Education at a Glance 2025: Finland
Table of contents
This country note provides an overview of the key characteristics of the education system in Finland based on data from Education at a Glance 2025. In line with this year’s thematic focus, it emphasises tertiary education while also covering other parts of the education system. The data in this note are provided for the latest available year. Readers interested in the reference years for the data should refer to the corresponding tables in Education at a Glance 2025.
Finland’s adult population has some of the highest levels of literacy, numeracy, adaptive problem-solving skills in the OECD, according to the 2024 OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC). The average literacy score in Finland is 297 score points, compared to 259 points across OECD countries. As opposed to other OECD countries, which experienced a downward trend on average literacy and numeracy proficiency among adults, Finland recorded increases in average scores – at least 10 points in both skills.
Finland’s tertiary education attainment rate among young adults (25-34 year-olds) decreased from 40% in 2021 to 39% in 2024, which is below the 2024 OECD average of 48%. The country is one of the only six OECD and partner countries that experienced a decrease in tertiary attainment in this age group. The government’s previous target that half of young adults should have a tertiary degree by 2030 has been revised to “as close to 50% as possible”. One key measure to support this goal is a reform of the higher education funding model, which prioritizes first-time students and timely degree completion to raise education levels and improve system efficiency, while maintaining core performance-based elements. In addition, higher education institutions have increased the number of places available for higher education in accordance with performance agreements made with the ministry (Eurydice, 2025[1]).
Unemployment rates for young adults with below upper secondary attainment have increased substantially in Finland from 17% in 2019 to 23% in 2024. They are among the highest across all OECD countries and well above the OECD average of 13%.
Between 2015 and 2022, expenditure in real terms on educational institutions per student in tertiary education in Finland fell by 14% compared to an average increase of 9% across the OECD. Excluding R&D, Finland spends USD 10,850 per student, below the OECD average and other Nordic countries that spent above USD 13,000. Like other Nordic countries, Finland relies heavily on public sources to fund tertiary education, with 89% of tertiary education funding coming from public sources, well above the OECD averages of 71.9%. There is room to further leverage private sources of funding. Including R&D, private and non-domestic expenditure in Finland amounts to USD 2,316 per student, while private expenditure within the Nordic region ranges from USD 2,025 in Iceland, to USD 5,567 in Denmark.
In 2022, foreign students enrolled in master’s degree programmes at public institutions in Finland faced annual tuition fees of USD 14,292, while tuition remains free for nationals as in other Nordic countries. To strengthen university finances, the Finnish Government will introduce full-cost tuition fees for non-EU/EEA students in non-Finnish/Swedish degree programmes starting in August 2026, alongside an application fee from August 2025 to reduce low-quality applications (Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland, 2024[2]).
Participation in early childhood education has increased in Finland more than in OECD countries on average. In 2013 the OECD average for participation in early childhood education was 20% for children under 3 years and 80% for children aged 3 to 5 years. In 2023 the OECD average increased to 29% for children under 3 years and to 85% for children aged 3 to 5 years. In Finland the increase in recent years has been more rapid. For children under 3 years participation has increased from 28% in 2013 to 40% in 2023. For children aged 3 to 5 years the increase in participation is from 74% to 89%. In both age groups participation rate in Finland is above the OECD average in 2023.
Educational inequalities persist across generations. In all countries with available data, young adults (25-34 year-olds) are significantly more likely to attain a tertiary qualification if their parents have also done so. In Finland, 62% of 25-34 year-olds with at least one tertiary-educated parent have also attained a tertiary qualification (Figure 1).
Survey of Adult Skills, in per cent
Note: The percentage in parentheses represents the share of tertiary-educated parents.
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table A1.4 (available on line).
The share of young adults (25-34 year-olds) without upper secondary attainment continues to decline across the OECD, reaching an average of 13%. However, this is not the case in Finland, where the share rose from 9% to 10% between 2021 and 2024.
Individuals with greater educational attainment generally face a lower risk of unemployment and earn higher wages. Completing upper secondary education is particularly important in reducing the risk of unemployment. On average across the OECD, 12.9% of economically active young adults (25-34 year-olds) without an upper secondary qualification are unemployed, compared to 6.9% of those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment. Those who go on to gain a tertiary qualification see a relatively smaller further reduction in unemployment, with 4.9% of tertiary-educated young adults unemployed on average across the OECD. This pattern is similar in Finland (albeit at a higher level): 23.1% of young adults without an upper secondary qualification are unemployed, compared to 9.9% of those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment and 6.1% of those with tertiary attainment (Figure 2).
