Finland's economy contracted by 1.0 pct in 2023

HELSINKI -- Finland's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 1.0 percent in the whole year of 2023 on a year-on-year basis, according to the latest statistics published by Statistics Finland on Thursday.

The statistical agency reported that between October and December 2023, Finland's GDP decreased by 0.7 percent from the previous quarter, and by 1.8 percent from one year earlier.

Finland's national economy went into recession in the second half of 2023, Statistics Finland said.

In July-September last year, the country's GDP dropped by 1.1 percent compared to the previous quarter, and by 1.6 percent year-on-year.

Among the various sectors, construction volume has decreased since the beginning of 2022 and continued to fall throughout 2023. House construction has seen a particularly steep decline.

In the fourth quarter of 2023, only sectors such as information and communication, wholesale and retail, as well as finance and insurance, experienced growth.

The recent figures are lower than expected, said Jukka Appelqvist, chief economist at the Finland Chamber of Commerce, on the social media platform X on Thursday.

"At the end of the year, GDP fell below the peak measured in 2019, before the start of the pandemic. More than four years have passed again without growth," wrote Appelqvist.