According to preliminary data from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), global foreign direct investment (FDI) increased by a total of 14% in 2025, to approximately USD 1.6 trillion globally. Growth is driven particularly by data center projects, which already account for more than a fifth of all greenfield investments globally. However, without data centers, the real growth rate would be only about 5%, which still indicates a challenging investment climate. In addition to data centers, the semiconductor industry was almost the only one with global growth. Investments related to semiconductors increased by 35% internationally.

In Finland, the volume of investments increased sharply after three years of decline. According to the monitoring of Invest in Finland, which operates as part of Business Finland, 527 investment projects of foreign companies were located in Finland in 2025, which is 160 more than in the previous year. Investment projects include new foreign companies established in Finland and further investments made by foreign-owned companies already operating in Finland. Foreign currency statistics for Finland will be obtained from Statistics Finland in September 2026.

Number of foreign direct investment projects in Finland, 2016–2025. The figures include both new foreign companies and further investments by companies already in Finland. Source: Invest in Finland, Business Finland

Investments were made in a wide range of sectors and accelerated by, among other things, the progress of the green transition and digitalization, the growing demand for health and care services created by an ageing population, the expansion of retail chains and the needs of industry.

“Finland has been able to maintain its position in international competition despite the uncertainty of the economy and operating environment. We see particularly strong demand for investments in digital infrastructure and clean technology. Many international investors choose Finland because of its sustainable and stable operating environment,” explains Business Finland's Director of Growth Services Mirja Kaarlela.

Sweden, the UK and Norway continued to be the largest investor countries

In 2025, of the three countries that invested most in Finland, Sweden remained by far the largest source of foreign investment. The investments focused on, for example, renewable energy, cleantech solutions, technical services, care services, retail chains and the ICT sector. Among others, Sandvik, SSAB and Hanza made significant expansion investments in Finland. 

UK investments were strongly acquisition-driven, for example, Triton Advisers Ltd's care chain Esperi Care continued to expand actively in Finland. Norway’s investments focused on large industrial projects, such as Yara’s EUR 235 million expansion of sulfuric acid production in Siilinjärvi (Eastern Finland) and a EUR 23 million investment in the fertilizer plant’s new reactors in Uusikaupunki (Western Finland). Norway also invested in digital infrastructure and green transition projects.

Foreign companies are the cornerstone of the Finnish economy

In 2024, 5,700 foreign-owned companies were operating in Finland, employing 334,330 people. 119 000 new jobs have been created in foreign-owned companies between 2010 and 2024. Foreign companies account for 26% of the value added of the total stock of enterprises and for 44% of goods exports and 38% of service exports.

It should be noted that the value added of private foreign enterprises was clearly higher compared to domestic enterprises: growth in domestic enterprises remained at 0.6% (EUR 534 million), while it was 6% (EUR 2 billion) in foreign-owned enterprises compared to the previous year. Value added refers to the additional value that arises when raw materials are refined or further processed in production.

FDI projects by ultimate parent country in 2025, TOP 10. Source: Invest in Finland, Business Finland.

Finland still has considerable ground to make up in the competition for investments from international companies. Although the volume of investments increased, Finland still lags behind many of the reference countries in the total stock of foreign investments, that is, in the total value of foreign companies' factories and subsidiaries located in Finland.

In March, Invest in Finland published the Finland Investor Confidence Barometer, which was carried out for the fourth time together with Amcham Finland and measures investor confidence in Finland. For the survey, managers of 201 companies engaged in international business in Finland were interviewed and examined Finland as a business environment.

“The results of the Barometer clearly show that companies already operating in Finland want to expand their business in Finland. According to the study, the overall assessment of Finland's business environment is remaining stable but measures to renew the operating environment should be expedited in order to maintain Finland's attractiveness. Particular attention must be paid to the availability of experts, the predictability of decision-making and the streamlining of permit processes,” Mirja Kaarlela continues.