Review of Education Statistics in Finland

Education system of Finland

In Finland pre-primary education is given to children aged 3 to 6 generally in day care centres. Some 6-year-olds receive pre-primary education in comprehensive schools. Participation in pre-primary education is voluntary.

Basic education, i.e. primary and lower secondary education, is general education provided for each age group in its entirety. All children permanently resident in Finland are covered by compulsory education. Compulsory education starts in the year the child becomes seven years old and ends when the comprehensive school syllabus (nine years of comprehensive school) has been completed or when ten years have passed since the starting of compulsory education. In exceptional cases, due to disability or illness, compulsory education can begin already at the age of six and last 11 years. Those who have acquired a leaving certificate from basic education in the same or previous year can, if they so wish, apply for additional education (10^th grade).

Upper secondary education includes upper secondary general education and vocational education. Upper secondary general education is general education preparing for the matriculation examination. It lasts for three years and gives general eligibility for further studies. Vocational education can take place in vocational institutions or as apprenticeship training. Apprenticeship training mainly involves studying in actual work situations at place of work supplemented by theoretical studies at educational institutions. The qualifications are three-year initial vocational qualifications that also provide general eligibility for further studies in polytechnics and universities.

Further and specialist vocational qualifications are vocational further education. They and initial vocational qualifications can also be taken by a skills examination where competence acquired by training preparing for the skills examination or by work experience can be demonstrated.

Studies leading to a polytechnic degree take 3.5 to 4.5 years and post-graduate polytechnic degrees requiring work experience 1 to 1.5 years. A lower university degree can be completed in three years and a higher university degree in five years. Those having attained a higher university degree can continue their studies in post-graduate education towards a licentiate or doctorate.

Qualifications attained by the population

In 2003, the number of population aged 15 or over was 4.3 million. Of them, 62 per cent had completed some post-basic level qualification. This figure is one percentage point up on the previous year and 32 percentage points higher than in 1975. Under 60-year-old and particularly 20 to 39-year-old women are more highly educated than men are.

The levels of education vary greatly in different municipalities. The level of education was highest in Kauniainen, where 80 per cent of people aged 15 or over had taken some post-basic level qualification. Other top municipalities were Espoo, Oulu, Helsinki and Oulunsalo. The level of education was lowest in Rautavaara, where 39 per cent of those aged 15 had completed some post-basic level qualification. Other municipalities with a low level of education were Geta, Luhanka and Pylkönmäki.

Students and qualifications

In 2003, a total of 581,000 persons were studying in post-basic level education leading to a qualification. The number is 15,400 lower than the total number of students calculated in all sectors of education, 596,400, which is primarily used as the number of students in this review. In the latter figure students may study for one or more qualifications within the same or different sector of education (upper secondary general, vocational, polytechnic or university education), which means that students are taken into account in all types of education they were studying.

Nearly all aged 7 to 15 were studying in comprehensive schools. Over 90 per cent of those aged 16 to 18, good one half of 19 to 24-year-olds and over one quarter of those aged 25 to 29 were studying in some post-basic level education leading to a qualification.

A total of 14,700 foreigners (foreign citizens) were attending education leading to a qualification, of whom nearly every fourth were Russian. There were particularly many foreigners in post-graduate education, 6.3 per cent of all students. The number of foreigners was lowest among students in upper secondary general education, 1.6 per cent.

In 2003, 128,400 qualifications were attained in post-basic level education. The average age at the completion of the matriculation examination was 19, and initial vocational qualifications were taken at the age of 21, polytechnic degrees at 26 and basic university degrees at 27.

Number of students in the regular education system by group and level of education in 2003

(ISCED 1997) 1)	Total	%	Comprehensive school education	Upper secondary general education	Vocational education	Polytechnic education	University education
0 Pre-primary education	12 434	1,0	12 434	-	-	-	-
Basic education	584 980	49,0	584 980	-	-	-	-
1 Primary education (Grades 1-6)	387 934	32,5	387 934	-	-	-	-
2 Lower secondary education (Grades 7-9, 10)	197 046	16,5	197 046	-	-	-	-
3/4 Upper secondary education	296 475	24,8	-	121 816	174 659	-	-
Tertiary education	299 875	25,1	-	-	154	129 875	169 846
5 5B programmes	146	0,0	-	-	146	-	-
5 5A medium programmes	134 201	11,2	-	-	8	129 421	4 772
5 5A long/very long programmes	144 321	12,1	-	-	-	454	143 867
6 Second stage of tertiary education	21 207	1,8	-	-	-	-	21 207
Total	1 193 764	100,0	597 414	121 816	174 813	129 875	169 846

