23 December 1999
Inquiries: Mr Tuomas Rothovius +358 9 1734
3360, kansantalous.suhdanteet@stat.fi
Director in charge: Mr Markku Suur-Kujala
GDP up by 2.8 per cent in the third quarter of 1999
In the third quarter of 1999, the volume of Finland's gross domestic product grew by 2.8 per cent from a year earlier. It has shown uninterrupted growth since the latter part of 1993. In the first half of 1999, gross domestic product, i.e. output of goods and services, increased by 3.4 per cent. This is indicated by the preliminary data on National Accounts compiled by Statistics Finland.
Growth of output slowed down in the metal industry from 14.6 per cent in the first half of the year to 5.1 per cent in the third quarter, and in construction from 8.1 per cent to 4.4 per cent, respectively. In the wood and paper industry, output was still contracting in the early part of the year, but in the third quarter it showed an increase of 3 per cent. In agriculture, output went up by 8 per cent in the July to September period, thanks to good feed grain harvest.
The volume of exports started to grow towards the end of the year. In the July to September period imports went up by 11.8 per cent, while in the first quarter of the year, exports still decreased by approximately one per cent.
Investments in machinery and equipment increased by 3.9 per cent in the third quarter. Housing construction continued to show clear growth whereas no further growth took place in other building construction. Construction investments were up by a total of 5.1 per cent compared to last year's July to September period.
According to the Statistical Office of the European Communities, Eurostat, the volume of gross domestic product increased by 1.7 per cent in the Member States of the EU in the first six months of 1999 compared to the first half of 1998. The growth figure for Finland was 3.4 per cent.
Source: National Accounts 1999, 3rd quarter. Statistics Finland