In per cent
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table A3.5.
On average, individuals with a master’s or equivalent degree have significantly higher employment rates and earnings than those with a bachelor’s or equivalent degree. However, the share of young adults (25-34 year-olds) attaining a master’s or equivalent qualification varies widely across OECD countries, ranging from 1% to 39% in 2024. In Finland, 15% of 25-34 year-olds hold a master’s or equivalent degree, which is similar to the OECD average of 16%. This represents a small increase since 2021, when the share was 14%.
The average wage gap between individuals (25-64 year-olds) with and without upper secondary educational attainment is relatively modest across OECD countries. On average across the OECD, workers without upper secondary qualifications earn on average 17% less than those who have completed upper secondary education, while workers with tertiary attainment earn 54% more than those with upper secondary attainment. In Finland, the wage gap between workers with and without upper secondary attainment is smaller than the OECD average, at 0%. The gap between those with upper secondary and tertiary attainment is also smaller than the OECD average, at 40%. This suggests a generally more compressed wage distribution by educational attainment in Finland, which may indicate lower relative returns to education but also a lower level of income inequality compared to the OECD average.
In most OECD countries, a significant share of adults have low levels of literacy proficiency, defined as at or below Level 1 (on a scale of 0-5) in the OECD Survey of Adult Skills, a product of the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). Individuals at this level can only understand very short texts with minimal distracting information. In Finland, 12% of 25-64 year-olds have literacy skills at or below Level 1, which is below the OECD average of 27%.
Educational attainment and skills are closely linked, although the strength of this relationship varies across countries. In Finland, tertiary-educated adults score, on average, 32 points higher in literacy proficiency than those with upper secondary or post-secondary non-tertiary attainment in the Survey of Adult Skills. This gap is smaller than the OECD average difference of 34 points.
Average literacy scores fell between Cycle 1 (2012-15) and Cycle 2 (2023) of the Survey of Adult Skills1. On average across OECD countries, the fall among adults with tertiary attainment was 9 score points, smaller than the average drop of 19 score points among adults without upper secondary qualifications. In Finland, average literacy scores for adults with tertiary attainment increased by 4 points (from 319 to 323), while the score for adults without upper secondary attainment decreased by 2 points (from 245 to 243).
In Finland, as in all OECD countries, adults with better literacy skills are more likely to participate in education and training. In 2023, 80% of adults (25-64 year-olds) with high literacy proficiency (i.e. at or above Level 4) in the Survey of Adult Skills participated in formal and/or non-formal education and training in the last year, compared to just 25% of those with proficiency at or below Level 1.
Education systems must adapt to changes in the number of children by expanding or reducing provision accordingly. In many countries, the population of children aged 0-4 changed significantly between 2013 and 2023 and is projected to change further by 2033. Finland experienced a decline of 22% in the number of 0-4 year-olds, and is projected to see a decline of 1% between 2023 and 2033.
The share of students in lower secondary education who are at least two years older than the expected age for their grade varies widely across OECD countries, ranging from virtually none in some countries to over 10% in others. In Finland, the share is at the lower end of the OECD distribution in 2023, at 0.5%.
Bachelor’s or equivalent programmes are the main entry point into tertiary education in most OECD countries, with an average of 78% of those starting tertiary education for the first time enrolling in such programmes. In Finland, the share is even higher at 92%.
Women make up the majority of first-time entrants to tertiary education in most OECD countries. In Finland, they accounted for 55% of first-time entrants in 2023, a share which is unchanged since 2013. Across the OECD, women make up 54% of new entrants on average, the same share as in 2013.
Across the OECD, the two most popular broad fields of study are science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and business, administration, and law, each accounting for 23% of graduates from bachelor’s or equivalent programmes. They are closely followed by the broad field of arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information, at 22% of graduates. In Finland, 28% of bachelor’s degree students graduate from a STEM field, 21% from business, administration and law, and 12% from arts and humanities, social sciences, journalism and information.
In many countries, it is common for new entrants to bachelor’s programmes to take at least one gap year between the end of their upper secondary education and the start of their tertiary education. In Finland, 77% of new entrants do so, well above the OECD average of 44%.
Completion rates reflect the share of new entrants to bachelor’s programmes who successfully obtain a tertiary degree within specified timeframes. These rates remain low in most OECD countries. In Finland, 49% of new entrants complete their bachelor’s degree within the theoretical duration of the programme. This rises to 61% one year after the expected end date, and to 77% three years after. In comparison, the OECD average completion rate is 43% within the theoretical duration, increasing to 59% after an additional year and 70% after three years (Figure 3).
