Business
About 75 per cent of employment is in the service sector,
15 per cent in manufacturing and construction, and 8 per
cent in agriculture and forestry and fishing. The most
important industry is transport, especially shipping, with
20 per cent of employment. Ever since 1865, Åland vessels
have been operating the world seas. Tourism has grown
sharply; trade, hotel and restaurant operations employ 12
percent of the workforce. In the manufacturing, the food
industry is the largest with 3 percent of the workforce. In
the archipelago municipalities, the most important
industries are fishing and agriculture with 33 percent and
tourism with 10 percent of the labor force. In general, the
business sector in Åland is characterized by the large
number of small companies, apart from the shipping
companies. Åland is a zone of tax-free trade within the EU.

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