Bioeconomy in numbers

In Finland, bioeconomy refers to an economy that utilizes renewable, biological natural resources in a resource-efficient manner to produce food, energy, products and services. The most important renewable, biological resources in Finland are the biomass, i.e. the organic matter, in the forests, soil, fields, water systems and the sea, and fresh water. These are used as raw materials and derivatives. Ecosystem services are part of the bioeconomy.  The Finnish Bioeconomy Strategy, 2022

The most up-to-date statistics describing the development of the bioeconomy are compiled on this website. The calculations are a joint effort between the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke) and Statistics Finland. The Finnish bioeconomy is monitored using five indicators: output, value added, investments, employment and exports. The primary data source is the annual national accounts, produced by Statistics Finland. The calculations do not account for the non-market values of the bioeconomy.

Value added in 2024*

• The value added by the bioeconomy was €26.8 billion, accounting for 11 percent of the total national economy's value added
• The forest sector accounted for 31% (EUR 8.2 billion) of the bioeconomy’s value added.
• The food sector, consisting mainly of agriculture and the food industry, contributed 20% (€5.4 billion) of the bioeconomy’s value added.

Output in 2024*

• The output of the bioeconomy was €82.0 billion, representing 16 percent of the total national economy’s output.
• The forest sector produced 36 percent (€29.4 billion) of the bioeconomy’s output.
• The food sector produced 24 percent (€19.8 billion) of the bioeconomy’s output.

Number of people employed in 2024*

• Bioeconomy sectors employed 288,800 people, which was 11 percent of all employed persons.
• The food sector employed one third (98,700 people), of whom:
  • 40,000 worked in the food industry,
  • 1,700 worked in fisheries and aquaculture,
  • 57,000 in agriculture
• The forest sector employed one fifth (57,900 people) of those working in the bioeconomy.

Investments in 2023*

• Investments in the bioeconomy amounted to EUR 7.8 billion, which was 12% of total investments in the national economy.
• One third (EUR 2.5 billion) of the investments was in the forestry sector
• A quarter (EUR 1.6 billion) of investments was made in the food sector.
• One fifth (EUR 1.4 billion) of the investments was in the energy sector.

Exports in 2023*

• The value of bioeconomy exports was EUR 20.5 billion, accounting for a quarter of total exports.
• Forest sector products accounted for 65% (€13.3 billion) of bioeconomy exports.