Population: 5,488,543 GDP: $237,111,000,000 Avg. Weekly Earnings: €575.00 Avg. Apartment Price (Per. Sq. M.): €6,214.00 For 120-sq. m. apartment in city centre Avg. Monthly Rent: €887.30
Our second foray into the Nordic countries takes us to Finland; similarly to Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, the Finnish economy enjoyed unprecedented growth from 1999, when it joined the European Union’s single currency, until the recession in 2008. In comparison with the rest of the Eurozone, Finland’s recovery has been strong; in 2012, the public debt in Finland was estimated at 50% of GDP, significantly lower than the beleaguered Germans, for whom public debt was 80% of GDP.
Measured differently, however, the Finnish recovery is less impressive. In Q2 2012, the Finnish GDP dropped by 1%, whereas its nearby neighbour Sweden enjoyed an increase of 1.4% in the same period. In the same year, the Swedish government ran an account surplus of 7% of GDP, whereas the Finnish government operated its first deficit since 1993.
The differences between Sweden and Finland extend to their handling of property: while Sweden is staunchly pro-tenant, the practices …