Home > Statistics > Municipal elections > 2008 > Municipal elections 2008 - what kind of candidates?

Municipal elections 2008 - what kind of candidates?

The majority were men and represented the large age groups

A total of 38,509 candidates were nominated for the Municipal elections, which is 1,397 less than in 2004. The highest numbers of candidates were nominated by the Centre Party (9,977), the Social Democratic Party (7,702), the Coalition Party (7,628) and the Left Alliance (4,112). The Green League nominated 2,192 candidates, the Swedish People's Party 1,407, the Christian Democrats 1,921, the True Finns 1,840 and the Communist Party of Finland 362. For reasons of data protection, the candidates of small parties cannot be examined separately.

The majority, or 51.5 per cent, of the persons entitled to vote are women. Women make up 40.4 per cent of the candidates. The proportion of female candidates has risen by 0.5 percentage points from the previous elections. Only the Greens have more female than male candidates (56.8 per cent). The next closest to a balanced situation are Christian Democrats with a 48.2 per cent proportion of female candidates. The proportion of women is around 40 per cent in the Coalition Party, the Centre Party and the Social Democratic Party. The percentage of female candidates is the highest in the Region of Uusimaa, at 43.9 per cent, and the lowest in North Karelia, at 37.1 per cent.

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by sex in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by sex in Municipal elections 2008, %

	Female	Male
Persons entitled to vote	51.5	48.5
Candidates	40.4	59.6
Greens	56.8	43.2
Christian Democrats	48.2	51.8
Swedish People's Pty	42.9	57.1
Social Democratic Pty	40.8	59.2
Coalition Pty	40.3	59.7
Centre Pty	40.3	59.7
Left Alliance	36.6	63.4
Communist Pty	27.1	72.9
True Finns	25.7	74.3

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by age group in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by age group in Municipal elections 2008, %

	-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-69	70 +
Persons entitled to vote	18.7	15.2	17.7	18.4	14.9	15.2
Candidates	10.7	17.4	23.8	26.5	18.7	2.9
Centre Pty	10.8	18.2	25.8	26.2	17.0	2.1
Coalition Pty	11.4	19.3	25.5	22.9	18.2	2.7
Social Democratic Pty	8.2	15.0	22.4	29.7	21.6	3.2
Left Alliance	10.4	13.4	19.7	31.1	21.1	4.3
Greens	17.8	26.2	26.6	19.2	9.0	1.2
Christian Democrats	9.8	15.8	21.6	28.0	21.3	3.5
Swedish People's Pty	12.2	16.7	25.2	23.9	19.4	2.6
True Finns	11.1	18.1	23.3	25.4	18.2	4.0
The Communist Pty	15.8	9.4	13.1	27.2	27.5	6.9
Others	8.0	15.5	20.8	30.1	20.2	5.3

The size of the municipality affects the party structure so that small municipalities have the highest proportions of candidates from the Centre Party. In municipalities with less than 2,000 inhabitants 43 per cent of candidates have been nominated by the Centre Party, 23 per cent by the Coalition Party, 14 per cent by the Social Democrats and 6 per cent by the Left Alliance. In municipalities with 2,000-4,999 inhabitants, 41 per cent of the candidates are from the Centre Party, 17 per cent from the Coalition Party, and 17 per cent from the Social Democratic Party. The Centre Party has the highest proportion of candidates also in municipalities with up to 10,000-19,999 inhabitants (26 per cent). The Coalition Party and the Social Democratic Party candidates make up equal proportions of 22 per cent. In municipalities with over 20,000 inhabitants, the candidates of both the Coalition Party and the Social Democratic Party outnumber those of the Centre Party. In municipalities with over 100,000 inhabitants only 13 per cent of candidates have been nominated by the Centre Party, while 16 per cent have been nominated by both the Coalition Party and the Social Democrats, 15 per cent by the Green League and 14 per cent by the Left Alliance. The Green League and the Left Alliance have clearly concentrated their candidate nominations into large municipalities.

