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Published: 16 February 2022

Background analysis of candidates and elected councillors in County elections 2022

A total of 1,379 county councillors were elected from among 10,584 candidates in the County elections. The Coalition Party was the largest party in the County elections with 21.6 per cent of all votes cast and the Centre Party received the most seats in the county councils, 297 (21.5%) The Coalition Party gained 289 seats (21.0%) and the Social Democratic Party 277 seats (20.1%).

Share of men and women among the elected by party and age in the County elections 2022, %

The majority (53.3%) of those elected to county councils were women. The proportion of women was highest among the Green League's elected councillors (83.3%) and lowest among the Finns Party (33.5%). In all, 45.4 per cent of the candidates were women.

The average age of all candidates was 50.3 years, that of male candidates 51.5 and that of female ones 48.7 years. Of all candidates, 2,996 were aged 60 or over. A total of 366 of the candidates were aged 24 or younger. Among the parliamentary parties, the Christian Democrats had the oldest candidates, the proportion of those aged 60 or over was 37.5 per cent and the average age 53. Among the parliamentary parties, the Green League had the youngest candidates, 34.2 per cent of whom were aged under 40 and the average age 45.1 years.

The average age of those elected to country councils was 51.1, for men 53.6 years and for women 49.0 years. The Green League councillors were the youngest, the average age 40.0 years and the Christian Democrat councillors the oldest, the average age 56.5 years. Sixty-six persons aged under 30 (4.8%) and 416 persons aged 60 or over (30.2%) were elected.

Three men and 2.4 women per one thousand men/women entitled to vote had been nominated as candidates. In the Municipal elections, women's candidacy has been lower than men's in all age groups. In the 2022 County elections, up to the age of 50, the proportion of female candidates was higher than that of men in nearly all age groups.

Share of candidates and elected in the age group by sex in the County elections 2022, %

In relative terms, the number of female candidates was highest in Kanta-Häme (50.2%). Clearly fewer female candidates than in the other areas were nominated in Kainuu and Päijät-Häme, under 40 per cent of the candidates.

A female majority was elected to county councils in 13 wellbeing services counties. The share of women among elected councillors was highest in the wellbeing services county of Western Uusimaa (68.4%) and lowest in the wellbeing services counties of South Karelia, South Ostrobothnia and Central Ostrobothnia (44.1%).

Women’s share of candidates and elected by wellbeing services county in the County elections 2022, %

Eighty per cent of all candidates nominated by the parties were also candidates in the 2021 Municipal elections. Of the parliamentary parties, the Finns Party had the highest number of the same candidates, nearly 95 per cent were also candidates in the Municipal elections. The proportion of candidates who also ran in the Municipal elections was lowest for the Movement Now party, slightly over 50 per cent. The majority of the candidates were candidates for the same party in the 2021 Municipal elections as now.

Around 84 per cent of the elected councillors were also candidates in the Municipal elections 2021. In relative terms, the highest number of candidates in the Municipal elections were elected to county councils from the Finns Party (96.8%) and the lowest from the Swedish People's Party (71.1%).

The number of foreign-language speakers, that is, persons not speaking Finnish, Swedish or Sami as their native language, was clearly lower among the candidates than among persons entitled to vote. Slightly over six per cent of the persons entitled to vote were foreign-language speakers, while this is so for 2.2 per cent of the candidates. Among the parliamentary parties, the Green League (4.0%) and the Christian Democrats (3.4%) had the highest number of foreign-language speaking candidates. In the group outside the parliamentary parties, the proportion of foreign-language speakers was bigger than average (3.8%). The proportion of foreign-language speaking candidates was lowest among the Finns Party (1.2%) and the Movement Now party (1.2%).

Fifteen of the elected councillors were foreign-language speakers, which is slightly over one per cent.

Foreign-language speakers’ proportion of persons entitled to vote, candidates and elected councillors(by party) in the County elections 2022, %

There were citizens of 27 different countries among the candidates. Slightly over four per cent of all persons entitled to vote were foreign citizens. Of the candidates, 66 were foreign citizens. In all, 163 (1.5%) candidates were Finnish citizens with citizenship in another country as well. Among all persons entitled to vote, 2.1 per cent had dual citizenship.

Over 93 per cent of the candidates had completed post-basic level education and slightly over 76 per cent of persons entitled to vote had done so. This is partly explained by the different age structure of people entitled to vote and the candidates. Among the parliamentary parties, the educational level was highest for the Green League candidates, nearly 68 per cent of whom had tertiary level education. Forty-seven per cent of all candidates and 23 per cent of all persons entitled to vote had completed a qualification on that level. The Swedish People's Party and Coalition Party candidates were also more highly educated than average, 63.7 per cent of the Swedish People's Party candidates and 60.0 per cent of the Coalition Party candidates had tertiary level education.

Ninety-seven per cent of the elected councillors had completed post-basic level qualifications. The Green League's elected councillors had the highest level of education. Around 83 per cent of them had tertiary level education.

