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County elections, quality description

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

1. Relevance of statistical information

1.1 Summary of the information content of statistics

Statistics Finland produces official statistics on the county elections containing key data on the candidates, elected councillors, those entitled to vote, those who voted and support gained by the parties. Statistics Finland's statistics pages on county elections also contain analyses on the backgrounds of the candidates and elected councillors and on those who voted, database tables (most detailed level: voting district).

1.2 Essential concepts
General

According to the health and social services reform (HE 241/2020), 21 wellbeing services counties are established in Mainland Finland.
The legislation concerning wellbeing services counties entered into force on 1 July 2021.

According to Section 8 of the Election Act, a municipality forms one voting district unless it needs to be divided into several voting districts. There are no more exact stipulations on the size or population of the voting districts in the Election Act. The council decides on voting districts.

The voting district division that takes effect on 1 January 2022 and that is based on the voting district division decisions notified by municipalities to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency by 31 August 2021 is followed in the 2022 county elections.

The City of Helsinki is not a wellbeing services county and does not belong to any wellbeing services county, so county elections are not held there.

In the county elections to be held on 23 January 2022, the number of municipalities belonging to the 21 wellbeing services counties is 292 in Mainland Finland.

In Section 7 of the Act on implementing the reform of health, social and rescue services and the related legislation (616/2021, Chapter 2, Sections 6 and 7) the wellbeing services counties are:

The wellbeing services county of East Uusimaa, which consists of the following municipalities in the region of Uusimaa: Askola, Lapinjärvi, Loviisa, Myrskylä, Porvoo, Pukkila, and Sipoo;
The wellbeing services county of Central Uusimaa, which consists of the following municipalities in the region of Uusimaa: Hyvinkää, Järvenpää, Nurmijärvi, Mäntsälä, Tuusula, and Pornainen;
The wellbeing services county of West Uusimaa, which consists of the following municipalities in the region of Uusimaa: Espoo, Hanko, Inkoo, Karkkila, Kauniainen, Kirkkonummi, Lohja, Raasepori, Siuntio, and Vihti;
The wellbeing services county of Vantaa and Kerava, which consists of the cities of Vantaa and Kerava in the region of Uusimaa;
The wellbeing services county of Southwest Finland, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Southwest Finland;
The wellbeing services county of Satakunta, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Satakunta;
The wellbeing services county of Kanta-Häme, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Kanta-Häme;
The wellbeing services county of Pirkanmaa, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Pirkanmaa;
The wellbeing services county of Päijät-Häme, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Päijät-Häme;
The wellbeing services county of Kymenlaakso, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Kymenlaakso;
The wellbeing services county of South Karelia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of South Karelia;
The wellbeing services county of South Savo, which consists of the municipalities in the region of South Savo;
The wellbeing services county of North Savo, which consists of the municipalities in the region of North Savo;
The wellbeing services county of North Karelia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of North Karelia;
The wellbeing services county of Central Finland, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Central Finland;
The wellbeing services county of South Ostrobothnia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of South Ostrobothnia;
The wellbeing services county of Ostrobothnia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Ostrobothnia;
The wellbeing services county of Central Ostrobothnia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Central Ostrobothnia;
The wellbeing services county of North Ostrobothnia, which consists of the municipalities in the region of North Ostrobothnia;
The wellbeing services county of Kainuu, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Kainuu;
The wellbeing services county of Lapland, which consists of the municipalities in the region of Lapland

The county elections will be held simultaneously with municipal elections starting from 2025. The elections are direct, secret and proportional and the right to vote is equal.

In the county elections the constituency is the wellbeing services county. The highest decision-making power in the wellbeing services county is exercised by the county council, the members and deputy members of which are elected by means of county elections. The term of the council is four years.

However, the first county elections will be held as separate elections on Sunday 23 January 2022. The county election committees will confirm the results of the county elections on 26 January 2022. The term of office of the county councils elected in these elections runs from 1 March 2022 to 31 May 2025 (616/2021, Chapter 2, Section 16).

Legislation on elections

The elections are conducted in accordance with the Election Act in force. (Election Act in force http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1998/en19980714), more details on the Ministry of Justice’s web pages www.vaalit.fi (=> election data => legislation) and www.finlex.fi, Election Act (714/1998).

Act on wellbeing services counties (611/2021): Section 23 County elections, Section 24 Number of councillors, Section 25 Deputy councillors, Section 28 Right to vote in county elections and the right to vote in a referendum in a wellbeing services county, Section 31 Referendum in a wellbeing services county, Section 76 General eligibility, Section 77 Eligibility to a county council.

