Statistics Finland

Population and Social statistics

Väestö, oikeus ja yhdenvertaisuus, PL 4B, 00022 Tilastokeskus

First results on the main demographic developments in the year of reference.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Number of persons.

Data are available at national level of geographical detail.

Individual level data

Population structure since 1990

Live births since 1990

Deaths since 1990

Immigration since 1990

Emigration since 1990

Not applicable.

Counts of statistical units

The reference date for population data is the end of the reference period (midnight of 31st December).

The reference period for vital events data is the calendar year in which the events occurred. Due to short waiting time, one month or end of January, some events are lacking from the data. This is the reason to estimate those lacking events by including data relating to the years t-4, t-3, t-2 and t-1 and reported between February year t and January year t+1. See below a table "Vital events of prior years included in the data for the statistical year t".

Statistics Finland’s function is to compile statistics on conditions in society (Statistics Finland Act of 280/2004, ). These also include demographic statistics. 

The compilation of statistics is governed by the Statistics Act. The Statistics Act contains provisions on the collection and processing of data and on the obligation to supply data. Besides the Statistics Act, the processing of data for statistical purposes is also subject to the provisions of the Personal Data Act and the Act on the Openness of Government Activities.

In its statistics compilation Statistics Finland applies the statistical legal acts of the EU, which steer the National Statistical Institutes of all EU Member States.

See details from the following link: https://stat.fi/meta/lait/index_en.html

In addition to Statistics Finland, Official Statistics of Finland are produced also by several other public administration organisations. See https://stat.fi/til/tuottajat_en.html

The National Statistical Service

Statistics Finland is the general authority within the National Statistical Service whose main tasks include the direction and development of the National Statistical Service. Statistics Finland and many other agencies and institutions are included in the producers of Official Statistics of Finland. Statistics Finland compiles approximately three-quarters of the official statistics.

The Statistics Act defines four statistical authorities (the Information Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), Statistics Finland and the Finnish Customs) that have the right to collect data for statistical purposes by virtue of the data supply obligation prescribed in law.

See also https://stat.fi/org/tilastotoimi/index_en.html

copy link 523/1999 English Personal Data Act

copy link 23.4.2004/280 Statistics act

copy link Act on Openness | Statistics Finland

Confidentiality and disclosure of data

All basic data collected for statistics are stored at Statistics Finland. Some of the data derive from Statistics Finland's own or other registers and some have been collected by Statistics Finland with inquiries or interviews. All data collected for statistical purposes are confidential. The only exceptions are the data describing the activities of central and local government authorities and the production of public services, as well as the data in the Register of Enterprises and Establishments.

Confidentiality means that data must be protected against misuse at all stages of statistics production, identification data must be erased as soon as they are no longer required, and statistics must be published so that target units cannot be identified from them.

As a rule, Statistics Finland may only release confidential data only for scientific research or statistical surveys concerning social conditions in a form from which individual persons or businesses cannot be identified. Only data on age, gender, occupation and education may be released with identification data for research and statistical purposes. Confidential data may never be released for use in an investigation, surveillance, legal proceedings, or similar purposes.

• Instructions for applicants and application form for permission to use statistical data

Interview surveys operate on the principle of consent based on knowledge: interviewees must be told before the interview for which purposes the collected data will be used. Collected data may only be used for the purposes interviewees have been informed about. The same principle applies when interviews are made as a subcontractor for another research institution.

The Ethics Committee operates at Statistics Finland to issue statements on principally significant cases of release and on questions relating to the application of the Statistics Act.

See link https://stat.fi/meta/tietosuoja/index_en.html

Population structure, usually in March.

Live births and deaths usually in april, immigration and emigration usually in May.

Link to population statistics only:

https://www.stat.fi/en/topic/population-and-society

Released:

https://www.stat.fi/en/publications?topic=vae

Future releases:

https://www.stat.fi/en/future-releases?topic=vae

See link for information about releasing policy.

https://stat.fi/org/periaatteet/index_en.html/publication-principles-for-statistics

Official (final) statistics yearly.

Preliminary data about vital statistics and population stock, monthly.

Premilinary statistics, in January

First annual statistics, Population structure, in March

Premilinary statistics, in January

First annual statistics, Population structure, in March

Go to https://stat.fi/en/statistics/vamuu

and https://stat.fi/en/database-tables?topic=vae&statistic=all

Not applicable.

