated on 17 June 2026.

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Data will be updated in June

Annual national accounts data for 2025 and sector accounts data for the first quarter of 2026 will be released on 17 June 2026, when the now published data will also be updated.

National accounts data concerning the second quarter of 2026 will be released on 28 August 2026, when data for previous quarters will also be revised. A flash estimate on GDP development for April to June will be released in connection with the Trend Indicator of Output on 30 July 2026.

The documentation of national accounts is available on the web pages of the statistics. Due to the benchmarking and seasonal adjustment methods, quarterly data in the entire time series may become slightly revised in connection with each release.