HE 241/2020

Election provisions in other legislation:
Act on local government structures (1698/2009), Act on division into counties and regions (614/2021), Act on organising healthcare, social welfare and rescue services in the Region of Uusimaa (615/2021), Act on implementing the reform of health, social and rescue services and the related legislation (616/2021).

The main principles of holding elections

All elections in Finland are held according to the following principles:

The elections are direct. Electors (those entitled to vote) vote direct for the persons they want to be elected.
The elections are proportional. In proportional elections each party (or other group) gains seats in relation to the votes cast for it compared with the votes cast for other groups (not in presidential elections).
The elections are secret. Secrecy of the ballot means that neither the election authorities nor anyone else get to know for whom voters have cast their votes or whether they have returned an empty ballot. By contrast, the information on whether a person entitled to vote has exercised his/her right, i.e. actually voted, is not covered by the secret of the ballot.
The right to vote is universal and equal. Universal franchise means that the right to vote only depends on requirements which citizens usually fulfil. Equal franchise means that every person entitled to vote has an equal right to influence the election results. In general elections everybody has one vote.
Voting is personal . The right to vote may not be used through an agent.
Voting must take place in front of election authorities. An exception is postal voting that does not take place in front of election authorities. In postal voting, the voter needs to have two witnesses who attest, by their signatures, that voting has taken place in such a manner that election secrecy has been preserved and electoral freedom respected while voting.
The Finnish election system is a combination of voting for individuals and parties , where a vote goes to both a party and a person (not in presidential elections).

The election day for the first county elections is Sunday 23 January 2022. The county election committees will confirm the results of the county elections on 26 January 2022.

The county elections are proportional, open list elections in the same way as the municipal elections. Proportional elections mean that a party gains seats in the elected organ, in this case the county council, in proportion to the votes cast for it in the elections. If a party gains around 20 per cent of the votes cast, it should also gain around 20 per cent of the seats. Proportionality is implemented also in the county elections with the so-called d'Hondt method, which is also used in the parliamentary elections, municipal elections and the European parliament elections.

In county elections the constituency is the wellbeing services county. The candidates are nominated for the entire wellbeing services county, voters only vote for the candidates in their own wellbeing services county and the result is calculated for each wellbeing services county.

The highest decision-making power in the wellbeing services county is exercised by the county council, the members and deputy members of which are elected by means of county elections. The effective day for defining the population of the wellbeing services county determining the size of a county council is 31 August 2021 (616/2021, Chapter 2, Section 16). The term of office of the council is four years; the term of office of the county council will start on 1 March 2022.

Each county council decides its size, but the Act on wellbeing services counties stipulates that at least 59 councillors are elected in the smallest counties and at least 89 councillors in the largest ones.

According to the information in the population information system on 31 August 2021, the numbers of county councillors elected in the 2022 county elections in each wellbeing services county are as follows:

Wellbeing services county	Councillors
Central Ostrobothnia	59
Kainuu	59
East Uusimaa	59
South Karelia	59
South Savo	59
Kymenlaakso	59
North Karelia	59
Kanta-Häme	59
Ostrobothnia	59
Lapland	59
South Ostrobothnia	59
Central Uusimaa	69
Päijät-Häme	69
Satakunta	69
North Savo	69
Central Finland	69
Vantaa and Kerava	69
North Ostrobothnia	79
West Uusimaa	79
Southwest Finland	79
Pirkanmaa	79

Right to vote and eligibility

The right to vote in county elections is determined in the same way as in municipal elections:
every person that has reached the age of 18 years no later than on election day of the election is entitled to vote provided that they are

Citizens of Finland or another Member State of the European Union or of Iceland and Norway and whose municipality of residence is a municipality in the wellbeing services county in question on the 51st day before the election day; or
Citizens of some other countries whose municipality of residence is a municipality in the wellbeing services county in question on the 51st day before the election day and who have had a municipality of residence in Finland for an uninterrupted period of two years calculated from the 51st day before the election day; or
Persons employed by the EU or an international organisation in Finland and family members of such persons whose municipality of residence is a municipality in the wellbeing services county in question on the 51st day before the election day, provided that their data have upon their request been registered in the Finnish Population Information System and they have notified to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency of their willingness to exercise the right to vote in the county elections in writing no later than 52 days before the election day.