Students by field and level of ISCED in 2003 1)

Broad field		Level of education
Field of education		Primary 2)	Lower secondary	Upper secondary	Post secondary non-tertiary	First stage of tertiary	First stage of tertiary	Second of tertiary	Total		Women
		1	2	3	4	5B	5A	6			%
Total		400368	197046	288036	8439	146	278522	21207	1193764		51.0
0	General programmes	400368	197046	121816	-	-	-	-	719230	50.2
01	Basic programmes	400368	197046	121816	-	-	-	-	719230	50.2
1	Education	-	-	148	-	18	14607	1531	16304	80.2
14	Teacher training and education science	-	-	148	-	18	14607	1531	16304	80.2
2	Humanities and Arts	-	-	12023	129	41	40320	3604	56117	69.0
21	Arts	-	-	11905	129	41	14856	681	27612	63.8
22	Humanities	-	-	118	-	-	25464	2923	28505	74.1
3	Social sciences, Business and Law	-	-	24262	4293	18	61791	4736	95100	63.7
31	Social and behavioural science	-	-	-	-	-	14935	2543	17478	66.0
32	Journalism and information	-	-	73	-	-	2795	253	3121	73.6
34	Business and administration	-	-	24141	4293	18	40113	1248	69813	63.3
38	Law	-	-	-	-	-	3948	692	4640	54.8
39	Other or unknown social sciences, business and law	-	-	48	-	-	-	-	48	85.4
4	Science	-	-	9224	108	-	31756	3060	44148	38.9
42	Life science	-	-	-	-	-	3613	1013	4626	73.3
44	Physical science	-	-	-	-	-	6791	1165	7956	47.6
46	Mathematics and statistics	-	-	-	-	-	3930	305	4235	42.2
48	Computing	-	-	9224	108	-	17422	575	27329	30.1
49	Other or unknown science	-	-	-	-	-	-	2	2	100.0
5	Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction	-	-	53683	1768	52	74627	5481	135611	16.9
52	Engineering and engineering trades	-	-	36839	1583	40	61532	4321	104315	12.6
54	Manufacturing and processing	-	-	9923	80	11	3954	287	14255	47.1
58	Architecture and building	-	-	6262	105	1	8396	570	15334	16.7
59	Other or unknown engin., manufact. and constr.	-	-	659	-	-	745	303	1707	26.8
6	Agriculture	-	-	9780	192	-	6355	464	16791	50.4
62	Agriculture, forestry and fishery	-	-	9780	192	-	5900	395	16267	49.1
64	Veterinary	-	-	-	-	-	455	69	524	89.3
7	Health and Welfare	-	-	23296	482	3	36227	2028	62036	86.6
72	Health	-	-	21010	482	1	28388	2028	51909	85.7
76	Social services	-	-	2286	-	2	7819	-	10107	91.4
79	Other or unknown health and welfare	-	-	-	-	-	20	-	20	80.0
8	Services	-	-	33804	1467	14	12839	303	48427	67.7
81	Personal services	-	-	28210	1158	14	10408	114	39904	77.4
84	Transport services	-	-	3709	2	-	738	-	4449	9.2
85	Environmental protection	-	-	-	-	-	1235	189	1424	70.4
86	Security services	-	-	1885	307	-	458	-	2650	19.5

