Share of plastic waste exports in Finland

Finland: Share of plastic waste exports was 0.8% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
0.8%
World rank
26th
of 162 countries
All-time high
2.3%
in 1988
All-time low
0.0%
in 2019
Years of data
23
1988–2024

Share of plastic waste exports in Finland, 1988–2024

00.511.522.51988200620241988: 2.3 %1989: 1.5 %1994: 0.115 %1995: 0.052 %1996: 0.061 %2001: 0.093 %2005: 0.261 %2007: 0.262 %2010: 0.21 %2011: 0.239 %2012: 0.214 %2013: 0.241 %2014: 0.244 %2015: 0.226 %2016: 0.257 %2017: 0.268 %2018: 0.308 %2019: 0 %2020: 0.611 %2021: 0.517 %2022: 0 %2023: 0 %2024: 0.776 %

Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Finland recorded 0.8% for share of plastic waste exports in 2024.

That represents a change of up 217.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Finland peaked at 2.3% in 1988 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2019.

Finland ranks 26th of 162 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Share of plastic waste exports in Finland, year by year

Annual values for Share of plastic waste exports in Finland, 1988 to 2024.
Year % Change
1988 2.3%
1989 1.5% -32.7%
1994 0.1% -92.4%
1995 0.1% -55.0%
1996 0.1% +16.7%
2001 0.1% +54.1%
2005 0.3% +179.7%
2007 0.3% +0.5%
2010 0.2% -20.0%
2011 0.2% +13.8%
2012 0.2% -10.1%
2013 0.2% +12.5%
2014 0.2% +1.2%
2015 0.2% -7.4%
2016 0.3% +13.6%
2017 0.3% +4.3%
2018 0.3% +15.1%
2019 0.0% -100.0%
2020 0.6%
2021 0.5% -15.3%
2022 0.0% -100.0%
2023 0.0%
2024 0.8%

Finland compared with similar countries

  • Finland's 0.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.1%, 5.5× the median. (63 countries reporting)
  • Finland's 0.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 0.2%, 3.2× the median. (49 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of plastic waste exports in Finland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2005 +179.7% 0.1% 0.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 1.9% 1.5% 2.3% 2
1990s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 3
2000s 0.2% 0.1% 0.3% 3
2010s 0.2% 0.0% 0.3% 10
2020s 0.4% 0.0% 0.8% 5

Countries ranked near Finland

  1. 23 Australia 0.9% compare
  2. 24 New Zealand 0.8% compare
  3. 25 Saudi Arabia 0.8% compare
  4. 27 Israel 0.8% compare
  5. 28 Russia 0.7% compare
  6. 29 Latvia 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 162 places →

More environment data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of plastic waste exports in Finland?
Share of plastic waste exports in Finland was 0.8% in 2024, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Finland?
The highest recorded value was 2.3% in 1988.
What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2019.
How does Finland rank for share of plastic waste exports?
Finland ranks 26th out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Finland?
Over the last ten years it is up 217.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Finland data come from?
The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Share of plastic waste exports in Finland. Statizoid, drawing on United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/share-plastic-waste-exports/finland/

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About this data

Indicator
Share of plastic waste exports
Unit
%
Source
United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
162 places, 2,674 data points, 1988–2024
Last refreshed

Percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.