Finland

Why Finland Leads The Industry 5.0 Era

Finland is the world’s current frontrunner in the Industry 5.0 era — and the overall leader of this index — owing to its focus on nurturing workforce talent with artificial intelligence integration, making sustainability investments an economic growth engine, and bolstering supply chain resilience.

Talent

How Finland blends workforce upskilling with AI and social well-being

A key element of next-gen competitiveness is enhancing workforce productivity in parallel with social well-being. Finland boasts an Innovation and Skills program that allocates about $3.6 billion until 2027 to fund research, new technologies, and regional and corporate innovation while supporting policies related to industry, climate, education, and societal inclusion for disadvantaged people. The program encourages the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises; leverages digitalization for the benefit of citizens, businesses, and public administration; and supports employment and job skills with continuous learning and flexible educational paths.

AI is at the center of the new job economy. Finland’s Artificial Intelligence 4.0 program identifies opportunities to promote AI adoption in the economy, encourage cooperation among sectors, and invest in digital upskilling, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises. Other initiatives include the Finland Recovery and Resilience plan, which dedicates $23 million to streamline work- and education-based immigration processes to facilitate attraction of global talent.

These efforts are already paying off with a highly skilled workforce. Finland ranks sixth among European peers in the index for its share of adults with technology skills. Indeed, 82% percent of Finnish individuals between 16 and 74 have at least basic digital skills — significantly higher than the European Union average of 55.6% — according to an EU study. And 7.8% of total employment in Finland was in the information and communications technology sector as of 2024. That outpaced the EU’s 5% overall average. Roughly 22% of those employees were female, which again surpassed the EU average of 19.5%.

Sustainability

Finland invests in both a circular economy and clean energy

Finland’s climate and sustainability initiatives are extensive. Helsinki, which boasts the most sustainable transportation network in the world, is also home to sustainable initiatives like a first-of-its-kind green hydrogen production plant in the Finnish capital that reinserts heat generated in energy production processes to the city’s heating network. This project is one facet of Finland’s growing push to bring more private sector organizations to what it sees as a blooming energy market: A Helsinki agency projects the hydrogen market will reach roughly $250 billion by 2030. In 2023, the government also launched an organization to support and attract investments in research and innovation in the hydrogen and battery industries.

Finland also has plans to adopt a circular economy — in which production is based on the reuse of materials or products — as a cornerstone of the country’s economic growth by 2035 to help mitigate climate crises, lower emissions, and reduce material and product consumption. The government sees economic growth potential with this plan, as it aims to position Finland as a provider of sustainable solutions on the global market.

Meanwhile, a 2019 ban on coal reached a milestone in 2025, with the last active coal-fired power and heating plant shutting down in April. The government has reserved roughly $105 million to support companies and municipalities to pivot from coal energy. Separately, part of a $544 million fund will be used to create 3,700 new jobs in sectors most significantly affected by Finland’s transition to climate neutrality.

Resilience

Finland builds resilient supply chains and digital infrastructure

Finland’s focus on a circular economy may alleviate some supply chain risks given the emphasis on the reuse of materials and resources. In April 2025, the country allocated nearly $12 million to jump-start the sustainable renewal of the Finnish mining and minerals sector. Separately, Finland and Sweden announced in September 2024 a joint effort to bolster supply chain resilience and improve cost-effectiveness. That may entail shared emergency stockpiles or repairs to underwater infrastructure like submarine cables.

Finland boasts several 6G internet research initiatives, including the world’s first large-scale 6G research program, slated to operate from 2018 to 2026 in partnership with Horizon Europe, the EU’s leading research and innovation initiative with a budget of nearly $112 billion. The nation also works with other European countries on projects like Hexa-X, a 6G internet development project, in partnership with a major Finnish telecommunications company. Finland is seeking global public and private partners to join its 6G research initiatives.