Amendment to the Election Act (939/2017), which allows voting by post for Finnish citizens not resident in Finland (NB no right to vote in county or municipal elections) and other voters staying abroad at the time of the elections came into force on 1 November 2018. Persons entitled to vote resident abroad or staying abroad during the elections can vote by post from abroad. Postal voting was used for the first time in the 2019 Parliamentary elections and after that in the 2019 European Parliament elections.

Voting register

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency compiles a register of persons entitled to vote (voting register) 46 days (8 December 2021) before the election day. The voting register includes the data on each person entitled to vote (name, personal identity code, municipality of residence and polling station on the election day) included in the Population Information System 51 days (3 December 2021) before the election day.

The voting register is publicly available 41 days (13 December 2021) before the election day. In addition, everyone in the register is sent a notice of their right to vote (card of information) not later than 24 days (30 December 2021) before the election day. The card states among other things the election day, the days for advance voting, the address of the polling station of the recipient and the addresses and telephone numbers of the election authorities. The voting register is later used to print out electoral rolls for the polling stations on the election day. Claims for correction of the register have to be submitted to the local register offices not later than 16 days (7 January 2022) before the election day and the Digital and Population Data Services Agency will decide the claims not later than 13 days (10 January 2022) before the election day.

The voting register becomes legally valid at noon 12 days prior to the election day, that is, on Tuesday 11 January 2022 at noon.

Voting

Persons with a right to vote can vote either 1) during advance voting, or 2) on the election Sunday (23 January 2022).

Advance votes in Finland (12 to 18 January 2022) are cast in general advance polling stations, in institutions and at voters' home under certain conditions. Each municipality has at least one general advance polling station. The largest municipalities usually have several general advance polling stations. Usually, the advance polling station is open on all seven days of advance voting.

Advance votes abroad (12 to 15 January 2022) are cast at Finnish embassies and their trade missions and Finnish vessels. General advance polling stations abroad are the Finnish embassies and their trade missions specified in a Government decree. Each person entitled to vote can vote in advance in general advance polling stations in Finland and abroad at Finnish embassies. Anyone entitled to vote in county elections can cast their vote at embassies regardless of which country or municipality the person lives in. Thus, for example, persons entitled to vote that are on holiday or working on a posting abroad can cast their vote at embassies.

On the election day an enfranchised person may vote only in the polling station of his or her own voting district. A voter need not give grounds for advance voting, but may freely choose between voting in advance or voting on the election day. Advance voting commences on the 11th day (12 January 2022) and ends abroad on the 8th day (15 January 2022) and in Finland on the 5th day (15 January 2022) before the election day.

Special position of the City of Helsinki
The City of Helsinki is not a wellbeing services county and does not belong to any wellbeing services county, so county elections are not held there. Persons entitled to vote in other municipalities may, however, vote in the county elections in general advance polling stations and institutional polling stations in the City of Helsinki.

Calculation of the results of the county elections

The counting of votes in the county elections is carried out in the same way as in the municipal elections.

The advance votes of the county elections are counted and the checking of votes on the election day is carried out by the central election committee of each municipality. Once the count has been completed, each central election committee informs the county election committee of the votes cast for each candidate and for each party, electoral alliance and joint electoral list, and of the numbers of invalid votes in the municipality and the committee, having received the notification from all municipalities in the wellbeing services county, will confirm the result of the county elections in the wellbeing services county in accordance with them.

Determination of the election results

The so-called d’Hondt method is used to determine the election results. Thus, in the first stage of the calculation the total number of votes of each group, i.e.

A (single) party not belonging to an electoral alliance,
An electoral alliance,
A joint list, and
A constituency association not belonging to a joint list,

is counted. Parties which have formed an electoral alliance are thus treated as a single group, as are constituency associations not belonging to a joint list. In the second stage of the calculation the candidates in each group are ranked in the order of their personal number of votes. In the third stage each candidate is accorded a comparative index, i.e. the candidate who has received most personal votes is accorded an index which equals the total number of votes of the group, the second best candidate half of that, the third best a third, the fourth best a fourth, and so on. In the final stage all candidates within the wellbeing services county are listed in order from best to worst according to their comparative index, and the representatives elected from the wellbeing services county are chosen from this list .

Eligibility and nomination of candidates
Eligibility

A person is eligible to stand as a candidate in county elections if they

are domiciled in the wellbeing services county in question (their municipality of residence belongs to the wellbeing services county in question),
have the right to vote in the county elections in some wellbeing services county, and
are not without legal capacity.

A resident of a wellbeing services county is a person who has a municipality of residence in the wellbeing services county as intended in the Municipality of Residence Act (201/1994).