Optional

The Finnish Population Information System is a computerised national register that contains basic information about Finnish citizens and foreign citizens residing in Finland on a permanent or temporary basis.

The information in the system is used throughout Finnish society’s information services and management, including public administration, elections, taxation, judicial administration, research and statistics.

Population: quality description: https://stat.fi/en/statistics/documentation/vaerak

Births: quality description: https://stat.fi/til/synt/laa_en.html, https://www.stat.fi/en/statistics/documentation/synt

Deaths: quality description : https://stat.fi/til/kuol/laa_en.html, https://www.stat.fi/en/statistics/documentation/kuol

Migration: quality description: https://stat.fi/til/muutl/laa_en.html, https://www.stat.fi/en/statistics/documentation/muutl

The Digital and Population Data Service Agency has charged Statistics Finland with the task of conducting a sample survey on correctness of address information. Around 11,000 people are asked whether their address in the Population Information System is correct. In the most recent survey in 2012, the address was correct for 98.9 per cent of the respondents.

Population development is produced from two statistical systems: population structure and population change systems. These two systems are governed by two different organisations namely the Digital and Population Data Service Agency and National Statistical Office. The target is that the difference between population number at the beginning and at the end of the year must be the same as the population increase from the population change system or that it is very small. From 1990 to 2023 population has increased from around 5 million to 5,6 million and the correction for the population increase has changed approximately annually from  -1 600 to +1 500. The result is very good.

Finland’s registration of population data is viewed internationally as being of a high standard. Population registers have a long history in Finland, with population information having been registered since the 1530s.

Data quality is very good according to reliability studies of the population information system.

No special treatments is made to special cases.

See also 18.4 and 18.6.

Users: goverment offices, municipalities, private companies, researchers, media, citizens, national and international organisations.

Goverment offices, municipalities, private companies, researchers, national and international organisations: general information about population and population changes (by age, sex, area, country of birth etc.)

Municipalities, private companies, researchers, media, citizens detailed data about population and population changes. 

Users give comments via email or via general feedback channel of Statistics Finland.

Needed statistics are very well available. However there are some statistical areas of which we do not have much data for example international commuters. 

Annual data:

Population structure: about three months

Population changes: about four months

Preliminary data:

Population structure (limited number of variables): a month

Population changes (limited number of variables): a month

No significant time lag. If significant time lag would emerge, there would be information about that on the statistics's internet page.

Fully comparable between geographical areas since 1990.

Population: Digital and Population Data Services Agency picks information of all persons living permanently in Finland 31 Dec at the beginning of February in next year but does not publish statistics of that material on internet. DPDSA asks Statistics Finland for statistics of population at the end of the year to publish it on its webpages.

Population: Statistics Finland doesn't know how it's aggregate statistics is used in other organisations or in Statistics Finland.

Births: National Institute of Health and Welfare keeps medical register of births of all deliveries in Finnish hospitals and publishes statistics of that material. The difference compared to the material of Statistics Finland is that their material also contains information of deliveries of persons (mothers) living permanently abroad.

Deaths: Cause of death statistics of Statistics Finland also produces statistics of deaths and publishes it on webpages of Statistics Finland.   The difference compared to the material of Population statistics is that cause of deaths statistics waiting time is longer, about 11 months,  than that of Population statistics.  Population statistics takes into account late reported notifications of deaths into statistics of next statistical year.

Population structure statistics are coherent with population change statistics. This is shown by population correction. The population correction variable indicates mainly late reported notifications of immigrations/emigrations which are not included in population change statistics.

All population data is free of charge.

To produce population structure statistics requires around 7 to 8 work months (collecting, prosessing and releasing). There is no burden on respondents as data is totally derived from register. 

To produce population change statistics (births, deaths, migration) requires around 10 work months (collecting, prosessing and releasing). There is no burden on respondents as data is totally derived from register.

Not applicable

Not applicable

Population structure, once a year. Preliminary statistics, collected weekly and published monthly.

Population changes, once a year. Preliminary statistics, collected weekly and published monthly.  