In per cent
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table B5.1.
In all countries, women starting bachelor’s programmes are more likely than their male peers to successfully complete their tertiary studies within the three years after the theoretical end of their programme. In Finland, the gender gap is 17 percentage points (84% for women compared to 67% for men), which is larger than the OECD average of 12 percentage points.
Completion rates vary by field of study. On average across the OECD, only 58% of new entrants to bachelor’s programmes in STEM fields have graduated at that level in the same field within three years after the expected end of their studies. Completion rates in the field of health and welfare are significantly higher, at 74%. In Finland, STEM completion rates are 59%, lower than those for health and welfare, at 83%.
Students who do not complete their tertiary education may drop out at various stages. High dropout rates in the first year can signal a mismatch between student expectations and the content or demands of their programmes, possibly reflecting a lack of career guidance for prospective students or insufficient support for new entrants. In Finland, the share of first-time entrants in bachelor’s programmes who drop out after the first year is lower than the OECD average, at 5% (compared to 13%).
The 2023 completion rate data refers to students whose programme was expected to end in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although some countries saw notable increases in completion rates during the pandemic, probably due to policies aimed at facilitating graduation, others experienced moderate declines. In Finland, completion rates of new entrants to bachelor’s programmes during the pandemic increased slightly, by 3 percentage points compared to three years earlier (from 46% to 49%).
International student mobility in tertiary education continues to rise across the OECD, with some countries experiencing substantial growth in the share of international students between 2018 and 2023. On average, 7.4% of all tertiary students across the OECD were international or foreign students, compared to 6% in 2018. Finland saw a modest increase, with the share rising from 8.1% to 9.3% (Figure 4).
In per cent
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table B4.3.
There are significant disparities in how much governments spend each year in education across OECD, partner and accession countries. Finland spends USD 13 465 per student from primary to post-secondary non-tertiary levels, placing it at the middle of the country range, which spans from less than USD 2 000 to more than USD 27 000 (Figure 5).
In equivalent USD converted using PPPs, expenditure on educational institutions
Note: Expenditure at tertiary level includes R&D. Expenditure per student in early childhood education is based on headcounts rather than full-time equivalent students. Expenditure at tertiary level for Luxembourg (USD 54 384) is not shown in the figure.
1. Year of reference differs from 2022.
2. Primary includes pre-primary education.
3. Includes payments by households outside educational institutions.
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table C1.1 and Table C1.2.
As in most other countries, government expenditure in Finland is higher at tertiary level, including research and development (R&D), than at primary to post-secondary non-tertiary levels. Government expenditure in Finland amounts to USD 18 141 per tertiary student compared to the OECD average of USD 15 102.
A large part of the disparity in expenditure per student across OECD, partner and accession countries reflects differences in national income levels. When expenditure is measured as a share of GDP, cross-country differences tend to be smaller, ranging from 2.5% of GDP to 6.9%. In Finland, education investment in primary to tertiary education stands at 5.2% of GDP, which is above the OECD average of 4.7% by this measure.
Governments are the primary source of education funding in all OECD countries, especially for the levels covered by compulsory education. In Finland, governments provide 99.9% of total funding for primary, secondary, and post-secondary non-tertiary education (before transfers to the private sector), which is above the OECD average of 90.1%. At the pre-primary and tertiary levels, private funding often plays a larger role. In Finland, 93.9% of pre-primary education funding (after transfers) and 89% of tertiary education funding (before transfers) come from public sources, compared to OECD averages of 85.6% and 71.9%, respectively.
Although expenditure per student from primary to tertiary levels increased on average across OECD countries between 2015 and 2022 in real terms (from USD 11 955 to USD 13 210), government spending on education declined in relative terms from 10.9% of public budgets to 10.1%. This suggests the relative priority given to education in overall public spending has fallen across the OECD. In Finland, expenditure per student decreased from USD 13 856 to USD 13 418, while the share devoted to education decreased from 10.7% of public budgets to 9.9% over this period.
At pre-primary level, government expenditure in Finland increased by 5.2% between 2015 and 2022. This is despite a decrease of 12.1% in the number of children enrolled. As a result, government expenditure per child has increased, by 19.6%, compared to an average increase of 24% across the OECD since 2015.
Some countries impose significantly higher tuition fees on foreign students at master’s level in public institutions, including Finland. In Finland, average annual tuition fees for foreign students2 at master’s level are USD 14 292 on average, while there are no tuition fees for national students.