Provisions on the restrictions on candidate eligibility are laid down in section 77 of the Act on wellbeing services counties:

“Eligible for election to a county council are not:

central government officials who perform supervisory tasks directly concerning a wellbeing services county;
persons employed by a wellbeing services county who work in a senior position within an area of responsibility of the county executive or a board or in an unincorporated county enterprise, or in another comparable position of responsibility;
persons employed by a corporate entity or foundation under the control of a wellbeing services county who, in terms of their position, are comparable to persons employed by a wellbeing services county as referred to in paragraph 2;
persons employed by a joint county for wellbeing services, of which the wellbeing services county in question is a member, who, in terms of their position, are comparable to persons employed by a wellbeing services county as referred to in a paragraph 2.

However, persons in the employment relationships referred to above are eligible for election as county councillors, if this employment relationship ends before the county councillors’ term begins.”

As a rule, eligibility is determined in the same schedule as the person’s voting municipality, that is, according to the information drawn from the Population Information System 51 days (3 December 2021) prior to the day of the election. If the person changes his or her municipality of residence after that date, his or her eligibility follows with him or her. The legislation has not set a clear deadline for the determination of eligibility of candidates but in practice, candidates' municipality of residence has to be clear at the latest 32 days before the day of the election, when the central election committees handle and decide the additions made to the candidate applications. Decisions on the candidates' municipality of residence are made based on the information in the Population Information System.

Nomination of candidates

In county elections candidates can be nominated by parties and constituency associations recorded in the Party Register. Parties may form electoral alliances and constituency associations may form joint lists. The candidates enter as candidates in the entire wellbeing services county.

The party's candidates are nominated by some party association appointed by the central organisation and notified to the county election committee by the party association operating in the wellbeing services county.

A constituency association can be established by at least 50 persons entitled to vote living in a wellbeing services county.

The maximum length of the list of candidates is 1.25 times the number of councillors elected in the wellbeing services county.

For each candidate, in addition to the number, name and occupation, their municipality of residence is entered in the combined list of candidates.

Political parties and constituency associations submit candidate applications to the county election committee.

Wellbeing services counties, municipalities and voting districts

Municipalities are placed into wellbeing services counties (in Mainland Finland), according to Chapter 2, Section 6 of the health and social welfare reform (HE 241/2020) 21 wellbeing services counties are established in Mainland Finland.

The legislation concerning wellbeing services counties entered into force on 1 July 2021 .

In the county elections held on 23 January 2022, the number of municipalities belonging to the 21 wellbeing services counties is 292 in Mainland Finland.

The valid statistical grouping of municipalities is used in the statistics (Statistics Finland, Municipalities and Regional Divisions Based on Municipalities). In the statistical grouping of municipalities, municipalities are divided by the proportion of the population living in urban settlements and by the population of the largest urban settlement into urban, semi-urban and rural municipalities.

The classification is based on the locality delimitation made once a year and the information on the locality population derived from it.

The concept of urban settlement: An urban settlement is a cluster of dwellings with at least 200 inhabitants. The definition of urban settlement is based on the definitions made by the Finnish Environment Institute with geographic information methods utilising the building and population data of Statistics Finland's 250m x 250m grid data.

Urban municipalities are those municipalities in which at least 90 per cent of the population lives in urban settlements, or in which the population of the largest urban settlement is at least 15,000.
Semi-urban municipalities are those municipalities in which at least 60 per cent but less than 90 per cent of the population lives in urban settlements, or in which the population of the largest urban settlement is at least 4,000 but less than 15,000.
Rural municipalities are those municipalities in which less than 60 per cent of the population lives in urban settlements, and in which the population of the largest urban settlement is less than 15,000, as well as those municipalities in which at least 60 per cent but less than 90 per cent of the population lives in urban settlements, and in which the population of the largest urban settlement is less than 4,000.

Classifications used

Statistics Finland's classification of municipalities, wellbeing services county, municipality, voting district, party (entered in the Party Register), age and sex of the candidates and elected, country of residence.

Candidates have been nominated in the County elections 2022 by the following registered parties:

The Finnish Social Democratic Party (SDP)
The Centre Party of Finland (KESK)
The National Coalition Party (KOK)
Swedish People's Party in Finland (RKP)
Christian Democrats in Finland (KD)
The Greens (VIHR)
The Left Alliance (VAS)
The Finns Party (PS)
The Liberal Party - Freedom to choose (LIBE)
The Pirate Party of Finland (Pirate p.)
The Animal Justice Party of Finland (EOP)
The Citizens’ Party (KP)
Blue Reform (SIN)
Finnish Nation First (SKE)
Movement Now (LIIKE)
The Open Party (AP)
Finnish Communist Party (SKP)
Crystal Party (KRIP)
Power Belongs to the People (VKK)

Data collection methods and data sources

Statistics Finland receives basic election data from the Ministry of Justice’s election data system, the technical implementation of which is assigned to TietoEVRY.