Persons entitled to vote, candidates (by party) and elected councillors by educational level in the County elections 2022, %

	Basic level	Upper secondary level	Lowest level tertiary	Lower- degree tertiary	Higher- degree level tertiary, doctorate
Persons ent. to vote	23.8	44.2	9.5	12.2	10.3
Candidates	6.6	34.7	11.7	18.7	28.3
SDP	5.8	38.5	12.9	18.6	24.2
PS	11.1	51.1	10.9	14.9	12.0
KOK	4.6	22.3	13.0	18.4	41.6
KESK	4.6	28.2	16.1	18.6	32.5
VIHR	4.8	23.1	4.6	22.7	44.8
VAS	7.5	43.5	8.4	20.5	20.0
RKP	3.9	19.0	13.4	23.5	40.2
KD	6.7	31.1	13.5	18.1	30.7
LIIKE	9.0	42.6	11.0	21.7	15.7
Others	9.8	47.1	11.1	15.8	16.2
Elected	3.0	19.4	11.7	18.9	46.9
Male	1.5	14.0	12.4	22.4	49.7
Female	4.8	25.6	10.9	14.9	43.8

In all, 70 per cent of the candidates were employed and around seven per cent were unemployed at the end of 2020. Around one-half of persons entitled to vote were employed and 7.6 per cent were unemployed. Clearly fewer of the candidates were pensioners than among persons entitled to vote (around 17%). Around one third of persons entitled to vote were pensioners. The employment rate is calculated as the share of employed persons in working-age population aged 18 to 64.

Persons entitled to vote, candidates (by party) and elected by main type of activity in the County elections 2022, %

Of all candidates aged 18 to 64, altogether 80.4 per cent are employed. The employment rate for persons entitled to vote aged 18 to 64 is 11.6 percentage points lower. The difference between the employment rates of the candidates and persons entitled to vote is smallest in Ostrobothnia, where the employment rate of the candidates is 6.6 percentage points higher. The difference is biggest in North Savo, where the employment rate of the candidates is 83.4 per cent and that of persons entitled to vote 67.6 per cent.

An even larger share of the elected councillors were in working life than among the candidates. Around 81 per cent of all elected councillors were employed, while the proportion of employed persons among those aged 18 to 64 was around 92.1 per cent. Around 13 per cent of the elected councillors were pensioners.

More candidates were self-employed persons (incl. farmers and forestry entrepreneurs) than persons entitled to vote. The share of self-employed persons was around 14 per cent among employed candidates and slightly over 10 per cent among persons entitled to vote. The highest proportion of self-employed persons was found among the Movement Now candidates (30.2%) and the second highest among the Centre Party candidates (20.2%), of whom around one half were farmers and forestry entrepreneurs.

Of the councillors elected to county councils, 12.3 per cent were self-employed, most from the Movement Now party (36.8%) and the Centre Party (19.8%) elected councillors. Seventy-nine per cent of the elected councillors were upper-level employees, most among elected councillors of the Left Alliance (88.3%) and Christian Democrats (87.5%). Of the elected councillors 3.9 per cent were workers, most in the Finns Party (9.6%).

Persons entitled to vote, candidates (by party) and elected by socio-economic group in the County elections 2022, %

Of industries, most elected councillors were employed by human health and social work activities, 30.1 per cent of the employed elected councillors were working in the industry at the end of 2019. The second biggest industry was public administration, defence and compulsory social security, 24.4 per cent of the elected councillors worked. Of all persons entitled to vote, 17.7 per cent worked in human health and social work activities and 4.8 per cent in public administration. Of the employed elected councillors, 42.3 per cent worked in the local government sector. All in all, 16.0 per cent of the employed elected councillors worked in the central government sector, 29.4 per cent in the private sector and 12.3 per cent as self-employed.

The industry of employed persons entitled to vote, candidates and the elected in County elections 2022

	Persons entit. to vote		Candidates		Elected
	number	%	number	%	number	%
A Agriculture, forestry and fishing	62,358	3.1	246	3.2	44	3.8
B-E Total industry	305,328	15.0	635	8.2	38	3.3
F Construction	149,694	7.4	252	3.3	21	1.8
G-H Wholesale and retail trade, transportation and storage	338,511	16.6	711	9.2	51	4.4
I Accommodation and food service activities	73,884	3.6	169	2.2	5	0.4
J Information and communication	73,755	3.6	257	3.3	23	2.0
K, L Financial and insurance activities, real estate activities	51,149	2.5	168	2.2	16	1.4
M, N Professional, scientific and technical activities, administrative and support service activities	261,998	12.9	763	9.9	68	5.9
O Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	96,689	4.8	898	11.6	283	24.4
P Education	138,540	6.8	877	11.4	135	11.7
Q Human health and social work activities	360,425	17.7	1,877	24.3	349	30.1
R-U Arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities	94,210	4.6	750	9.7	109	9.4
Unknown	28,913	1.4	114	1.5	16	1.4

The median disposable income of persons entitled to vote was EUR 22,300 in 2020, while that of candidates was EUR 30,900. The candidates' disposable income was, on average, 39 per cent higher than that of persons entitled to vote. Disposable income was highest in the wellbeing services county of West Uusimaa both for persons entitled to vote (EUR 25,900 per year) and for candidates (EUR 34,500 per year). Disposable monetary income refers to the monetary income after taxes that consists of earned income, property income, and transfer income.

