Forest resources in Finland

More than 75% of Finland’s land area is covered with forest. In relative terms, Finland is the most forested country in Europe. A total of 20.3 million hectares is suitable for wood production and 2.6 million hectares is low-productive forest land.

The annual increment of the growing stock in Finnish forests is about 103.5 million cubic metres (National Forest Inventory 13). According to preliminary data from the Natural Resources Institute Finland, in 2023 the annual roundwood removals and drain totalled about 82 million cubic metres. Roundwood removals totalled about 68,6 cubic metres, of which about 85% was used by the forest industry and about 14% as energy wood, i.e. forest chips for heat and power plants or fuelwood for private households.

Besides fellings, the total roundwood removals and drain include stemwood left in forests as logging residue and stemwood that had died naturally. In 2023 the volume of these types of wood was about 14 million cubic metres. 

Forest ownership

Like in other western European countries, Finnish forest are mostly owned by private individuals and families. In southern and central Finland about three-quarters of forests are privately owned. Most of the State-owned forests are located in northern and eastern Finland.

About 2.9 million hectares of Finnish forests are protected or under restricted use, which represents 12.6% of the total surface area of forests (forest land and low-productive forests). The area of protected forests fully excluded from fellings is 2.5 million hectares, which represents 10.8% of the total surface area of forest and low-productive forest land.

The use of Finnish forest resources is sustainable and will also secure the benefits generated by forests for future generations.
 

Related topics

Sustainable forest management
Calculations concerning the growth and sustainability of Finnish forests
Biodiversity in commercial forests