1.3 Acts, decrees and recommendations

According to the Statistics Act (280/2004, amend. 361/2013), the task of the National Statistical Service is to provide for general use statistics describing social conditions and their development. The Act on Statistics Finland (24.1.1992/48) assigns the task to Statistics Finland.

2. Methodological description of the survey

The statistics are based on total data. The basic data of the statistics are based on the Ministry of Justice's election data system consisting of five subsystems. They include:

Basic data system that includes, for example, data on division into wellbeing services counties, municipalities and voting districts and election authorities as well as polling stations (polling station register), which include data on general advance polling stations and polling stations on election day;
Data on parties and candidates (candidate register) in which the following data on each candidate in the elections are entered: name, candidate number, profession, municipality of residence, party/constituency association that has nominated the candidate, and personal identity code. The data on candidates also include the party register;
Franchise data (voting register), for which data on every person entitled to vote are collected by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency on the 46th day (3 December 2021) prior to the election day. The voting register is formed separately for each election. This register contains certain information on the voters (including the voters’ name, identity code, wellbeing services county, municipality of domicile and polling station on election day) as this information appears in the Population Information System on the 51st day prior to the election day. The voting register gains legal force at 12:00 noon on the 12th day (11 January 2022) prior to the election day. The voting register is in use in the advance polling stations and every person that votes in advance is marked in the register. After the advance voting, electoral rolls for the polling stations on the election day are printed from the register. The voting register can, however, also be used in the polling stations instead of the electoral rolls on the election day. After the election, the data of the voting register are destroyed;
A centralised result calculation system to which the county elections committees and the central election committees of municipalities submit their results of the elections;
The result service system (statistical and information service system) by means of which the results of the elections and other statistical data are transmitted to the media and to the Statistics Finland.

Statistics Finland's election data system comprises four election data files: regional file, party file, candidate file and candidate register.

Background analysis of candidates and elected councillors and review of voting

In connection with the election statistics, a background analysis is produced on persons entitled to vote, candidates nominated by the parties and elected representatives. The population of persons entitled to vote is based on the voting register (data drawn from the Population Information System on 3 December 2021) and the candidates on the candidate register of the Ministry of Justice. The background data on the persons combined with these registers are based on statistical data from Statistics Finland such as population, family and employment statistics, and the Register of Completed Education and Degrees. Of the persons entitled to vote only those resident in Finland are included in the review.

The analysis describes the persons entitled to vote, candidates and elected councillors in the wellbeing services county with regard to certain variables. The background data usually relate to the years 2019-2020. More recent data than that have not been available. The person's age is the age on the day of the election in full years.

The background variables used in the analysis are described in the following.

Wellbeing services county

The wellbeing services county used in the analysis is for the candidates the one in which the person stands as a candidate. For those entitled to vote the wellbeing services county is based on the information drawn from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency's Population Information System 51 days prior to the day of the election.

Foreign background

Foreign background is examined by means of two variables, that is, native language or origin. Persons whose native language is not Finnish, Swedish or Sami are regarded by language as coming from a foreign background. Persons whose both parents or the only parent were born abroad are regarded by origin as coming from a foreign background. The data are from the year 2020.

Citizenship

Nationality refers to being a citizen of a particular country. Citizenship is usually determined at birth, but it can be changed when a person moves to live in another country. A person may also have more than one nationality (Nationality Act, 2003/359 and Nationality Decree 1985/699). If a person has two nationalities and one of them is Finnish, they will be included in statistics as Finnish nationals. If a foreign national living in Finland has several nationalities, that person will be entered in the statistics as a national of the country on whose passport he or she arrived in the country. Nationality is determined by the country of issue of passport. A person may have several nationalities or no nationality at all. Possession of an alien’s passport is also accepted as a nationality.

The data are from the year 2020.

Main type of activity

The concept of main type of activity describes the nature of the person's economic activity. The population is divided by their main type of activity to the active and inactive population. These groups can be further divided into sub-groups. The classification is based on the person’s activity during the last week of the year. The main type of activity is based on data derived from different registers.