In euros, the income differential between the candidates and persons entitled to vote was largest in the wellbeing services counties of South and North Savo, where the median disposable income of the candidates was over EUR 10,000 higher than that of persons entitled to vote. Income differentials were smallest in the wellbeing services counties of Central Ostrobothnia and Central Uusimaa, under EUR 8,000.

The median for the disposable income of councillors elected to county councils was EUR 42,200 in 2020. The median income of elected male councillors was EUR 47,000 and that of female councillors EUR 39,200.

Median disposable income (EUR per year) of persons entitled to vote, candidates and elected councillors by region in the County elections 2022

	Persons entit. to vote			Candidates			Elected
	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female
Total	22,300	24,200	20,800	30,900	31,600	30,300	42,200	47,000	39,200
Itä- Uudenmaan	24,600	27,000	22,600	32,700	34,600	30,300	40,000	38,800	40,500
Keski- Uudenmaan	25,500	27,900	23,300	33,400	34,500	32,400	46,500	52,100	42,200
Länsi- Uudenmaan	25,900	28,300	24,100	34,500	35,900	33,100	47,100	55,000	41,900
Vantaan ja Keravan	24,500	26,500	22,900	32,600	34,500	31,700	46,200	55,600	42,100
Varsinais- Suomen	22,100	24,000	20,700	30,100	30,700	29,800	45,900	55,500	36,700
Satakunnan	21,400	23,500	19,900	30,700	30,600	30,900	39,100	44,200	37,000
Kanta- Hämeen	22,400	24,400	20,800	32,300	32,800	32,100	42,800	47,400	39,100
Pirkanmaan	21,900	24,000	20,400	30,800	31,600	30,000	43,000	51,500	38,600
Päijät- Hämeen	21,400	23,400	20,000	30,500	31,400	29,900	41,100	41,300	37,700
Kymen- laakson	21,400	23,700	19,600	30,200	31,600	28,700	36,200	37,300	34,200
Etelä- Karjalan	21,000	23,100	19,400	30,700	31,800	29,500	42,200	51,700	34,200
Etelä- Savon	20,200	21,500	19,300	30,800	30,800	31,000	39,700	40,700	39,200
Pohjois- Savon	21,100	22,600	20,000	31,500	32,500	30,500	48,300	62,900	45,100
Pohjois- Karjalan	19,700	20,800	18,900	28,000	27,900	28,000	40,500	48,600	34,600
Keski- Suomen	21,000	22,900	19,600	29,800	30,400	29,200	46,700	51,000	35,500
Etelä- Pohjanmaan	21,300	22,900	20,100	31,100	31,200	30,600	47,400	52,600	42,700
Pohjanmaan	22,200	24,500	20,400	30,700	32,500	28,300	42,900	48,300	34,500
Keski- Pohjanmaan	21,800	24,100	20,000	29,600	30,300	28,000	39,300	39,500	35,500
Pohjois- Pohjanmaan	22,000	23,800	20,600	30,700	31,300	30,000	45,300	46,300	44,000
Kainuun	20,800	22,200	19,700	29,400	29,900	28,500	36,600	39,400	35,300
Lapin	21,600	23,000	20,500	30,200	30,700	29,500	39,400	41,600	36,900

The national register of candidates is published on the web pages of the Ministry of Justice ( www.vaalit.fi ).

Source: County Elections 2022, candidates and elected councillors, Statistics Finland

Inquiries: Sami Fredriksson 029 551 2696, Kaija Ruotsalainen 029 551 3599, Jaana Asikainen 029 551 3506, vaalit@stat.fi

Head of Department in charge: Hannele Orjala

Publication in pdf-format (585.8 kB)

Tables

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Appendix tables

• Appendix table 1. Persons entitled to vote and candidates by native language (largest language groups) in the County elections 2022, % (16.2.2022)
• Appendix table 2. Employment rate of persons entitled to vote, candidates and the elected (aged 18 to 64) by sex and by region in the County elections 2022, % (16.2.2022)
• Appendix table 3. Background analysis of candidates by party in the County elections 2022 (16.2.2022)
• Appendix table 4. Background analysis of the elected by party in the County elections 2022 (16.2.2022)

Figures

• Appendix figure 1. Share of elected in the 2021 Municipal elections and new councillors by party in the County elections 2022, % (16.2.2022)
• Appendix figure 2. Persons entitled to vote, candidates (by party) and elected councillors by employer sector in County elections 2022, % (16.2.2022)

Quality descriptions

• County elections, quality description (16.2.2022)

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Updated 16.02.2022