Proportion of candidates of age group in Municipal elections 2008, 0/00

Candidates (by party) by size of municipality in Municipal elections 2008, %

	Total	-1,999	2,000-4,999	5,000-9,999	10,000-19,999	20,000-49,999	50,000-99,999	100,000 +
Candidates	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Centre Pty	25.9	43.1	40.8	32.7	25.7	17.4	18.2	12.5
Coalition Pty	19.8	23.1	16.6	18.8	22.4	21.1	23.2	15.9
Social Democratic Pty	20.0	14.4	16.7	18.8	21.7	24.3	22.5	15.9
Left Alliance	10.7	6.4	7.7	10.9	9.5	12.4	10.2	14.4
Green League	5.7	1.2	1.7	2.6	4.2	7.1	7.8	15.1
Christian Democrats	5.0	2.7	4.1	4.3	5.0	5.7	6.1	5.9
Swedish People's Pty	3.7	2.5	2.9	4.4	4.0	3.3	1.6	5.9
True Finns	4.8	3.2	5.5	4.5	5.6	3.6	4.1	6.4
Communist Pty	0.9	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.3	1.5	1.0	3.6
Others	3.6	3.4	3.9	3.1	1.7	3.8	5.3	4.4

The differences in the ages of candidates by party are fairly small: the average age of female candidates from all parties is 2 to 3 years lower than that of male candidates, with the exception of the Green League. The number of male candidates is the highest in the 50 to 59-year-old age group, and that of female candidates in the 40 to 49-year-old age group. The number of 50 to 65-year-olds among the candidates exceeds their proportion of the whole population. The numbers of candidates from the over 65-year-old and under 35-year-old age groups are clearly lower than their proportion of the whole population. The 50 to 55-year-olds are the most eager to be nominated as candidate.

Age distribution and average age of persons entitled to vote and candidates by gender in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote	Candidates

Age distribution and average age of candidates by gender and party in Municipal elections 2008, %

Social Democratic Party of Finland	Centre Party of Finland
National Coalition Party of Finland	Christian Democrats in Finland
Green League	Swedish People's Party in Finland
True Finns	The Communist Party Of Finland
Left Alliance

The average age of persons entitled to vote has risen by one year since the previous Municipal elections. On the election day the average age of persons entitled to vote is now 47.4 years for men and 50.3 for women. The average age of male candidates has risen by 1.3 years and that of women candidates by one year. The average age of male candidates is now 49.0 years and that of female candidates 45.8 years. Female candidates are, on average, 4.5 years younger than female voters, whereas male candidates are 1.6 years older than male voters.

Most male candidates represent the 50 to 59-year-old age group and most female candidates the 40 to 49-year-old age group. The Social Democrats and the left Alliance have the oldest male candidates with an average age of 51 years. The oldest female candidates represent the Communist Party of Finland (precisely 50 years) and the Christian Democrats (48.7 years). The Green League has nominated the youngest male and female candidates at 43.1 and 41.5 years, respectively. The average age of Coalition Party male candidates is 47.8 years and that of their female candidates 45.1 years, the respective ages of Centre Party candidates are 48.5 and 44.8 years.

Few candidates of foreign origin

The language distribution among the candidates mirrors, by and large, the language distribution of the population in the regions. The proportion of Swedish-speaking candidates (5.2 per cent) slightly exceeds their proportion of persons entitled to vote (4.9 per cent). Swedish-speaking people are more active in the Region of Uusimaa, where their proportion of candidates is 12 per cent and that of persons entitled to vote 7.4 per cent. Persons speaking a language other than the two official languages of Finland can be classified as being of foreign origin. Their proportion among persons entitled to vote is 3.2 per cent and that among candidates is 1.5 per cent, which is slightly under one-half of their share of the population. The deficit of foreign persons among all candidates is 1.7 percentage points. In Uusimaa it is 3.5 and in Varsinais-Suomi 2.1 percentage points. The number of candidates of foreign origin is thus smaller then their share of the population. The two exceptions are Kainuu and Central Ostrobothnia, where the number of candidates of foreign origin slightly exceeds their share of the population.

