Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Finland
Finland: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 98.2% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Finland, 1820–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Finland stood at 98.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.2% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Finland peaked at 100.0% in 1925 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 1820.
That places Finland 68th out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 1.3% | 1.2% | 1.5% | 2 |
| 1830s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.2% | 2 |
| 1840s | 3.0% | 2.7% | 3.3% | 2 |
| 1850s | 4.4% | 4.0% | 4.9% | 2 |
| 1860s | 6.6% | 6.0% | 7.2% | 2 |
| 1870s | 9.6% | 8.7% | 10.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 18.0% | 16.0% | 19.9% | 2 |
| 1890s | 31.0% | 25.4% | 36.7% | 2 |
| 1900s | 50.7% | 46.6% | 54.8% | 2 |
| 1910s | 72.2% | 64.9% | 79.4% | 2 |
| 1920s | 97.4% | 94.8% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1930s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1940s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1950s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 94.5% | 92.0% | 97.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 100.0% | 100.0% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 96.0% | 96.0% | 96.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 98.9% | 98.8% | 99.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 98.5% | 97.8% | 98.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.3% | 98.0% | 98.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Finland
More education data for Finland
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 61.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.3% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 98.9% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 30,824 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.29 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 98.8% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Finland?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Finland was 98.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Finland?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1925.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Finland?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 1820.
- How does Finland rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Finland ranks 68th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Finland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Finland data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 57 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.