Abstract The aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology of nerve injuries of the upper extremity in the whole population of Finland (1998–2016). Data based on diagnosis codes were obtained from the Care Register for Health Care, including cases of median, radial, ulnar, musculocutaneous, axillary and digital nerves. Age- and gender-specific incidence rates, both crude and standardized (for the European normal population in 2011), were calculated. Our study included 13,440 patients with upper extremity nerve injury. The mean standardized annual incidence rate of any upper extremity nerve injury was 18.18 among men and 8.15 among women per 100,000 person-years over the study period. The incidence peaked among men at working age. Nerve injuries occurred most commonly in the fingers and thumb, with 5532 cases and mean standardized incidence rates per 100,000 person-years of 7.84 among men and 2.95 among women. The annual incidence did not change significantly over the study period.