Persons entitled to vote and candidates by native language by region in Municipal elections 2008, %

Region	Persons entitled to vote			Candidates
	Finnish, Sami	Swedish	Other language	Finnish, Sami	Swedish	Other language
WHOLE COUNTRY	91.8	4.9	3.2	93.4	5.2	1.5
Uusimaa	86.1	7.4	6.5	85.0	12.0	3.0
Itä-Uusimaa	64.1	33.1	2.8	67.7	30.9	1.3
Varsinais-Suomi	90.8	5.7	3.5	92.6	6.0	1.4
Satakunta	98.4	0.3	1.2	98.8	0.2	1.0
Kanta-Häme	97.8	0.4	1.8	98.5	0.3	1.3
Pirkanmaa	97.1	0.3	2.5	98.4	0.3	1.3
Päijät-Häme	97.1	0.3	2.6	97.5	0.4	2.1
Kymenlaakso	96.6	0.8	2.6	97.0	1.2	1.8
South Karelia	97.2	0.1	2.7	98.3	0.2	1.5
Etelä-Savo	98.3	0.2	1.5	98.7	0.1	1.2
Pohjois-Savo	98.7	0.1	1.2	98.9	0.1	1.0
North Karelia	98.2	0.1	1.7	98.4	0.3	1.4
Central Finland	98.1	0.2	1.7	98.6	0.2	1.3
South Ostrobothnia	98.9	0.3	0.8	99.5	0.1	0.3
Ostrobothnia	46.4	50.8	2.8	48.7	49.4	1.8
Central Ostrobothnia	89.6	9.4	1.1	89.9	8.7	1.3
North Ostrobothnia	98.5	0.1	1.4	99.1	0.2	0.8
Kainuu	98.7	0.1	1.2	98.0	0.1	1.8
Lapland	98.5	0.2	1.3	98.9	0.3	0.8

Candidates' educational level is high

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by level of education in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by educational level in Municipal elections 2008, %

	Tertiary level	Lowest level of tertiary level	Secondary level	Basic level
Persons entitled to vote	14.8	11.5	39.2	34.4
Candidates	25.3	16.7	40.6	17.4
Greens	45.4	12.0	34.0	8.5
Swedish People's Pty	41.9	17.9	29.0	11.2
Coalition Pty	37.7	21.7	28.8	11.7
Christian Democrats	28.6	19.0	37.6	14.8
Centre Pty	23.7	19.7	41.5	15.1
Social Democratic Pty	17.1	14.7	47.1	21.2
Left Alliance	12.1	8.0	52.8	27.2
Communist Pty	14.7	7.2	49.4	28.6
True Finns	9.1	12.0	49.3	29.6
Others	23.5	16.8	38.3	21.3

As regards education, candidates differ clearly from all persons entitled to vote. Of the candidates 82.6 per cent have attained a higher educational level than the basic level, while 65.6 per cent of all persons entitled to vote have some post basic level education. The proportion of the educated has risen by three percentage points. Fifteen per cent of the persons entitled to vote have a university or polytechnic degree. The respective proportion of the candidates is 25 per cent.

The proportion of candidates with university or polytechnic degrees is the highest in the Green League, at 45 per cent. The respective proportion in the Swedish People's Party is 42 per cent, in the Coalition Party 38 per cent, in the Christian Democrats 29 per cent and in the Centre Party 24 per cent.

Forty-seven per cent of the Social Democratic candidates have a secondary level degree. The respective proportion in the Left Alliance is 53 per cent and in the Communist Party and True Finns 49 per cent. The educational level of the Municipal election candidates reflects the differences in the educational structure of different areas. The proportion of the highly educated is usually double in Uusimaa when compared with the least educated areas.

Majority of candidates live in families with children

Thirty-two per cent of the persons entitled to vote live in the same household with their married or cohabiting spouse and children. Of the candidates 46 per cent live in such families. In addition, 30 per cent of the candidates live together with just their married or cohabiting spouse and entirely without children. The proportion of candidates living in families with their married spouse is 63 per cent and that of candidates living with their cohabiting spouse is 13 per cent. Of the persons entitled to vote, 50 per cent are married couples and 15 per cent cohabit. Single parents make up 6.7 per cent of the candidates and singles, that is, persons not belonging to families, make up 17.4 per cent, which is three percentage points more than in the previous elections. Of the persons entitled to vote, 29 per cent live in one-person households. Their number equals that of persons living in families with children. The number of persons living alone has grown in most parties. They make up one-fourth of the candidates of the Green League.

