Finland's foreign trade grew briskly in the latter half of the 1990s. At the same time, exports exceeded imports, which was mainly attributable to the fast growth of high technology production.

However, the share of high technology products of total exports started to decrease in 2001 and stood at 17.6 per cent in 2008. The total value of exports was EUR 11.5 billion. The share of high technology products of total imports has also decreased since 2000 to 13.9 per cent in 2008. The value of imports in 2008 was EUR 8.7 billion.