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Quality description, adoptions 2020

• 1. Relevance of statistical information
• 2. Methodological description of survey
• 3. Correctness and accuracy of data
• 4. Timeliness and promptness of published data
• 5. Accessibility and transparency/clarity of data
• 6. Comparability of statistics
• 7. Coherence and consistency/uniformity

1. Relevance of statistical information

The main source used when producing Finnish population statistics is the Population Information System which is maintained by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. From 1975 Statistics Finland has obtained population data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (former Population Register Centre).

The last population registration was carried out in Finland on 1 January 1989. After that the Population Information System has been updated by notifications of changes. The data stored in the Population Information System are specified in the act on Population Information System and the certicate services of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (21 August 2009/661). Notifications on population changes for the past year are expected by the last day of January of the following year.

Statistics Finland’s function is to compile statistics on conditions in society (Statistics Finland Act of 24 January 1992/48). These also include demographic statistics. Statistics Finland’s Rules of Procedure defines the Population Statistics unit as the producer of demographic statistics (Statistics Finland’s Rules of Procedure, TK-00-1808-19).

In accordance with the Act on the Municipality of Domicile, the municipality of domicile and the place of residence of individuals are recorded in the Population Information System. The municipality in which a person lives or the one construed by the inhabitant as the municipality of domicile on the grounds of residence, family ties, livelihood or other equivalent circumstances, or to which the inhabitant has close links due to the aforementioned circumstances is deemed the municipality of domicile. (Act on the Municipality of Domicile, 201/1994.) The population registered in the Population Information System is divided into those present and those absent. Those present are permanent residents of Finland, either Finnish nationals or aliens. Those absent are Finnish nationals who when emigrating from the country have reported that they intend to be absent from Finland for more than one year, with the exception of Finnish nationals who are diplomats and those working in development co-operation (Act on the Municipality of Domicile, 201/1994.) Only changes in the population resident in Finland on the day of the event are taken into account when compiling statistics of vital events.

Persons moving to Finland from abroad are classified in the population statistics if the place of residence they have declared as their municipality of domicile is later confirmed as their place of residence. A Nordic citizen having entered the country must notify the register office if his/her intended stay in the country exceeds three months. The register office will update his/her data in the Population Information System (Act 661/2009). A Finnish citizen having entered the country must notify the register office if his/her intended stay in the country exceeds three months. The register office will update his/her data in the Population Information System (Act 661/2009). The intend to stay in Finland for clearly more than one year is the prerequisite for registering of the third country citizens into the population of Finland. The length of studying from entry into the country or the length of employment contracts must often be at least two years for a foreign citizen to receive the right to a place of domicile if a person does not have EU citizenship. The intend of staying in Finland for one year or more is the prerequisite for registering of the citizens of EU countries into the population of Finland. At a justified request, the information on a foreign citizen may also be entered after a short stay if he/she has, for example, a temporary place of residence in Finland as defined in the Act on the Municipality of Domicile and the entry is necessary for the realisation of rights related to employment or a similar circumstance (Act 661/2009).

Adoptions

Adoption, or acceptance as one's own child, refers to the creation of a parent-child relationship that is confirmed by a court decision and replaces the biological parent-child relationship. A new law (391/2009) took effect in September 2009 and it gave possibility to apply for adoption to her or him who lived in a registrated partnership so that another partner had children. An adoption is taken into consideration in statistics when at least one of the adoptive parents is permanently resident in Finland at the time of the decision. The permanent place of residence of the adopted child at the time of the decision has no significance when cases are selected into statistics.

2. Methodological description of survey

The main source used when producing Finnish population statistics is the Population Information System of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Local register office updates a Population Information System with information, which it gets from persons experiencing vital events and parishes of the Evangelical-Lutheran and Greek Orthodox churches. Hospitals send information of births and deaths to the maintenance of Population Information System. Local courts take information of decisions of adoptions and divorces dealt in the court into the Population Information System. The Finnish Immigration Services decide mostly about the granting of Finnish citizenships (the Nationality Act 359/2003) and enters data about the decisions into the Population Information System. Statistics Finland receives the updated data of vital events on a weekly basis.

The deadline for delivering data to Statistics Finland on vital events in the statistical year is the end of January of the following year. Data on population changes in statistical year delivered to Statistics Finland after this date are included in the data of the following year. Starting from the statistical reference year 2018, additions or corrections are expected to the background data in the population change data until the end of February following the statistical reference year. The total number of vital events established at the end of January does not change, however, but the aim of the additions and corrections is to improve the quality of the data.

3. Correctness and accuracy of data

In general, the Population Information System of the Digital and Population Data Services Agency can be considered very exhaustive as regards persons. In order that a person obtains a personal identity code, he or she has to be registered in the Population Information System. The registration is possible if he or she moves to Finland permanently or temporarily. It is practically difficult to live in Finland without a personal identity code. A personal identity code is needed so that one can work legally, open a bank account, have dealings with authorities and so on. It can be safely assumed that Finland cannot have any substantial numbers of ’moonlight workers’ who receive their pay in cash for periods of over one year, for example.

After abolishment of yearly checking of domicile registers (January 1) in 1989 the Population Information System has been maintained only by notifications of changes to population information. Their correctness level is determined by a reliability survey made on the addresses in the Population Information System.

Digital and Population Data Services Agency has charged Statistics Finland with the task of conducting a sample survey on correctness of address information. Around 11,000 people are asked whether their address in the Population Information System is correct. In the most recent survey in 2012, the address was correct for 98.9 per cent of the respondents.

In connection with municipal elections, returned notifications of voting sent to foreigners usually reveal around 1,000 persons who have moved from the country without giving notice and are thus still included in the Finnish population. The local register office removes them from the resident population in the Population Information System before the following turn of the year.

4. Timeliness and promptness of published data

Final vital statistics are published yearly in April to May, except for those on stillbirths, which are released in September. Since 1999 the regional division used has been that of the first day of the following year. Thus the municipalities that unite on the first day of the new year are already combined in the statistics on the last day of the previous year. Information on the vital statistics of the united municipalities before the unification is available from 2003 onwards.

5. Accessibility and transparency/clarity of data

Basic population data are available by municipality or with larger regional divisions than municipality in StatFin service in Statistics Finland’s free Statistical Database at:

http://tilastokeskus.fi/tup/tilastotietokannat/index_en.html

General information and long time series on the population of the whole country can be found from the home page of Demographic Statistics at:

http://tilastokeskus.fi/til/adopt/tau_en.html

The chargeable information service contains more specified information about the population by sub-area of municipality, for example.

6. Comparability of statistics

Comparable regional vital statistics series are available in the StatFin online database service. The tables always indicate which regional division is used.

Vital statistics data on the numbers of births, deaths and marriages contracted are available from 1749 onwards. From 1773 there are data about mothers having given birth by five-year age group and from 1936 about all children born by age of mother. After the statistical revision of 1877 collection of data on deaths was started by one-year age group, which made it possible to begin calculation of accurate mortality and lifetime tables from the 1880s onwards. On account of this statistical revision, annual collection of data on migration and divorces was also started. In 1987-1993 adoptions of Finnish born children contains some cases that are not new registrations of parental relationships but changes of heritage relationships of persons in adoption families.

7. Coherence and consistency/uniformity

Statistics Finland’s other statistics use the data of demographic statistics as basic information on population. Consequently, Statistics Finland’s other statistics correspond to demographic statistics.

Source: Population and Justice Statistics. Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Laura Lipasti 029 551 3041, info@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala

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Updated 31.8.2021