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Finland
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Finland
Student performance (PISA 2022)
  • In mathematics, the main topic of PISA 2022, 15-year-olds in score 484 points compared to an average of 472 points in OECD countries.
  • On average, 15-year-olds score 490 points in reading compared to an average of 476 points in OECD countries.
  • In Finland, the average performance in science of 15-year-olds is 511 points, compared to an average of 485 points in OECD countries.
  • Average 2022 results were down compared to 2018 in mathematics, reading and science.
  • In all three subjects, average performance was lower in 2022 than in any previous assessment: the steep decline in mean scores between 2018 and 2022 confirmed and reinforced a decline that began much earlier. Over the 2012-2022 period, students' performance declined by more than 20 points on average in all three subjects.
  • In Finland, 75% of students attained at least Level 2 proficiency in mathematics, significantly more than on average across OECD countries (OECD average: 69%). At a minimum, these students can interpret and recognize, without direct instructions, how a simple situation can be represented mathematically.
  • Some 9% of students in Finland were top performers in mathematics, meaning that they attained Level 5 or 6 in the PISA mathematics test (OECD average: 9%).
  • In Finland, 45% of students (the largest share) were in the top international quintile of the socio-economic scale, meaning that they were among the most advantaged students who took the PISA test in 2022. Their average score in mathematics was 517 score points.
  • In Finland socio-economically advantaged students (the top 25% in terms of socio-economic status) outperformed disadvantaged students (the bottom 25%) by 83 score points in mathematics. This is smaller than the average difference between the two groups (93 score points) across OECD countries.
  • Between 2012 and 2022, the gap in mathematics performance between the top and the bottom 25% of students in terms of socio-economic status widened in Finland, while the average gap across OECD countries remained stable.
  • Some 12% of disadvantaged students in Finland were able to score in the top quarter of mathematics performance (OECD average 10%). These students can be considered academically resilient.
  • Girls outperformed boys in mathematics by 5 score points and in reading by 45 score points in Finland. Globally, in mathematics, boys outperformed girls in 40 countries and economies, girls outperformed boys in another 17 countries or economies.
  • Immigrant students in Finland tend to have a more disadvantaged socio-economic profile than non-immigrant students; while 25% of all students are considered socio-economically disadvantaged, the corresponding share among students with an immigrant background is 48%.
  • In mathematics, the average difference in performance between immigrant and non-immigrant students was 65 score points in favour of non-immigrant students, a significant difference. After accounting for students' socio-economic profile, a significant difference of 42 score points in favour of non-immigrant students was observed.
  • In Finland, 97% reported that they had attended pre-primary education for one year or more (OECD average: 94%).
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    The following list displays indicators for which your selected country shows the highest and lowest values among countries. The list can be sorted by level of education or by age group. All rankings are calculated including available data from OECD and partner countries. Find out more about the methodology here.

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    Student performance in mathematics

    Girls' performance in mathematics is one of the highest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (487 PISA Score, rank 10/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Over the period of participation in PISA, the average decennial rate of change in mean mathematics performance of Finland was among the lowest. (-34 PISA Score, rank 37/37 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Student performance in reading

    Over the period of participation in PISA, the average decennial rate of change in mean reading performance of Finland was among the lowest. (-23 PISA Score, rank 24/26 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The difference between girls and boys in reading performance is one of the smallest among PISA-participating countries and economies in favour of girls. (-45 PISA Score, rank 75/78 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The percentage of low-performing girls in reading (below proficiency Level 2) is one of the lowest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (14.3 %, rank 72/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The change in reading performance between 2015 and 2018 shows one of the strongest decreases among PISA-participating countries and economies. (-30 PISA Score, rank 39/42 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Student performance in science

    Over the period of participation in PISA, the average decennial rate of change in mean science performance of Finland was among the lowest. (-34 PISA Score, rank 24/24 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The mean score in science performance is one of the highest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (511 PISA Score, rank 9/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Girls' performance in science is one of the highest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (522 PISA Score, rank 7/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The difference between girls and boys in science performance is one of the largest among PISA-participating countries and economies in favour of boys. (-22 PISA Score, rank 44/47 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The score difference in science between the 10% of students with the highest scores and the 10% of students with the lowest scores is one of the largest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (278 PISA Score, rank 9/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The percentage of top performers in science (proficiency Level 5 or 6) is one of the highest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (12.7 %, rank 6/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The percentage of low-performing girls in science (below proficiency Level 2) is one of the lowest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (13.8 %, rank 73/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The percentage of top-performing girls in science (proficiency Level 5 or 6) is one of the highest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (13.8 %, rank 5/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Student performance in creative thinking