Attracting second-career teachers can help alleviate teacher shortages while bringing individuals with a broader range of experience into the profession. To support this, 16 out of 28 countries with available data (including Finland) offer dedicated alternative pathways into teaching for individuals changing careers.
Competitive salaries can make the teaching profession more attractive, particularly since teachers in many countries earn less than other tertiary-educated workers. In Finland, the actual salaries of primary teachers are 19% lower than those of tertiary-educated, full-time, full year workers, compared to an average of 17% lower across the OECD. However, increasing teacher salaries can be financially challenging, as staff costs make up the largest share of education expenditure (Figure 6).
Ratio of salaries to the earnings of full-time, full-year workers aged 25-64
Note: Data refer to the ratio of annual average salaries (including bonuses and allowances) of teachers and school heads in public institutions relative to the earnings of workers with similar educational attainment (weighted average) and to the earnings of full-time, full-year workers with tertiary education. Earnings of workers with similar educational attainment to teachers are weighted by the distribution of teachers (or school heads) by qualification level (see Tables X2.10 and X2.11). As values close to one may be difficult to identify in the figure, please refer to the source table.
1. Data on earnings for full-time, full-year workers with tertiary education refer to the whole country.
2. Year of reference for salaries of teachers differs from 2024.
For data, see OECD (2025) Education at a Glance 2025: OECD Indicators, https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en, Table D3.2.
Since 2015, actual average salaries of primary teachers have increased in real terms by 14.6% on average across the OECD. In Finland, they decreased by 5.1% in 2024.
The amount of compulsory instruction time affects teacher salary costs as it influences the number of teachers needed, combined with other factors such as class size and teaching time of teachers. In Finland, students receive 660 hours of compulsory instruction per year in primary education and 817 hours in lower secondary education. This is below the OECD average of 804 hours in primary and 909 hours in lower secondary education.
School holidays in primary education last 13.6 weeks per year in Finland (all breaks combined), compared to 13.5 weeks across the OECD.
In Finland, 38% of instruction time in primary education is allocated to mathematics and reading, writing and literature, falling to 24% in lower secondary education. In comparison, the OECD average is for 41% of instruction time in primary education and 27% in lower secondary education to be devoted to these core subjects.
Across the OECD, the average class size at primary level has not changed since 2013, at 20.6 students. In Finland, the average class size in primary education in 2023 was 18.7 students, down by 0.3 since 2013.
At tertiary level, the average ratio of students to academic staff varies across different types of institutions. In many countries, institutions with a strong research focus, defined as those with more than three doctoral graduates per 100 graduates, tend to have lower student staff ratios than those with a smaller share of doctoral graduates. This is also the case in Finland, where institutions with greater research focus have an average of 8 students per academic staff member, compared to 22 students per academic staff member at institutions with a smaller share of doctoral graduates.
Countries use a range of admission systems to tertiary public education institutions. These vary as to whether admission is open or selective, and whether applications are submitted directly to institutions or to a central body. In Finland, admission is selective. Applicants submit their applications to a central body.
In most countries, academic staff salaries vary significantly by seniority. Staff in junior academic positions often earn well below the average salary for tertiary-educated, full-time, full year workers, while staff in senior positions — such as full professors — typically earn well above this average. In Finland, junior academic staff earn 29% less than workers with at least a bachelor’s or equivalent degree, while senior academic staff earn 38% more.
References
[1] Eurydice (2025), Ongoing reforms and policy developments: National reforms in higher education, https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/eurypedia/finland/national-reforms-higher-education? (accessed on 28 July 2025).
[2] Ministry of Education and Culture of Finland (2024), Government proposes changes to tuition fees for non-EU and non-EEA students, https://okm.fi/en/-/government-proposes-changes-to-tuition-fees-for-non-eu-and-non-eea-students (accessed on 28 July 2025).
For more information on Education at a Glance 2025 and to access the full set of indicators, see: https://doi.org/10.1787/1c0d9c79-en.
For more information on the methodology used during the data collection for each indicator, the references to the sources and the specific notes for each country, see Education at a Glance 2025: Sources, Methodologies and Technical Notes, https://doi.org/10.1787/fcfaf2d1-en.
For general information on the methodology, please refer to the OECD Handbook for Internationally Comparative Education Statistics 2018, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304444-en.
Updated data can be found on line at http://data-explorer.oecd.org/ and by following the StatLinks in the publication.
Explore, compare and visualise more data and analysis using the Education GPS: https://gpseducation.oecd.org/.
Questions can be directed to the Education at a Glance team at the OECD Directorate for Education and Skills: EDU.EAG@oecd.org.
This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Member countries of the OECD.
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