The number of companies filing for bankruptcy in Finland rose to a 30-year high in 2025, according to data released by Statistics Finland on Friday.
Just over 3,900 companies declared bankruptcy last year, the highest annual figure since 1996, when the country was emerging from an economic depression triggered by the collapse of trade with the Soviet Union and a banking crisis.
The firms that went bankrupt last year employed around 14,300 people.
"Looking at the number of employees affected, it is mainly small and medium-sized companies that are going bankrupt," senior statistician Mira Kuussaari said in a statement.
In December alone, 360 bankruptcy proceedings were launched -- a 34% increase from the year prior.
Statistics Finland said the current wave of bankruptcies began in 2023, with an average of about 3,600 companies filing annually over the past three years.
The yearly average during the 2010s stood at around 2,700 companies.
The construction sector recorded the highest number of bankruptcies, with 768 firms filing last year. However, Kuussaari noted that insolvencies among construction companies peaked in 2023.
"In practically all other sectors, the trend has been upward," she added.
