Nokia becomes the world’s biggest mobile phone manufacturer

By 1998, Nokia’s focus on telecommunications and its early investment in GSM technologies had made the company the world leader in mobile phones.

Expanding markets

For most of its history the company had exported to Europe, other Nordic countries and the Soviet Union. As late as 1991, more than a quarter of its turnover still came from sales in Finland.

But after the strategic change of 1992, Nokia saw a huge increase in sales to North America, South America and Asia.

Soaring sales

The 1990s also saw unparalleled growth in global sales. Between 1996 and 2001, Nokia’s turnover increased almost fivefold from EUR 6.5 billion to EUR 31 billion.