The OECD comparison of education systems has been published

Education is worthwhile

The connection between education and employment has remained the same for years in most OECD countries. The higher the education of the population is, the higher is the employment rate. In Finland the employment rate of university graduates is above the average of the OECD countries; on other educational levels the rate is close to the OECD average. However, the employment rate of men with upper secondary or just basic education is lower in Finland than in the OECD countries on average.

Finland, Poland, and France form a group of countries in which young people are in education for a long time, and education does not regularly alternate with working. Countries of relatively short education and a quick transition into labour include the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, and Mexico.

In Norway young people have the right to a place in upper secondary education, whereas in Finland the authorities are obliged to offer student places in a way that calculatorily, there are places for everyone leaving basic education. In nearly all OECD countries it is more probable for boys to stay outside labour without sufficient education. This proportion of boys is 5.7% in Norway and 11.9% in Finland.

In the upper secondary level one can see the typical Finnish phenomenon that women tend to study more than men. The calculatory percentage of women over 19 with a degree is 92%, whereas the percentage of men is only 77%. The overall percentage is 84%.

In the participation in adult education relating to work, Finland is on a high level internationally. Finland ranks fourth after Demark, Sweden, and the United States when comparing the participation of the adult population in education relating to work during the last year. In all four countries the percentage of participation is around 45%.

Good results can be obtained with moderate costs

Finland is an excellent example of a country in which educational costs are at a moderate level on the international scale, but measured by learning results, the quality of education is high.

At all levels of education, the OECD countries invested an average of $6,700 on each student in 2002. In the lower grades of basic education the expenses were $5,300, at the upper secondary level $7,100, and in higher education $10,700 per student. The numbers include research and development costs. In Finland the average costs of all levels of education are near the average of the OECD countries. In the lower grades of basic education the costs were $5,100 per student, at the upper secondary level $6,500, and in higher education $11,800.

The salaries of teachers have developed well

The salaries of teachers in the upper grades of basic education in Finland are around the average of OECD countries (approx. $36,000 per year). This is the same level as in Denmark and Norway but higher than in Sweden and Iceland. The salaries of teachers in Luxemburg are twice as high as in Finland, but on the other hand, the salaries of teachers in Finland are twice as high as in Hungary, for instance.

The review of the development of the salary, especially the initial salary of teachers, indicates that between 1996 and 2003 the salaries of Finnish teachers have improved well.

The number of university graduates is increasing

A high percentage of the population of Finland has completed a university degree. In 2003 one third of those between 25 and 64 years of age had completed higher education. The proportion was higher only in Canada, the United States, and Japan. Of countries outside the OECD, in Russia and Israel there was a higher percentage of those with a university degree than in Finland.

Compared to the OECD average, young people in Finland are slightly older when they start their university studies, but in Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and Germany, for example, the starting age of university studies is higher than in Finland or on the same level.

Universities leading the way in the internationalisation of education

The internationalisation of higher education continues. Finnish people actively seek their way to study in other countries. Through foreign studies, students aim at developing their working career. As a host country for foreign students, however, Finland is still below the OECD average. Of all students in higher education in Finland in 2003, 2.5% were foreign students. However, the number had increased by nearly 50% since1998.

The number of students leaving Finland for university studies is clearly higher than the number of foreign students coming here. In relation to the overall number of students, the highest numbers of foreign students are accepted into the universities of Australia, Switzerland, and Great Britain.

Finnish university students are a significant group in Sweden, Iceland, and Norway. In other countries the proportion of Finnish students is less than one per cent of all foreign students. In Sweden the proportion of Finns is 15.6%. In Finland the biggest nationality groups come from China, Russia, Sweden, and Germany. Finland differs from other Nordic counties in that relatively more Asian and African students come to Finland than to our neighbouring countries.

The number of teaching hours small in Finland

The minimum number of teaching hours based on statutes is small in Finland. The age group of 7 to 14-year-olds receive just over 5,500 hours of teaching (per year), whereas the maximum amount in Italy is over 8,000 hours. The amount of work outside school, such as homework, is also among the smallest in the OECD countries. In Korea, which shares the leading position with Finland in the PISA survey, pupils work outside school for well over ten hours a week, in addition to more than 30 hours of teaching. In Finland there is an average of 25 hours a week of teaching in basic education, and children spend an average of 5 hours a week on homework and other school-related tasks.

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Further information:
- Counsellor of Education Matti Kyrö (National Board of Education), tel. (09) 7747 7124
- www.oecd.org/edu/eag2005

The publication Education at a Glance 2005 (ISBN 92-64-01567-1) can be ordered from Suomalainen kirjakauppa: [email protected], tel. (09) 852 7907.