Population structure: Data is ordered by Statistics Finland in December from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DPDSA). After the one month waiting period, data is created at first week of February and transferred in electronical form to Statistics Finland.

Population change data: Every saturday DPDSA picks all demographic notifications that have been registered into population information system during the last calendar week. Then data is transferred in electronical form to Statistics Finland.

Population structure: Main critical variables are logically cross-checked, e.g. age, marital status, age of mother/father. Also citizenship, country of birth, mother tongue are checked against ISO-standards.

Population change:

Births: Main critical variables are logically cross-checked, e.g. mother has a place of domicile in Finland at the time of delivery, marital status of mother at the time of delivery, extreme ages of mother/father. Also citizenship, country of birth, mother tongue are checked against ISO-standards.

Deaths: Main critical variables are logically cross-checked, e.g. dead person has a place of domicile in Finland at the time of death, marital status of dead person at the time of death, extreme ages of dead person. Also citizenship, country of birth, mother tongue are checked against ISO-standards.

Migration: Main critical variables are logically cross-checked, e.g. migrated person has a place of domicile in Finland at the time of move, marital status of migrated person at the time of move, extreme ages of migrated person. Also country of destination/departure, citizenship, country of birth, mother tongue are checked against ISO-standards. Immigration record is generated if person doesn't belong to population data in the beginning of the year when he/she moves for the first time in statistical year inside the country.

The Digital and Population Data Service Agency monitors the accuracy of address data recorded in the Population Information System. For this purpose a special quality survey has been carried out by Statistics Finland since 1998, last time in 2012. The proportion of people with a correct address in the register has always been high, over 98 percent of the respondents. 

Population structure: 

In May 2020, the Digital and Population Data Services Agency changed the municipality of residence into unknown for around 10,000 persons. These were persons whose location had been unspecified for at least two years and who have had no known place of residence since 1 January 2017.

When compiling the official population, Statistics Finland has made removals to the population with a municipality of residence from the data of the Population Information System since 2010. A total of 15,555 persons who have probably moved abroad were removed after analyses from the population data derived from the Population Information System for the end of 2019.

In 2023, altogether 13,484 persons were removed from the population with a municipality of residence when compiling the official population. The removed persons are mainly foreign citizens whose address was unknown and who have not received earned income, capital income, entrepreneurial income, unemployment benefit, pension income, income support or compensation from sickness insurance between 2021 and 2022. They do not have earned income recordings in the Incomes Register for 2023 either.

In 2023 the Population Information System included 139,000 persons without data on marital status. They are immigrants whose marital status could not be ascertained. The Population Information Act requires storing of data on marital status in the Population Information System only as concerns Finnish citizens. In the statistics childless persons were coded as unmarried and if they had children, their absent marital status was changed into divorced.

For those babies born at the end of the year, for whom no name, language and religion have been registered in the Population Information System during January, the mother’s language and religion are entered in the statistics for the end of the year.

During 2012, Statistics Finland adopted an origin classification. A similar classification is used in the other Nordic countries. The origin and background country are determined based on the country of birth data of the person's parents. Using the origin classification it is easy to distinguish between first (born abroad) and second (born in Finland) generation Finns with a foreign background.

Population changes: In all population change data record is deleted if person doesn't live permanently in Finland at the time of event.

Births: For those babies born for whom no language has been registered in the Population Information System, the mother’s language is entered in the statistics. 

Immigration: unknown country of departure: country of birth is used as a proxy for about under 5 per cent of all cases.

A liveborn child of mother non-permanently resident but father permanently resident in Finland is not taken into account in the birth statistics. However this child is included in immigration statistics and thus in population.

Emigration: unknown country of destination: country of birth is used as a proxy for about 20 per cent of all cases. If the record of the person is taken away of the raw material of the population data then the record is included in the data of emigration.

Population correction (immigration/emigration):

Population correction is the difference of total change and population increase. Corrections are mainly adjustments made later to errors occurring in handling of notices of removal.

Statistical adjustments are mainly missing notifications on emigration. We would like to enhance that population structure system and population change system are independent and separate systems.

In general, the move has taken place a very long time ago, in which case changing the information by a notice of removal would not make sense, or the person is known to have moved at some point but no information has been obtained on the target domicile.

In material sent to Eurostat age is modified to mean age at the end of the year.

Not applicable.