Finland’s population of 5.3 million people comprises a highly sophisticated market for computer hardware and software.  This is illustrated by the fact that Finland has one of the highest numbers of computers per capita connected to the Internet.  Presently, a majority of Finnish homes have computers as well as access to the Internet either at home, at work, or through a local institution, such as a library. 

The United States is Finland’s leading external source of computers and peripherals.  There are about 4,200 local computer-related companies in Finland.  About 3,700 companies have less than five employees, and the five largest companies cover about 60 percent of the industry sector’s sales volume. 

The computer market in Finland has continued its growth. For the third quarter of 2007, IDC estimates the growth of the Finnish PC-market at 8.2%. Global brands are gaining market share, at the expense of smaller local brands. From 2006, the share of local brands has declined from 15.5% to 9.7% of the market in 2007.  Following the global growth trends, HP is the largest brand with a market share of 31.8%.  Acer is ranked number two, increasing its market share from 16.3% to 21.5%. Fujitsu Siemens ranks third with an 11.9% share of the market.

Laptop sales are on the increase, with about 25% growth in the second quarter of 2007, with more than 77,000 laptops sold in the quarter to private consumers, while the sales of desktops for consumers was about 30,000 units. In the third quarter, about 70,000 laptops and 55,000 desktops were sold to companies.

Finland’s import climate is very open and receptive to U.S. products.  Because Finland is a member of the European Union (EU), products manufactured in the EU are not subject to import duty if manufactured within the common market.  However, since the beginning of 1999, computer hardware imported to Finland from third countries, such as the United States, has also entered Finland duty-free.  Regardless of the origin of production, Finland applies a value-added tax of 22 percent to all imported goods.