50. Completed qualifications and degrees by field and level of ISCED in 2003 1)

Broad field		Level of education
Field of education		Lower secondary	Upper secondary	Post secondary non-tertiary	First stage of tertiary	First stage of tertiary	Second stage of tertiary	Total	Women
		2	3	4	5B	5A	6		%
Total		60831	85974	2955	628	36956	1863	189207	54.9
0	General programmes	60831	35512	-	-	-	-	96343	52.5
01	Basic programmes	60831	35512	-	-	-	-	96343	52.5
1	Education	-	148	-	26	2744	128	3046	80.4
14	Teacher training and education science	-	148	-	26	2744	128	3046	80.4
2	Humanities and Arts	-	2581	31	77	4623	240	7552	71.7
21	Arts	-	2581	31	77	2071	43	4803	68.0
22	Humanities	-	-	-	-	2552	197	2749	78.1
3	Social sciences, Business and Law	-	8503	1749	10	8600	321	19183	69.7
31	Social and behavioural science	-	-	-	-	1597	177	1774	69.2
32	Journalism and information	-	70	-	-	317	21	408	80.4
34	Business and administration	-	8433	1749	10	6218	80	16490	70.0
38	Law	-	-	-	-	468	43	511	53.6
4	Science	-	2306	39	6	3153	379	5883	47.2
42	Life science	-	-	-	-	517	141	658	73.4
44	Physical science	-	-	-	-	670	163	833	47.7
46	Mathematics and statistics	-	-	-	-	284	37	321	44.5
48	Computing	-	2306	39	6	1682	38	4071	43.1
5	Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction	-	16518	395	78	7729	364	25084	17.1
52	Engineering and engineering trades	-	11212	280	60	6307	294	18153	11.4
54	Manufacturing and processing	-	3227	65	10	422	29	3753	49.1
58	Architecture and building	-	2020	50	8	856	32	2966	10.4
59	Other or unknown engin., manufact. and constr.	-	59	-	-	144	9	212	37.7
6	Agriculture	-	2220	20	1	877	48	3166	50.7
62	Agriculture, forestry and fishery	-	2220	20	1	806	36	3083	49.8
64	Veterinary	-	-	-	-	71	12	83	84.3
7	Health and Welfare	-	8074	83	10	7114	333	15614	88.8
72	Health	-	6440	83	4	5496	333	12356	87.6
76	Social services	-	1621	-	6	1602	-	3229	93.1
79	Other or unknown health and welfare	-	13	-	-	16	-	29	86.2
8	Services	-	10112	638	420	2116	50	13336	70.8
81	Personal services	-	8408	564	25	1852	18	10867	82.4
84	Transport services	-	920	1	-	59	-	980	9.7
85	Environmental protection	-	-	-	-	137	32	169	67.5
86	Security services	-	784	73	395	68	-	1320	20.5

51. Median age of those having completed a post-compulsory education qualification in 2003 according to the ISCED broad field of education

Broad field of education	Level of education
	Total	Upper secondary	Post secondary	First stage of tertiary	First stage of tertiary	Second stage of tertiary
Total	23	20	40	34	27	36
General programmes	19	19	.	.	.	.
Education	28	29	-	26	28	45
Humanities and Arts	27	24	31	28	27	38
Social sciences, Business and Law	27	27	41	29	26	38
Science	27	27	34	28	27	32
Engineering, Manufacturing and Construction	24	20	39	29	26	34
Agriculture	26	25	39	40	27	38
Health and Welfare	28	29	45	33	27	38
Services	24	22	37	36	26	37
Number of qualifications	128 376	85 974	2 955	628	36 956	1 863

Educational institutions, personnel and current expenditure

The number of providers of education and educational institutions fell in 2003. Providers of education (municipalities, joint municipal boards, private corporations, foundations) numbered 918, which is seven lower than the year before. The number of educational institutions was 5,103, down by 82 from the previous year.

In 2002, a total of 134,000 persons were employed by comprehensive schools, upper secondary general schools, vocational institutions, polytechnics and universities. Fifty-nine per cent of them were teachers and 41 per cent other personnel. The number of teachers was 43,800 in comprehensive schools, 7,500 in upper secondary general schools, 13,900 in vocational institutions, 5,800 in polytechnics and 7,700 in universities.

The current expenditure of the regular education system amounted to EUR 8.3 billion in 2002, which is 6.0 per cent of gross domestic product. The current expenditure rose by 2.3 per cent in real terms from the previous year. Pre-primary, primary and lower secondary and upper secondary general education accounted for 46 per cent of the current expenditure, vocational education (including apprenticeship training) for 14 per cent, polytechnic education for eight per cent and university education and research for 18 per cent. The remaining 14 per cent concerned expenditure on administration, student financial aid and other education.

