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Education is one of the cornerstones of the Finnish welfare society. We pride ourselves on an educational system that offers equal opportunities for education for all.

Education policy report The Education Policy Report paves the way for equitable and high-quality education in the 2040s in Finland, where skills requirements are growing and age cohorts are shrinking. The report outlines the target state for educa...

Pre-primary education Pre-primary education refers to planned education and care provided the year preceding the start of compulsory education, which is directly related to early childhood education and care as well as primary education. The Minis...

Special features of the Finnish education system Education is viewed positively in Finnish society. Nearly three in four Finns aged between 25 and 64 have at least an upper secondary school certificate (a completed matriculation examination or voc...

The branch of government of the Ministry of Education and Culture The branch of government of the Ministry of Education and Culture comprises five agencies and two limited liability companies in addition to the Ministry itself. Furthermore, there ...

14.1.2026 | The Ministry of Education and Culture carried out a two-year pre-primary education trial in a total of 148 municipalities between 2021 and 2024. Altogether 37,357 children took part. They were placed in the trial group and control group by drawing lots. Parents, carers and teachers were satisfied with the trial and the two-year pre-primary education trial slightly increased the participation rate of five-year-olds.

2.12.2025 | An OECD survey shows that Finnish early childhood education and care (ECEC) stands out for active cooperation with families. In Finland, staff communicate and organise events for families more often than in most other participating countries. Stress levels among ECEC and pre-primary staff and leaders are lower in Finland than elsewhere, but staff shortages are a major source of stress.

18.12.2025 | The international results of the OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2024 were published earlier this autumn. They have now been supplemented with Finland’s national results. Finland participated in the main TALIS 2024, which focused on lower secondary school teachers and principals, and in the TALIS Starting Strong module, which targeted staff in early childhood education and care and pre-primary education.

7.10.2025 | Finnish teachers in lower secondary education enjoy their work, but they are experiencing more stress than before. In Finland, the share of teachers considering a career change has increased, although it remains similar to the OECD average. Trust among colleagues is strong, and collaboration between teachers has grown.

28.5.2025 | The Ministry of Education and Culture has prepared a programme to advocate equity and non-discrimination in early childhood education and care, in schools and in educational institutions. The measures will be carried out over the 2025 to 2027 period.

Strengthening the basic skills and language of instruction of pupils with a migrant background The aim is to ensure that pupils who have recently moved to Finland have the capabilities to pursue further studies. The action plan will look for solut...

New Literacies Programme The New Literacies Programme aims to strengthen children’s and young people’s media literacy, competence in information and communications technology (ICT), and programming skills in early childhood education and care, pre...

The recommendations for artificial intelligence, AI, support competence related to AI in education, teaching and training. Strengthening competence promotes increasing understanding of AI, its safe use and equal opportunities for education and training actors to utilise emerging technologies in learning.

Press releases RSS (Opens New Window) (Opens New Window) PISA 2025: Students in Finland still perform well above OECD average in science Type: Press release Publication date: 8.9.2026 10.30 Aalto Works inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List Type:...

26.11.2019 | The Ministry of Education and Culture is set to launch the Right to Learn – An Equal Start on the Path of Education development programme. The programme, which will run from 2020 to 2022, is the Government term’s most significant package for the development of early childhood education and care and basic education.

9.10.2023 | The Ministry of Education and Culture’s proportion of the 2024 budget proposal is EUR 8.0 billion, which is EUR 274 million more than in the 2023 Budget. The budget proposal implements the Programme of Prime Minister Petteri Orpo's Government by raising the level of education and competence of the entire population. The measures in the budget proposal aim to strengthen the effectiveness of science and improve the conditions for conducting research and development.

12.9.2023 | The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published its annual Education at a Glance (EAG) publication, which consists of internationally comparable indicators of education systems. This year’s report focuses on vocational education and training. The report mainly covers 2021.

6.3.2017 | The National Agency for Education has granted a total of EUR 4,014,000 in special assistance to 96 different projects carried out by providers of basic education to develop, increase and introduce language teaching earlier in early childhood education, preschool education and basic education. Advancing the start of language teaching is part of the Government's key project for reforming the comprehensive school.

4.8.2020 | The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare have updated the instructions related to the coronavirus epidemic they issued to education providers and educational institutions in the spring. The most important thing is, also from now on, to prevent infections, ensure good hygiene, avoid unnecessary close contacts, and arrange teaching premises more spaciously than usual.

12.1.2023 | The Ministry of Education and Culture has published the first bildung review, which provides an overview of development in the Ministry’s administrative branch over the past decades. The latest stage, which began in the 1990s, is characterised by a decline in the achieved learning outcomes, the plateauing of the rising level of education among Finns, as well as a gradual decrease in public input into education.