Finland is among the first welfare states in the world where a significant proportion of the population is aged. Aging population is and remains a big policy issue in Finland. [Please keep reading: article continues after data.]
Most recently the Demographic Report (2021), commissioned by the Prime Minister’s Office, outlined policy advice for sustainable demographic development. Experts’ recommendations included increasing the family-friendliness of society, investments to education and lifelong learning (particularly for men), higher employment rates for people aged 65-74, more net immigration and more tailored immigration policies. These recommendations are largely in line with reforms that are already underway in Finland.
Recent reforms carried out by the Finnish government:
- Family leave reform that extends flexibility and choice for families. Reform came into force in 2022. Read more: Family Leave Reform (Ministry for Social Affairs and Health)
- Raising the minimum school leaving age from 16 to 18, aiming at all students to finish an upper secondary qualification. Read more: Extension of compulsory education (Ministry of Education and Culture)
- Increasing work-based immigration, attracting international talent and reforming immigrant integration services: target here is to at least double work-based immigration from its current level by 2030.
- Other active labour market measures: please see Labour Market Reforms
Finnish pension system “robust and well-functioning”
The most recent reform to the Finnish pension system was made in 2017. The most recent international evaluation of the pension system was published in September 2021.
- Read more: The Finnish pension system is robust and well-functioning, but it must prepare for future financial challenges (Finnish Centre for Pensions, September 2021)
- Read also: Long-term projections: The long-term pension financing outlook has improved considerably due to favourable investment returns (Finnish Centre for Pensions, October 2022)
Sources:
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Population projection [e-publication]. ISSN=1798-5153. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 10.11.2021]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/vaenn/index_en.html
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Migration [e-publication]. ISSN=1797-6782. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 10.11.2021].
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Educational structure of population [e-publication]. ISSN=2242-2919. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 10.11.2021]. Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/vkour/index_en.html
Official Statistics of Finland (OSF): Births [e-publication]. http://www.stat.fi/til/muutl/index_en.html
ISSN=1798-2413. Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 10.11.2021] Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/synt/index_en.html