Finland has the highest number of tertiary level students in the Nordic countries

Relative to the size of population, Finland has the highest number of students in tertiary education in the Nordic countries. Nearly one in five of the population aged 20 to 39 in Finland attend tertiary education, whereas in Sweden and Iceland the respective proportion is one in seven and in Denmark and Norway around one in eight. These data derive from the recently published Nordic Statistical Yearbook 2009.

The following statistical data can also be found in the Nordic Statistical Yearbook:

Men in Greenland, Finland and Denmark have the shortest lives in the Nordic countries. The average life expectancy of newborn boys is 66.3 years in Greenland and 76.3 years in Finland and Denmark. Girls born in Sweden have the longest average life expectancy of 83.2 years in the Nordic countries, but girls born in Finland, Norway and Iceland can expect to reach an almost equal age of 83.0.
In 2008, women's unemployment rate was the highest in the Nordic countries in Finland at 6.7 per cent while Norway had the lowest women's unemployment rate of 2.3 per cent.
Sweden has the lowest number of smokers in the Nordic countries. Eighty-seven per cent of men and 85 per cent of women in Sweden do not smoke daily. In Finland, 83 per cent of women but only 74 per cent of men are not daily smokers.
Last year, 98 per cent of 5-year-old children in Sweden were in day care outside the home. The respective proportion was the lowest in the Nordic countries in Finland at 77 per cent.
Emma and Lucas are popular first names in the Nordic countries. In 2008, Emma was the most popular girl's name for newborns in both Finland and Denmark. Lucas was the favourite boy's name in Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

The Nordic Statistical Yearbook is a 150-page information package containing statistical comparison data on e.g. the environment, population, education, labour market, industrial structure and economy. The statistics cover the five Nordic countries as well as the autonomous territories of the Åland Islands, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

In addition to figures and tables, the Yearbook contains concise background information on different topics. The data are available in both Swedish and in English. There is also a freely accessible database on the Internet which contains ample Nordic comparison data. The database and a pdf version of the Yearbook are available on the website of the Nordic Council of Ministers at www.norden.org.

The Yearbook, published by the Nordic Council of Ministers, costs EUR 50. It can be ordered from Statistics Finland's Sales Service, tel. +358 9 1734 2011, email myynti@stat.fi

Inquiries: Hans Baumgartner, Statistics Finland, +358 9 1734 2399, firstname.lastname@stat.fi