Documentation of statistics forest accounts

Data description

The Forest Accounts Statistics annually compile statistics on the area of wooded land and the volume of Timber, as well as the monetary value of bare land and timber separately. The economic aggregates of the forestry and logging industry are part of the statistics. In addition, the statistics publish data on wood supply and use. Areas are presented in hectares, values in euros and wood volumes in solid cubic meters with bark.

Classification system

The land classifications use the FAO definition of forest instead of the national classification. In addition to this definition, the area is divided into forest and other wooded land.

Another key division is land available for wood production and land not available for wood production.

The classifications of forestry and logging industries are based on national accounts. The classification is based on the Standard Industrial Classification (TOL 2008). The statistics include the following industries (EU 691/2011): 02 Forestry and logging. It includes the categories 2.1 Forest management and other forestry activities, 2.2 Wood harvesting, 2.3 Non-wood products and 2.4 Support services to forestry

Sector coverage

The statistics cover all land and forest areas and economic activities included in the classifications.

Statistical concepts and definitions

Wooded land: The definitions of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are used. Wooded land is divided into 1) forest and 2) other wooded land. Forest is land with a canopy cover of more than 10% and an area of more than 0.5 hectares. Trees should be able to reach a height of at least five meters when fully grown in that location. Also included are areas that normally belong to forest land, but are temporarily treeless or with young trees as a result of human activities and natural causes, and are expected to return to forest land. Land primarily used for agriculture is not considered forest land, even if it meets the criteria set out above. Other wooded land does not meet the criteria for forest.

Monetary value of wooded land: The value of bare land without the value of the trees growing on it in euros.

Growing stock: The volume of growing stock on wooded land in solid cubic meters with bark. Only stemwood is included.

Monetary value of growing stock: The value of timber on wooded land in euros.

Economic activity of forestry and logging industry: The classification is based on the Classification of Economic Activities (TOL 2008). The statistics include the industry (EU 691/2011): 02 Forestry and logging. It includes the categories 2.1 Forestry and other forestry activities, 2.2 Wood harvesting, 2.3 Non-timber products and 2.4 Forestry support services.

Wood supply: The supply of wood in the rough. Includes information on the supply of wood to the forest industry, other industries and export, etc. Wood in the rough is divided into softwood, hardwood and tropical wood. Industrial wood and energy wood are reported separately. In addition to domestic wood, wood imports are also reported.

Use of wood: Wood in the rough is classified in the same way as in supply. In addition to domestic wood use, wood exports are also reported.

Wooded land available for wood supply: Wooded area (forest) available for timber production.

Wooded land not available for wood supply: Area not available for timber production.

Statistical unit     

The area of wooded land and the amount of timber on it are based on data compiled by the National Forest Inventory (NFI). The monetary value of bare land is calculated by using the MOTTI stand-level analysis tool and decision support system for forest management. The price data for timber is based on forest statistics. This statistical data is produced in Luke.

Statistics Finland produces the economic aggregates of the forestry and logging industry. Estimates are based on national accounts.

Supply and use data of wood in the rough are produced in Luke's statistics unit.

Statistical population

The field measurements done by the National Forest Inventory (NFI) form the statistical population of the forest accounts (area, growing stock).

The data on the economic aggregates of the forestry and logging industry are based on national accounts data.

The population in forest statistics is usually forest industry companies, forest service companies and Metsähallitus.

Unit of measure 

Areas are reported in hectares, timber volumes in solid cubic meters with bark, and monetary values in euros.

Reference period

Calendar year

Reference area

Whole country

Time coverage

The statistics were established in 2025. The first reported year is 2022.

Frequency of disseminations

Annual

Base period

The statistics are not an index.

The European Union collects forest accounts data from all its member states. At the end of 2024, regulation (EU) 2024/3024 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending regulation (EU) No 691/2011 with a view to introducing certain environmental account modules was adopted. Based on the regulation, the submission of forest accounts data to the EU became mandatory. The contents of forest accounts statistics published by Luke are the same data that Finland submits to the European Union.

More information: Statistics legislation

Confidentiality is a base principle of statistics and assures the confidential processing of data provided by informants, and the Natural Resources Institute Finland has undertaken to follow this principle.

More information: Privacy policy – Statistics

The disseminations of the Natural Resources Institute Finland are published online on weekdays at 9:00. Data is public after it has been published on the website.