The classification of main type of activity is as follows:

employed
unemployed
aged 0 to 14
students, schoolchildren
pensioners
conscripts, non-military service men
other inactive population

The information used in the analysis describes the person's activity during the last week of 2019. Data of person’s activity is preliminary.

Family status

In this analysis the population is divided into the following groups by family status:

Parent of a married/cohabiting family
Single parent
Childless couple
Living alone
Child living at home
Other

Parents of a married/cohabiting family include all married and cohabiting persons and partners in a registered partnership, who have their own and/or spouse's children living at home. Childless couples are married/cohabiting persons and partners in a registered partnership who have no children. People living with their own or adopted parent/s having the status of a child are defined as children living at home. The group "Other" includes persons without a family living together with others (for example, a lone mother/father living with the family of their child), homeless persons and institutional population. Persons living alone without a family belong to the group "Living alone".

The data on the person's family status are from the year 2020.

Level of education

Individuals who have completed primary level education have a maximum of nine years of education. These include elementary, intermediate and primary school education.

Those with upper secondary level qualifications have 12 years of education. These qualifications include matriculation examination and initial vocational qualifications attained in three years, which also give general eligibility for further studies at universities and universities of applied sciences.

Further and specialist vocational qualifications are further vocational education. In this review, they have been included in the same category as upper secondary level qualifications.

Lowest level tertiary education lasts two to three years after upper secondary level education. Such education includes qualifications of a technician engineer, diploma in business and administration, and diploma in nursing completed at educational institutes prior to the reform of the university of applied sciences.

Completion of lower-degree level tertiary education requires three to four years of full-time studies after upper secondary level education. Lower-degree level tertiary education comprises university of applied sciences degrees and lower university degrees.

The completion of a master’s degree usually requires five to six years of full-time studying after the upper secondary level. Higher-degree level tertiary education includes higher university of applied sciences degrees, master's degrees and specialist's degrees in medicine, for instance.

A doctoral degree requires the completion of an independent study for publication or a doctoral dissertation. The degrees are academic licentiate or doctoral degrees.

Data on a person’s education derive from Statistics Finland’s Register of Completed Education and Degrees. The data used in the analysis concern the year 2020.

Disposable monetary income

Disposable money income includes monetary income items and benefits in kind connected to employment relationships. Money income does not include imputed income items, of which the main one is imputed dwelling income. When current transfers paid are deducted from gross money income, the remaining income is the disposable money income.

The data are from the year 2020.

Median income

With certain exceptions, all income received as money or a benefit of monetary value is taxable. Certain social benefits, allowances and compensations are not taxable. These are such as child benefits, housing allowances and income support. Taxable are neither grants nor awards received from the general government.

Income subject to state taxation

Occupation

Occupation has been examined with the help of the Classification of Occupations 2010, which describes the occupational structure of society.

The data are from the year 2020.

Socio-economic group

The socio-economic group refers to a person's position in society. The formation of the socio-economic group for a person is based on information on the person's main type of activity, occupation, occupational status and industry.

The used classification of socio-economic groups is as follows:

Self-employed persons
Farmers and forestry entrepreneurs
Self-employed persons, not in agriculture and forestry
Upper-level employees
Lower-level employees
Workers
Unknown

The data are from the year 2019.

Employer sector

The employer sector classification describes the ownership and enterprise form of the workplace. It can be used to make a distinction between the public and private sectors, for example.

The classification used is as follows:

Private sector
State
Municipality
Other or unknown

Data on the employer sector are based on the data in Statistics Finland's Register of Enterprises and Establishments on the type of owner and legal form of enterprises.

The data are from the year 2019.

3. Correctness and accuracy of data

The basic data of the election statistics derive from the Ministry of Justice’s election data system and from data supplied by the election authorities, which can be considered reliable.

4. Timeliness and accuracy of data

The confirmed data always differ somewhat from the figures of the preliminary statistics.

The results change once the result is confirmed in all respects: by voting district, municipality, wellbeing services county, party and number of votes gained by all candidates and by the elected councillors, whereby even their mutual order may change.

5. Accessibility and transparency/clarity of data

The first data, or preliminary statistics are published as soon as possible on the Internet, in the StatFin service and on the statistics pages on County elections. Election data by wellbeing services county, municipality and voting district and the numbers of votes gained by elected councillors are entered in the StatFin service.

Releases and tables concerning the elections in question are available in three languages (Finnish, Swedish and English) on the statistics pages on County elections. The second or final data after the election result is confirmed. After the confirmation of the election result, the confirmed data corresponding to the preliminary statistics are released on the statistics pages and the StatFin databases are updated.