The proportions of married candidates are 78 per cent in the Christian Democrats, 70 per cent in the Centre Party, 68 per cent in the Coalition Party and the Swedish People's Party and 60 per cent in the Social Democratic Party. The proportion of candidates living with their cohabiting spouse is highest (at 18 per cent) in the Green League and the Communist Party. Among the persons entitled to vote, the proportion of persons living alone and not belonging to a family is 28.9 per cent.

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by family type in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by family type in Municipal elections 2008, %

	Married and cohabiting couple + children	Married and cohabiting couple w/o children	Single parent	Not belonging to a family
Persons entitled to vote	32.4	32.2	6.5	28.9
Candidates	46.4	29.5	6.7	17.4
Centre Pty	55.5	25.9	6.0	12.6
Swedish People's Pty	51.7	26.9	8.0	13.4
Christian Democrats	50.7	29.6	4.9	14.7
Coalition Pty	49.9	28.9	6.0	15.2
Greens	45.0	22.0	9.3	23.8
Others	40.4	29.6	8.6	21.5
Social Democratic Pty	40.3	34.2	6.8	18.7
True Finns	39.0	28.0	7.9	25.1
Left Alliance	33.8	35.2	7.7	23.3
Communist Pty	18.9	33.9	5.8	41.4

More children than on average

Family type does not reveal how many of the candidates have or have had children of their own, because in older families, in case of divorce, etc., children can live apart from the candidates. The number of biological children indicates how many candidates have experience with children of their own. Of all persons entitled to vote, 34.8 per cent have never had children of their own. The respective proportion of the candidates is 21.3 per cent. The number of childless candidates varies from 18.3 per cent for the Social Democrats to 32.8 per cent for the Green League. The Green League have numerous young candidates, who may not have any children yet. Large families are the most numerous among Christian Democrats, of whom 22.7 per cent have at least four children, and among Centre Party candidates, of whom 16.9 per cent have four or more children. Large families are rarest among the Communist Party, the Green League and the Social Democrats. The candidates' number of children reflects the birth rate in the area, which means that the number of large families is highest in Ostrobothnia and Kainuu and the smallest families are found in Varsinais-Suomi, Uusimaa, Kymenlaakso and South Karelia.

Of the candidates 77.7 per cent have biological children, whereas the corresponding percentage of persons entitled to vote is 65.2. The proportion of childless candidates has grown by a couple of percentage points from the previous Municipal elections.

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by number of biological children in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by number of biological children in Municipal elections 2008, %

	1 child	2 children	3 children	4+ children	No children
Persons entitled to vote	16.1	27.6	14.0	7.5	34.8
Candidates	14.0	30.8	21.0	12.9	21.3
Social Democratic Pty	17.1	34.1	20.5	9.9	18.3
Others	15.4	30.6	21.9	12.9	19.2
Centre Pty	11.2	29.3	22.9	16.9	19.7
Christian Democrats	9.9	23.0	24.2	22.7	20.1
Coalition Pty	13.4	33.4	21.3	10.7	21.2
Left Alliance	15.8	31.3	19.4	11.2	22.3
Swedish People's Pty	10.6	33.2	22.1	10.4	23.7
True Finns	16.2	25.8	17.8	14.4	25.9
Communist Pty	21.4	25.3	14.7	6.9	31.7
Greens	15.9	26.3	16.1	8.8	32.8

Employment problems rare

Over one-half of those entitled to vote are employed (54.5 per cent), 5.8 per cent are unemployed, 26.7 per cent are pensioners and 8.2 per cent are students or engaged in domestic work. The proportion of the employed has stayed level and that of the unemployed has fallen slightly from the previous elections. Of the candidates clearly more are employed (74 per cent), slightly fewer are unemployed (5.3 per cent) and clearly fewer are pensioners (12.9 per cent). However, there are one percentage point more pensioners among the candidates than in the previous Municipal elections.

The numbers of employed candidates are the highest in the Swedish People's Party (80.9 per cent), the Coalition Party (78.8 per cent) and the Centre Party (78.5 per cent), all of which clearly exceed the Government's 75 per cent employment objective. In these parties unemployment is also rarer than average. The candidates of the Social Democratic Party, the Green League and the Christian Democrats have been affected by unemployment as often as the persons entitled to vote, whereas the candidates of the Left Alliance, the True Finns and the Communist Party have been have been unemployed more often than average. The Greens have relatively the largest proportion of student candidates (11.8 per cent). The proportion of pensioner candidates is highest among the True Finns and the Communist Party.