    Students in Finland have among the higest performance in creative thinking. (36 PISA Score, rank 5/62 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The observed creative thinking performance in Finland is higher than the expected performance, after accounting for performance in mathematics. (3 PISA Score, rank 8/51 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The observed creative thinking performance in Finland is higher than the expected performance, after accounting for performance in reading. (3 PISA Score, rank 4/55 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The difference in creative thinking performance between boys and girls is one of the largest, compared to other countries. (-6 PISA Score, rank 56/59 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Creative thinking

    Finland shows a low composite index of participation in creative activities outside of school (average=0, standard deviation of the OECD average=1). (-0.2 PISA Index, rank 67/72 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Educational outcomes

    in Finland, compared to the share of students who did not attended pre-primary school for at least one year, the share of students who did so having repeated a grade at least once in any education level is one of the smallest among PISA-participating countries and economies, after accounting for students' and schools' socio-economic profile. (0.29 Ratio, rank 61/70 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Participation in education

    A small share of advantaged students in Finland have repeated a grade, compared to other countries and economies participating in PISA. (0.9 %, rank 69/76 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Finland registered one of the largest changes between 2018 and 2022 in the percentage of students who had repeated a grade at least once in primary, lower secondary or upper secondary school. (-0.6 %, rank 9/39 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The difference in mathematics performance when there is a 10 percentage-points increase in the number of grade repeaters in the school is relatively small in Finland. (-181 PISA Score points, rank 43/50 , 2022) Download Indicator

    School climate

    Students in Finland reported feeling relatively safer than students in other OECD and partner countries/economies. (0.38 PISA Index, rank 3/74 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Students who reported that they had missed school for more than three consecutive months at any education level at least once are proportionally less in number in Finland than in other OECD and partner countries/economies. (3.4 %, rank 72/74 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Classroom environment

    Between 2018 and 2022, the change in the index of shortage of educational material in Finland was relatively smaller than in other OECD and partner countries/economies. (-0.68 PISA Index, rank 38/39 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Student well-being

    In Finland, the percentage of students who did not eat because there was not enough money to buy food is particularly small compared to the other OECD or partner countries/economies. (2.7 %, rank 65/66 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Among OECD and partner countries with available data, Finland has one of the lowest index of mathematics anxiety. (-0.29 PISA Index, rank 76/76 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Students' engagement, drive and self-beliefs

    Finland has one of the smallest differences in mathematics performance associated with a one-hour increase in the time spent doing homework in mathematics, before accounting for students' and schools' socio-economic profile. (-19 PISA Score points, rank 55/58 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Finland has one of the smallest differences in mathematics performance associated with a one-hour increase in the time spent doing homework in mathematics, after accounting for students' and schools' socio-economic profile. (-17 PISA Score points, rank 57/59 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Sense of belonging at school

    Finland shows one the smallest changes in mathematics perfomance associated to a one-unit increase of the PISA index of sense of belonging (after accounting for the socio-economic status of schools and students) (2 PISA Score points, rank 58/63 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Performance and socio-economic status

    In Finland, the variation between schools of the mathematics performance is among the smallest, when compared to average total variation across OECD countries. (9 %, rank 77/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    In Finland, the variation within schools of the mathematics performance is among the largest, when compared to average total variation across OECD countries. (90.4 %, rank 8/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Finland has one of the smallest differences in mathematics score associated with repeating a grade among OECD and partner countries/economies, before accounting for students' and schools' socio-economic profile. (-119 PISA Score points, rank 72/76 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Finland has one of the smallest differences in mathematics score associated with repeating a grade among OECD and partner countries/economies, after accounting for students' and schools' socio-economic profile. (-97 PISA Score points, rank 75/75 , 2022) Download Indicator

    In Finland, a small percentage of the variation in creative thinking performance is found between schools (as a percentage of variation across OECD countries). (11.5 %, rank 57/62 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Performance and diversity

    After accounting for socio-economic status, the difference in mathematics performance between non-immigrant and immigrant students is one of the largest among PISA-participating countries and economies, in favour of immigrants. (-53 PISA Score, rank 27/30 , 2022) Download Indicator

    In Finland, the share of immigrant students aged 15 who do not speak the language of the PISA assessment at home is relatively high . (82.1 %, rank 5/76 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Resources for education

    The change between 2012 and 2022 in the number of computers per student at schoolin Finland is large compared to the other OECD and partner countries. (0.39 Ratio, rank 2/40 , 2022) Download Indicator

    The share of students in schools whose principal reported that the use of cell phones is not allowed on the school premises is relatively low in Finland. (7.5 %, rank 79/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    In Finland, students agree less with various statements about regulation of ICT use at school than in other the OECD and partner countries/economies. (-0.38 PISA Index, rank 52/52 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Teachers