6. Comparability of statistics

The municipal division of the election year is used in the statistics. If county elections are held in the year preceding a change in municipal division entering into force, they must be held in accordance with the new municipal division in the municipalities to which the change applies, the municipal division after the election year. The statistical grouping of municipalities (urban, semi-urban and rural) was introduced starting from the year 2000. Prior to that, municipalities were grouped as follows: towns and other municipalities.

Wellbeing services counties and the municipalities belonging to these in 2022

Wellbeing services county	Name of municipality and number
01 East Uusimaa	018 Askola
	407 Lapinjärvi
	434 Loviisa
	504 Myrskylä
	638 Porvoo
	616 Pukkila
	753 Sipoo
02 Central Uusimaa	106 Hyvinkää
	186 Järvenpää
	543 Nurmijärvi
	505 Mäntsälä
	858 Tuusula
	611 Pornainen
03 West Uusimaa	049 Espoo
	078 Hanko
	149 Ingå
	224 Karkkila
	235 Kauniainen
	257 Kirkkonummi
	444 Lohja
	710 Raasepori
	755 Siuntio
	927 Vihti
04 Vantaa and Kerava	092 Vantaa
04 Vantaa and Kerava	245 Kerava
05 Southwest Finland	019 Aura
	202 Kaarina
	322 Kimitoön
	284 Koski Tl
	304 Kustavi
	400 Laitila
	423 Lieto
	430 Loimaa
	480 Marttila
	481 Masku
	503 Mynämäki
	529 Naantali
	538 Nousiainen
	561 Oripää
	577 Paimio
	445 Pargas
	631 Pyhäranta.
	636 Pöytyä
	680 Raisio
	704 Rusko
	734 Salo
	738 Sauvo
	761 Somero
	833 Taivassalo
	853 Turku
	895 Uusikaupunki
	918 Vehmaa
06 Satakunta	050 Eura
	051 Eurajoki
	079 Harjavalta
	102 Huittinen
	181 Jämijärvi
	214 Kankaanpää
	230 Karvia
	271 Kokemäki
	484 Merikarvia
	531 Nakkila
	608 Pomarkku
	609 Pori
	684 Rauma
	747 Siikainen
	783 Säkylä
	886 Ulvila
07 Kanta-Häme	061 Forssa
	082 Hattula
	086 Hausjärvi
	103 Humppila
	109 Hämeenlinna
	165 Janakkala
	169 Jokioinen
	433 Loppi
	694 Riihimäki
	834 Tammela
	981 Ypäjä
08 Pirkanmaa	020 Akaa
	108 Hämeenkyrö
	143 Ikaalinen
	177 Juupajoki
	211 Kangasala
	250 Kihniö
	291 Kuhmoinen
	418 Lempäälä
	508 Mänttä-Vilppula
	536 Nokia
	562 Orivesi
	581 Parkano
	604 Pirkkala
	619 Punkalaidun
	635 Pälkäne
	702 Ruovesi
	790 Sastamala
	837 Tampere
	887 Urjala
	908 Valkeakoski
	922 Vesilahti
	936 Virrat
	980 Ylöjärvi
09 Päijät-Häme	016 Asikkala
	081 Hartola
	111 Heinola
	098 Hollola
	142 Iitti
	316 Kärkölä
	398 Lahti
	560 Orimattila
	576 Padasjoki
	781 Sysmä
10 Kymenlaakso	075 Hamina
	285 Kotka
	286 Kouvola
	489 Miehikkälä
	624 Pyhtää
	935 Virolahti
11 South Karelia	153 Imatra
	405 Lappeenranta
	416 Lemi
	441 Luumäki
	580 Parikkala
	689 Rautjärvi
	700 Ruokolahti
	739 Savitaipale
	831 Taipalsaari
12 South Savo	046 Enonkoski
	097 Hirvensalmi
	178 Juva
	213 Kangasniemi
	491 Mikkeli
	507 Mäntyharju
	588 Pertunmaa
	593 Pieksämäki
	623 Puumala
	681 Rantasalmi
	740 Savonlinna
	768 Sulkava
13 North Savo	140 Iisalmi
	171 Joroinen
	204 Kaavi
	239 Keitele
	263 Kiuruvesi
	297 Kuopio
	402 Lapinlahti
	420 Leppävirta
	595 Pielavesi
	686 Rautavaara
	749 Siilinjärvi
	762 Sonkajärvi
	778 Suonenjoki
	844 Tervo
	857 Tuusniemi
	915 Varkaus
	921 Vesanto
	925 Vieremä
14 North Karelia	090 Heinävesi
	146 Ilomantsi
	167 Joensuu