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by main type of activity in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by main type of activity in Municipal elections 2008, %

	Employed	Unemployed	Students, pupils	Pensioners	Others
Persons entitled to vote	54.5	5.8	8.2	26.7	4.7
Candidates	74.0	5.3	5.3	12.9	2.6
Swedish People's Pty	80.2	3.1	5.7	8.9	2.2
Coalition Pty	78.8	3.2	5.5	10.4	2.1
Centre Pty	78.5	3.7	4.8	10.6	2.4
Social Democratic Pty	74.6	5.6	3.7	14.4	1.7
Greens	71.7	6.3	11.8	5.9	4.3
Christian Democrats	68.6	6.8	6.1	15.1	3.5
Left Alliance	66.0	8.3	5.5	17.6	2.5
Others	63.9	6.9	4.8	21.0	3.5
True Finns	60.4	10.4	4.9	19.3	5.0
Communist Pty	49.2	13.6	6.9	26.9	3.3

Employment rate of persons entitled to vote and candidates (aged 18 to 64) by region in Municipal elections 2008, %

Employment rate of persons entitled to vote and candidates (aged 18 to 64) by region in Municipal elections 2008, %

	Persons entitled to vote	Candidates
Whole country	68.4	79.5
Itä-Uusimaa	74.8	84.1
Ostrobothnia	72.4	82.4
Uusimaa	72.3	80.6
Kanta-Häme	71.2	83.0
Varsinais-Suomi	70.2	81.2
South Ostrobothnia	69.0	82.9
Pirkanmaa	68.7	79.2
Central Ostrobothnia	68.2	81.2
Satakunta	67.2	80.9
Päijät-Häme	66.8	78.2
Kymenlaakso	66.5	79.8
South Karelia	65.1	80.9
North Ostrobothnia	64.9	77.9
Etelä Savo	64.7	77.6
Central Finland	64.4	76.9
Pohjois Savo	63.9	76.6
Lapland	61.3	74.7
North Karelia	61.0	75.9
Kainuu	60.0	74.4

In the regions of Itä-Uusimaa and Ostrobothnia the employment rate of the candidates differs the least from that of the persons entitled to vote; the difference stands at 8 to10 percentage points. The difference between the candidates and the persons entitled to vote is biggest, at some 15 percentage points, in South Karelia, North Karelia and Kainuu. Only Itä-Uusimaa has almost reached the Government's 75 per cent employment objective among the persons entitled to vote. Farthest away from the objective is the employment rate of Kainuu, which stands at 60 per cent. The highest employment rate among the candidates is recorded in Itä-Uusimaa, where it stands at 84 per cent. All other regions' candidates, apart from those in Lapland and Kainuu, also reach or exceed the Government's employment objective. Lapland and Kainuu remain slightly short of the objective.

The public sector employs candidates

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by employer's sector in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by employer's sector in Municipal elections 2008, %

	Private sector	Entrepreneur	State	Local government
Persons entitled to vote	61.4	10.5	6.5	21.6
Candidates	46.4	17.5	8.2	27.8
True Finns	56.5	22.7	4.5	16.4
Centre Pty	37.6	30.2	7.4	24.8
Left Alliance	59.8	5.1	6.7	28.4
Coalition Pty	44.0	20.8	9.9	25.3
Swedish People's Pty	48.5	16.3	8.6	26.6
Communist Pty	59.5	5.2	7.5	27.7
Christian Democrats	47.7	14.7	6.7	30.9
Others	44.4	17.7	7.9	30.0
Social Democratic Pty	52.8	5.5	7.4	34.3
Greens	43.4	8.1	16.1	32.5

