Helsinki, Nov 17 (IANS): Finland needs over 50,000 immigrants a year for the next 28 years to fill job vacancies arising due to an ageing population, according to the country's tech industry.

Technology Finland said on Wednesday that the industry alone, the most significant export sector in Finland, will need 130,000 new experts in the next 10 years, reports Xinhua news agency.

Only half of these will replace retirees, meaning there will be tens of thousands of job vacancies in the export industry in the next ten years.

"Finland is getting older and more indebted, and our economical maintenance relationship is turning upside down," said Jaakko Eskola, chairman of Technology Finland, an association of around 1,800 tech industry companies.

If Finland does not have enough working-age people, the welfare state will not be maintained, Eskola said.

Therefore, he added, the only option is to significantly increase immigration.

Finland must therefore build a successful long-term immigration policy.

However, immigration alone will not solve all Finland's challenges, Eskola said.

It is essential to raise the skill level of young people, especially in the fields of information and communication technology.