Finland might be one of the best countries in the world to set up a company – with its clean environment and stable economic and political conditions the country sets a perfect environment for developing your business.
Finland gets frequently high ranks in international comparisons. For example, the quality of education, the amount of the share that is put into the research and development funding in the country, and competitiveness that Finnish companies have, have been ranked highly by the international observers. The latest report of Social Progress Index 2016 shows that Finland is the best country in many aspects.
In the year 2015 Forbes Magazine ranked Finland as the 6th best country in the world for doing business. In World Bank’s annual Doing Business Report, the country featured on the 10th place in a survey totalling altogether 189 countries.
Indeed, the administrative environment is very business friendly in Finland, and international companies are very welcomed. The government has several programmes for helping new actors on expanding or setting up a business, and the administrative approach has been described to be very business-friendly. According to Transparency International organisation, Finland is the second least corrupt country in the world.
Stable economic and political conditions in Finland provide a steady and secure ground for starting up and developing a company. Finland has been a member of the European Union since 1995. Due to this, many laws and regulations, that concern business activities within EU, are applied in Finland as well.
Education has played a major role in Finland’s economic success. Free basic education and accessible higher education has ensured that the workforce is highly skilled and competent. Finland is also famous for numerous technological innovations and a thriving start-up culture. For example, digital services, cleantech, and healthcare technology are among the rising industries in Finland.
Finland has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish, and there is a small Sámi speaking minority as well. Due to the rather isolated position of the Finnish language, and the high level of the education, people tend to be rather skilled in languages. The geographical location of Finland makes the country a natural specialist in the trade with Russia.
Many international companies have their offices in Finland as well. The Finnish business hub cities, such as Helsinki, Tampere and Oulu, are well connected to the other parts of the world. International flights and developed transportation infrastructure serve as the effective connectors with the global business. Advanced data communication technology, people casually utilizing modern technology and applications in their daily life, and ubiquitous internet connections makes Finland one of the front row sites of the ongoing tide of digitalization.