    After accounting for students' and schools' socio-economic profile, Finland has one of the largest differences in mathematics performance per 10 percentage-points increase in the share of teachers fully certified by the appropriate authority. (2 PISA Score points, rank 4/18 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Between 2012 and 2022, Finland recorded a particularly significant change in the percentage of teachers fully certified by the appropriate authority, compared to the other OECD and partner countries/economies. (-3.9 %, rank 6/38 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Governance

    The percentage of students attending government-independent private schools is one of the lowest among PISA-participating countries and economies. (0 %, rank 75/78 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Finland has a school system where school selectivity is less intense than in the other OECD and partner countries/economies. (1.18 PISA Index, rank 79/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    In Finland, the educational leadership is particularly limited compared to the other OECD and partner countries/economies. (-0.51 PISA Index, rank 68/75 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Finland has a relatively low percentage of students in schools whose principal reported that there are two or more other schools in this area that compete for these students. (31.5 %, rank 76/80 , 2022) Download Indicator

    COVID-19 effects on education

    Finland cumulated one of the shortest school closure periods because of COVID-19 according to principals (38 Days, rank 73/77 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Compared to other OECD and partner countries/economies, students in Finland are not relatively curious, as measured by the PISA index of curiosity. (-0.19 PISA Index, rank 65/72 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Finland is one of the OECD and partner countries/economies with the highest level of empathy, as measured by the PISA index of empathy. (0.13 PISA Index, rank 8/43 , 2022) Download Indicator

    Finland is one of the OECD and partner countries/economies with the highest level of stress resistance, as measured by the PISA index of student's stress resistance. (0.19 PISA Index, rank 4/42 , 2022) Download Indicator

    In Finland, students are characterized by their strong emotional control, when compared to other OECD and partner countries/economies, as measured by the PISA index of students' emotional control. (0.2 PISA Index, rank 3/61 , 2022) Download Indicator


