Let’s dig into Finnish food culture by checking what Finns eat. And since these figures are averages per person, some eat more, some less
Let’s dig into Finnish food culture by checking how much Finns eat. These consumption figures gathered by the Natural Resources Agency (Luke) are from 2021. There are some small changes in consumption every year, but the figures give a pretty good idea of what the Finns eating habits. And since these figures are averages per person, some Finns eat more, some less.
Finns Consume per Person per Year…
41 Kilograms of Bread
Finns eat about 41 kg of bread per year. Although bread is an integral part of Finnish food culture, bread is eaten in Finland clearly less than in many other European countries. In addition to wheat bread, Finns like to eat also bread made of rye or oath.
25 Kilograms of Cheese
Finns consume about 25 kg of cheese per person per year. Cheese consumption has increased dramatically since 1970 when it was just about 5 kg per person.
96 Litres of Milk
Although milk consumption has decreased in recent years, Finns still enjoy it a lot. Finns consume 96 liters of milk per person per year.
13 Kilograms of Ice Cream
Finns really love ice cream, no matter how cold the winter might be. Finns eat about 13-14 kg of ice cream per person per year. This is more than in any other European country.
12 kilograms of Eggs
Finns eat about 12 kg of eggs, which is around 200 eggs per person per year.
79 kilograms of Meat
The total consumption of meat in Finland is 79 kg per person, when game and edible organs are also included. The consumption of beef and pork has slightly decreased in recent years, while the consumption of poultry has increased. On average, Finns consume 29 kg of pork, 28 kg of poultry, 14 kg of beef, 0.5 kg of lamb and 0.3 kg of reindeer meat per person per year.
14 Kilograms of Fish
Finns eat about 15 kg of fish per person per year. The most consumed fishes in Finland are farmed salmon (3.9 kg) and farmed rainbow strout (1.5 kg). The most consumed Finnish fish species are perch (0.67 kg), pike (0.47 kg), Baltic herring (0.43 kg), vendace (0.36 kg), zander (0.30 kg) and whitefish (0.26 kg).
63 Kilograms of Vegetables
Finns consume about 63 kilograms of vegetables per person per year.
63 Kilograms of Fruit
Finns consume total of 63 kg of fruit per person per year. Most of these are fresh fruits (56 kg), and the rest are canned and dried fruits. According to the statistics, about a third of the consumption of fresh fruits are bananas.
46 Litres of Beer
Beer consumption has decreased in recent years, but it still is a popular drink in Finland. Finns drink about 46 litres of beer per person per year.
10 Kilograms of Coffee
Finns love coffee, and drink it anytime it’s possible. Finns consume about 10 kg of coffee per person per year. 10 kg might not sound very much, but it means that every Finnish person drinks about 3-4 cups of coffee every day. And remember that there are also tea drinkers in Finland, so some Finns drink a lot more than their share of 4 cups a day.
Sources:
Natural Resources Institute Finland
Statistics Finland
Forkful of Facts
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
Kahvi ja Paahtimoyhdistys
Image by Jukka Rapo / Keksi Agency / Finland Image Bank