Examination by sector of education

In all, 3,808 comprehensive schools operated at the start of the autumn term of 2003. A total of 597,400 pupils were studying in them, 61,300 in the first grade. The leaving certificate of the comprehensive school was awarded to 60,800 pupils. The number of students taken or transferred to special education was 36,800. In 2003 this figure was 8 per cent higher than the year before. Every fifth pupil in comprehensive school received part-time special education during the term 2002 to 2003 due to slight learning and adjustment difficulties.

Comprehensive school pupils usually start studying a common foreign language (A1 language) in the third grade, when 90 per cent of the pupils learn A1 English. In 2003 an optional language (A2 language) was studied in 284 municipalities, i.e. 64 per cent of all municipalities. The most popular optional languages were German and English.

Upper secondary general education was provided in 487 educational institutions. A total of 121,800 students were in upper secondary general education, 57 of whom were female. In 2003, 35,200 completed the matriculation examination, 229 the IB (International Baccalaureat), 43 the Reifeprüfung and 58 the Gymnasieexamen examinations.

Almost all students in upper secondary general education studied English, Swedish and Finnish either as a mother tongue, common or optional language. In spring 2003, among those who had completed the entire upper secondary general education syllabus 41 per cent had studied German, 21 per cent French, eight per cent Spanish and five per cent Russian. The proportions of other language students were under four per cent.

In autumn 2003, vocational education was given in 353 educational institutions. A total of 174,800 students were studying in vocational education, of whom 84 per cent were in initial vocational education and 16 per cent in education preparing for further and specialist vocational qualifications. One half of the students in vocational education were male and one half female.

In 2003, a total of 54,100 vocational qualifications were taken, of which 72 per cent were initial vocational qualifications and 28 per cent further and specialist qualifications.

In autumn 2003, the number of polytechnics was 31. Altogether 129,900 students were studying in polytechnic education, nearly 500 for a post-graduate polytechnic degree. Women made up 53 per cent of all students in polytechnics. In all, 20,600 polytechnic qualifications were taken. No one has as yet completed a post-graduate polytechnic degree.

In autumn 2003, 20 universities provided university education. A total of 169,800 students were in university education leading to a qualification and 54 per cent of them were women. In all, 18,200 degrees were completed in universities, of which 3,300 were lower university degrees, 12,400 higher university degrees, 600 specialist degrees in medicine, 600 licentiates and 1,300 doctorates.

Adult education was arranged in 889 educational institutions in 2003. The number of participating cases recorded in adult education was 2.8 million and the hours of instruction 11 million. The number of participating cases was three per cent and the number hours of instruction was 6 per cent higher than in the previous year.

Educational institutions, applicants, new students, students and qualifications by sector of education in 2003

Type of education	Educational institutions providing education	Applicants	New students	Students	Qualifications, degrees
Comprehensive school education 1)	3 808	-	61 300	597 414	60 831
Upper secondary general education	487	44 941	42 605	121 816	35 512
Vocational education	353	93 035	77 409	174 813	54 079
Polytechnic education	31	89 984	36 701	129 875	20 588
University education	20	68 420	21 750	169 846	18 197

Progress of studies

A total of 97 per cent of those having left the comprehensive school in 2003 sought admission in the same year either to upper secondary general education or vocational education or additional education (10^th grade) and as many as 94 per cent were able to continue their studies. In all, 75 per cent of those having completed the matriculation examination in 2003 applied for further studies during the year of matriculation and 38 per cent were able to get in.

University graduates are placed best into working life in the short term, because nearly 90 per cent of those who graduated in 2001 were in working life by the end of 2002. Those who had completed comprehensive and upper secondary general education mostly carried on in full-time education. Studying also continued either full-time or alongside work after vocational education. One fifth of those with vocational upper secondary or vocational post-secondary level qualifications went on studying.

Information on discontinuation of education was derived by following in September 2002 the situation of students attending post-comprehensive school education leading to a qualification in September 2001. The number of drop-outs in upper secondary general education and university education was lowest compared with the number of students, four per cent in upper secondary general education and five per cent in universities. The corresponding proportion was highest in vocational education, where the ratio of drop-outs to the number of students was 12 per cent. In polytechnic education this figure was 7.6 per cent. Discontinuation of education was slightly lower than in the previous year in all sectors of education.

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Last updated 21.4.2005