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    General findings
    
                            
    • Singapore scored significantly higher than all other countries/economies in mathematics (575 points) and, along with Hong Kong (China), Japan, Korea, Macao (China), and Chinese Taipei, outperformed all other countries and economies in mathematics. Another 17 countries also performed above the OECD average (472 points), ranging from Estonia (510 points) to New Zealand (479 points).
    • Boys outperformed girls in mathematics by nine score points and girls outperformed boys in reading by 24 score points on average across OECD countries. In science, the performance difference between boys and girls is not significant.
    • An average of 69% of students are at least basically proficient in mathematics in OECD countries. This means they are beginning to demonstrate the ability and initiative to use mathematics in simple real-life situations.
    • In 16 out of 81 countries/economies participating in PISA 2022, more than 10% of students attained Level 5 or 6 proficiency, meaning they are high-performing: they understand that a problem is quantitative in nature and can formulate complex mathematical models to solve it. By contrast, less than 5% of students are high-performing in 42 countries/economies.
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    • Singapore scored significantly higher than all other countries/economies in reading (543 points) and science (561 points). Behind Singapore, Ireland performed as well as Estonia, Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei while another 14 education systems performed above the OECD average in reading (476 points), ranging from Macao (China) (510 points) to Italy (482 points).
    • About three out of four students have achieved basic proficiency in reading in OECD countries.
    • In reading, an OECD average of 7% of students attained the highest proficiency levels of 5 or 6. In 13 countries/economies, more than 10% of students are top performers in reading.
    • No change in the OECD average over consecutive PISA assessments up to 2018 has ever exceeded five points in reading: in PISA 2022, however, the OECD average dropped by about 10 score points in reading compared to PISA 2018.. The unprecedented drops reading point to the shock effect of COVID-19 on most countries.
    • Only four countries and economies improved their performance between PISA 2018 and 2022 in all three subjects: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic and Chinese Taipei.
    • Trend analysis of PISA results reveals a decades-long decline that began well before the pandemic. In reading, performances peaked in 2012 and 2009, respectively, before dipping while performance began a downward descent in mathematics before 2018 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Slovak Republic and Switzerland.
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    • Mean performance in science remained stable.
    • In science, the highest-performing education systems are Singapore, Japan, Macao (China), Chinese Taipei, Korea, Estonia, Hong Kong (China) and Canada. Finland performed as well as Canada in science. In addition to these nine countries and economies, another 15 education systems also performed above the OECD average in science (485 points), ranging from Australia (507 points) to Belgium (491 points).
    • About three out of four students have achieved basic proficiency science in OECD countries.
    • In science, an OECD average of 7% of students attained the highest proficiency levels of 5 or 6. In 14 countries/economies, more than 10% of students are top performers in science.
    • Only four countries and economies improved their performance between PISA 2018 and 2022 in all three subjects: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic and Chinese Taipei.
    • Trend analysis of PISA results reveals a decades-long decline that began well before the pandemic. In science, performances peaked in 2012 and 2009, respectively, before dipping. while performance began a downward descent in mathematics before 2018 in Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Iceland, Korea, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Slovak Republic and Switzerland.
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    • Socio-economically advantaged students scored 93 points more in mathematics than disadvantaged students on average across OECD countries. The performance gap attributed to students' socio-economic status is greater than 93 score points in 22 countries or economies and 50 points or fewer in 13 countries or economies.
    • Boys outperformed girls in mathematics by nine score points and girls outperformed boys in reading by 24 score points on average across OECD countries. In science, the performance difference between boys and girls is not significant.
    • Non-immigrant students scored 29 points more than immigrant students in mathematics on average across OECD countries but non-immigrant students scored only five points more than immigrant students once socio-economic status and language spoken at home had been accounted for.
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    • Between 2018 and 2022 trends in students' sense of belonging at school were mixed, with equal proportions of countries/economies showing stable, improving or deteriorating trends. Of the 47 education systems with improving or stable trends, only 20 maintained or attained a level of students' sense of belonging at school that was at or above the OECD average. 
    • Around 10% of students reported feeling unsafe on their way to or from school, or in places outside of the classroom, on average across OECD countries. Some 20% of students reported that they are bullied at least a few times a month.
    • Overall, students felt more confident about using digital technology for learning remotely during future school closures than they felt about taking responsibility for their own learning. For instance, on average across OECD countries, about three out of four students reported that they feel confident or very confident about using a learning-management system, a school learning platform or a video communication program, as well as about finding learning resources online on their own.
    • Students' experience with learning at home was more positive in systems that were better prepared for remote learning. However, when learning remotely, 40% of all students reported feeling lonely and 50% of all students reported feeling anxious about schoolwork and that they fell behind in their studies; and three in ten students reported that teachers were not available when needed, on average across OECD countries. 
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    • Singapore, Korea, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Estonia and Finland are the highest-performing systems in creative thinking, significantly above the OECD average. Students in Singapore score 41 points on average in creative thinking.
    • There is a large performance gap in creative thinking between the highest-performing and lowest-performing country of 28 score points – or around four proficiency levels. 97 out of 100 students in the five best-performing countries performed above the average student in the five lowest performing countries.
    • Academic excellence is not a pre-requisite for excellence in creative thinking. While around half of all students who performed at the highest level in creative thinking performed at the highest level in mathematics, similar proportions of students within the third quintile of creative thinking performance scored within the second, third and fourth quintiles, respectively, in mathematics. However, very few students below a baseline proficiency in mathematics excelled in creative thinking.
    • In no country or economy did boys outperform girls in creative thinking, with girls scoring 3 points higher in creative thinking on average across the OECD. The gender gap is significant in all countries/economies after accounting for mathematics performance and in around half of all countries/economies even after accounting for students’ reading performance.
    • Students with higher socio-economic status performed better in creative thinking, with advantaged students scoring around 9.5 points higher than their disadvantaged peers on average across the OECD. In general, the strength of the association between socio-economic status and performance is weaker in creative thinking than it is for mathematics, reading and science.
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    Key
    Diagram of funding flows - Finland

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    Key
    Country Reviews for Finland

    Note: These values should be interpreted with care since they are influenced by countries' specific contexts and trade-offs. In education, there is often no simple most- or least-efficient model. For instance, the share of private expenditure in education must be read against other measures designed to mitigate inequities, such as loans and grants; longer learning time is an opportunity to convey more and better content to students, but may hinder investments in other important areas. If you want further information on the nature of different variables, please take the time to read the analysis and contextual information, available at the website for each publication.
    All rankings for individual variables are compiled on the basis of OECD and G20 countries for which data are available. The OECD average includes only OECD countries which are listed here: http://www.oecd.org/about/membersandpartners/

    Reference years displayed in the Education GPS correspond to the most common year of reference among countries for which data is available on each variable. Data for the latest available year is preferred and some countries may have provided data refering to a more recent or late year. To know more about possible exceptions on data please click on the "Download Indicator" link on each variable. When a year of reference corresponds to a school year encompassing two years, the reference reads as follows: 2018 for school year 2017/2018.

    *TALIS averages are based on all countries participating in the TALIS survey, including partner countries and economies. This explains the difference between the OECD average and the TALIS averages. Data from the TALIS survey and Education at a Glance (EAG) may differ. See Annex E of the TALIS technical report and Annex 3 of EAG 2021 for more details about the data collections.

    B-S-J-Z (China) refers to the four PISA-participating provinces/municipalities of the People's Republic of China: Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

    For additional notes, please refer to annexes in the list of links below the introductory country profile text.