Release calendar

The publication dates are confirmed in autumn together with the action plans. The release calendar of the following year is published for users in the end of the year. The release calendar holds data on the dates of future publications. The calendar also contains direct links to already published statistical publication.

Release calendar access

Statistical releases calendar | Natural Resources Institute Finland

Quality assurance

The Natural Resources Institute Finland follows the Code of Practice and the Quality Assurance Framework of European statistics when compiling statistics. The Code of Practice concern the independence and accountability of statistics authorities, and the quality of processes and published data. The principles are compatible with and supplement the Principles of Official Statistics, agreed upon by the United Nations Statistical Commission. The quality criteria of official statistics in Finland are also compatible with the Code of Practice of European statistics. The principles are also compatible with the European Foundation for Quality Management.

Quality assessment

Forest accounts statistics are based on data from the National Forest Inventory (NFII), Luke's statistical production, Statistics Finland's national accounts and MOTTI simulations. All data sources are based either on scientific research or on compliance with statistical codes of practice. The quality of the content of the statistics is assessed annually in connection with their publication.

User satisfaction

Feedback is collected from the users of the statistics, especially when revising the statistics. Feedback is also received directly. In addition, we investigated the wishes of users for developing the statistics in the autumn of 2021 and beginning of 2022, when updating the work programme for the Natural Resources Institute Finland. We follow the received feedback and take it into consideration in developing the statistics.

Overall accuracy and reliability

The production methods of the National Forest Inventory (NFI) and the MOTTI simulator meets scientific criteria. Luke’s forest statistics used as the basic data for the forest accounts statistics meet the quality criteria of the Official Statistics of Finland (OSF). The compilation and reliability of individual statistics are described in more detail in their own quality statements. The most important forest statistics used in the calculation concern the prices in industrial roundwood and energywood trade.

The National Forest Inventory (NFI) publishes reports on the methods it uses, which also includes estimates of reliability. The MOTTI simulator required for calculating monetary values for bare land is a stand-level analysis tool and decision-making system based on calculating the profitability of forest management with different forest management options. MOTTI is used commercially elsewhere, for example, when making commercial investment decisions related to forests.

Sampling error

Sampling error is assessed in research reports related to source data and in quality reports for statistics related to forest accounting statistics.

Non-sampling error

All NFI sampling plots are measured according to pre-made plans. Estimates of non-response for the forest statistics used as sources can be found in the quality reports for the statistics.

Timeliness

Luke publishes the Forest Accounts Statistics after the statistical data have been submitted to the European Union. The statistical delay is approximately one year and ten months after the end of the statistical year.

Comparability - geographical

Statistics are published for the whole country.

Comparability - over time

The data starts from 2022. The data is comparable.

Coherence - cross domain

The forest resources data in the forest accounts statistics differ slightly from the national statistics. The reason for this is the FAO definition of forest used in the statistics. When comparing the national definition of forest with the FAO definition of forest, the difference between areas is about one percent.

The figures from the national accounts in the forest accounts follow the international definitions of the national accounts.

The supply and use of wood in the rough figures are extracted directly from the national forest statistics.

Source data

Luke's National Forest Inventory (NFI) data, Luke's forest statistics, Statistics Finland's national accounts data.

Frequency of data collection

No data collection is carried out for the statistics, but the statistics are based on existing data.

Data collection

Forest accounts statistics are compiled using data from the National Forest Inventory (NFI). The data collection method is a systematic cluster sampling, in which field data is measured from systematically placed sample plots. No separate data collection is carried out for forest accounts, but the data collected in the inventory is usable as such for calculating forest accounts statistics. In addition to field data, multi-source inventory methods (satellite images, etc.) are also used. NFI produces data related to areas and the timber on wooded land.

To determine the monetary value of bare land, forest treatments in accordance with forest management recommendations are used in the MOTTI simulations, and net present values are calculated for different site fertility classes and regions using the Faustmann formula. These values are combined with the corresponding land areas to calculate the monetary values of bare land. The input data for the simulation are silvicultural costs and roundwood price data at certain moment. This statistical data is not compiled for this purpose, but it is extracted from the official forest statistics.

The data on the economic aggregates of the forestry and logging industry are based on national accounts data. No data collection is required for the forest accounts statistics, but the results are calculated from the data collected for the national accounts.

The supply and use data of wood are based on forest statistics published by Luke. No separate data collection is required for this purpose either.