	176 Juuka
	260 Kitee
	276 Kontiolahti
	422 Lieksa
	426 Liperi
	541 Nurmes
	309 Outokumpu
	607 Polvijärvi
	707 Rääkkylä
	848 Tohmajärvi
15 Central Finland	077 Hankasalmi
	172 Joutsa
	179 Jyväskylä
	182 Jämsä
	216 Kannonkoski
	226 Karstula
	249 Keuruu
	256 Kinnula
	265 Kivijärvi
	275 Konnevesi
	312 Kyyjärvi
	410 Laukaa
	435 Luhanka
	495 Multia
	500 Muurame
	592 Petäjävesi
	601 Pihtipudas
	729 Saarijärvi
	850 Toivakka
	892 Uurainen
	931 Viitasaari
	992 Äänekoski
16 South Ostrobothnia	005 Alajärvi
	010 Alavus
	052 Evijärvi
	145 Ilmajoki
	151 Isojoki
	152 Isokyrö
	218 Karijoki
	232 Kauhajoki
	233 Kauhava
	300 Kuortane
	301 Kurikka
	403 Lappajärvi
	408 Lapua
	743 Seinäjoki
	759 Soini
	846 Teuva
	934 Vimpeli
	989 Ähtäri
17 Ostrobothnia	231 Kaskinen
	280 Korsnäs
	287 Kristinestad
	288 Kronoby
	399 Laihia
	440 Larsmo
	475 Malax
	499 Korsholm
	545 Närpes
	599 Pedersöre
	598 Jakobstad
	893 Nykarleby
	905 Vaasa
	946 Vöyri
18 Central Ostrobothnia	074 Halsua
	217 Kannus
	236 Kaustinen
	272 Kokkola
	421 Lestijärvi
	584 Perho
	849 Toholampi
	924 Veteli
19 North Ostrobothnia	009 Alavieska
	069 Haapajärvi
	071 Haapavesi
	072 Hailuoto
	139 Ii
	208 Kalajoki
	244 Kempele
	305 Kuusamo
	317 Kärsämäki
	425 Liminka
	436 Lumijoki
	483 Merijärvi
	494 Muhos
	535 Nivala
	563 Oulainen
	564 Oulu
	615 Pudasjärvi
	625 Pyhäjoki
	626 Pyhäjärvi
	630 Pyhäntä
	678 Raahe
	691 Reisjärvi
	746 Sievi
	748 Siikajoki
	791 Siikalatva
	832 Taivalkoski
	859 Tyrnävä
	889 Utajärvi
	785 Vaala
	977 Ylivieska
20 Kainuu	105 Hyrynsalmi
	205 Kajaani
	290 Kuhmo
	578 Paltamo
	620 Puolanka
	697 Ristijärvi
	765 Sotkamo
	777 Suomussalmi
21 Lapland	047 Enontekiö
	148 Inari
	240 Kemi
	320 Kemijärvi
	241 Keminmaa
	261 Kittilä
	273 Kolari
	498 Muonio
	583 Pelkosenniemi
	854 Pello
	614 Posio
	683 Ranua
	698 Rovaniemi
	732 Salla
	742 Savukoski
	751 Simo
	758 Sodankylä
	845 Tervola
	851 Tornio
	890 Utsjoki
	976 Ylitornio

7. Coherence and consistency/uniformity and documentation

The Ministry of Justice publishes exhaustive information about different elections and the national candidate register and election result data on its web pages ( www.vaalit.fi ). The statistics on advance voters published by the Ministry of Justice differ from Statistics Finland’s statistics on advance voters, because they are defined on different grounds:

The Ministry of Justice counts the number of advance voters from the number of those entitled to vote, whereas
Statistics Finland counts the number of advance voters from the number of all persons who voted.

The classifications used in the statistics can be found on Statistics Finland’s web pages.

Source: County Elections 2022, preliminary data, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Sami Fredriksson 029 551 2696, Jaana Asikainen 029 551 3506, vaalit@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala

Updated 25.1.2022

Referencing instructions:

Statistics: County elections [e-publication].
02 2022, County elections, quality description . Helsinki: Statistics Finland [referred: 19.12.2024].
Access method: http://www.stat.fi/til/alvaa/2022/02/alvaa_2022_02_2022-01-25_laa_001_en.html