Of the candidates 68 per cent are employed. Forty-six per cent of them are private sector wage and salary earners, 18 per cent are entrepreneurs and 8 per cent work for the state and 28 per cent for local government. Employer type varies significantly by party. The highest proportions of private sector wage and salary earners are found among the candidates of the Left Alliance and the Communist Party (60 per cent), the True Finns (57 per cent) and the Social Democrats (53 per cent). The lowest proportion of private sector wage and salary earners is found among the Centre Party candidates (38 per cent). Thirty per cent of the Centre Party candidates are entrepreneurs, the majority of whom are likely to operate in agriculture. The lowest proportions of entrepreneurs (only 5 per cent) are found in the Communist Party and the Social Democrats. Green League candidates are most often employed by the public sector: 33 per cent receive their wages from local government and 16 from the state. The next highest proportion of public sector employees is found among the Social Democrats, of whom 34 per cent work for local government and 7 per cent for the state. Of the True Finns only 16 per cent work for local government and 5 per cent for the state.

The public sector employs the most candidates in large municipalities, where as many as 41 per cent earn their wages and salaries in local government or state service. The most important employers in small municipalities are the private sector and entrepreneurship. In municipalities with less than 2,000 inhabitants the public sector accounts for 30 per cent and the private sector (incl. entrepreneurs) for 70 per cent.

Candidates by employer's sector in municipalities of different size classes in Municipal elections 2008, %

Size of municipality	Private	Entrepreneur	State	Local government	Public sector, total
-1,999	38.1	32.0	5.0	24.9	29.9
2,000-4,999	41.4	26.7	5.6	26.2	31.8
5,000-9,999	44.0	22.3	6.2	27.4	33.7
10,000-19,999	46.1	18.2	7.1	28.7	35.7
20,000-49,999	51.1	11.8	8.3	28.8	37.1
50,000-99,999	46.9	12.0	10.5	30.6	41.1
100,000 +	51.8	6.7	15.8	25.6	41.4
Total	46.4	17.5	8.2	27.8	36.0

Income higher than that of persons entitled to vote

Average income (EUR) of persons entitled to vote and candidates by region in Municipal elections 2008

Average income (EUR) of persons entitled to vote and candidates by region in Municipal elections 2008

	Persons entitled to vote	Candidates
Whole country	22,994	30,344
Uusimaa	27,745	36,128
Itä-Uusimaa	25,573	35,593
Varsinais-Suomi	22,905	30,912
Pirkanmaa	22,427	29,542
Kanta-Häme	22,362	32,289
Kymenlaakso	22,037	31,996
Ostrobothnia	21,582	31,206
North Ostrobothnia	21,423	28,870
Päijät-Häme	21,389	29,705
Satakunta	20,962	30,040
South Karelia	20,930	29,558
Central Ostrobothnia	20,726	28,719
Central Finland	20,387	27,753
Pohjois-Savo	20,169	28,164
South Ostrobothnia	19,959	28,315
Lapland	19,830	27,245
Etelä-Savo	19,596	28,494
Kainuu	18,931	27,365
North Karelia	18,816	26,146

The candidates are better educated and more often employed than the persons entitled to vote in the area concerned. This partly explains why their taxable income is also much higher than that of persons entitled to vote. The average income of persons entitled to vote was EUR 22,926, and that of candidates was EUR 30,344, that is, EUR 7,400 higher. Both the persons entitled to vote and the candidates had the highest income in the region of Uusimaa (EUR 27,700 and EUR 36,100, respectively).

The income differential between the candidates and the persons entitled to vote is at its highest in Kanta-Häme and Kymenlaakso (EUR 10,040) and at its lowest in Pirkanmaa (EUR 7,200).
The taxable income of persons entitled to vote and candidates have risen since the last Municipal elections, by 13.6 per cent and 14.2 per cent, respectively. The strongest income development has been recorded in Central Ostrobothnia, at 17 per cent, and the weakest in South Ostrobothnia, at 11.4 per cent. The candidates' income has risen most in Itä-Uusimaa, by 20.9 per cent, and the least in Lapland, by 7.7 per cent.

The candidates' income varies by party from EUR 38,200 in the Coalition Party to EUR 20,200 in the Communist Party. A Swedish People's Party candidate's average income is EUR 37,700, Centre Party candidates earn on average EUR 30,700 and Social Democrat candidates EUR 29,500. The average income of the Centre Party candidates is EUR 7,000-9,000 lower than that of the Coalition Party or Swedish People's Party candidates. Compared to persons entitled to vote, Coalition Party and Swedish People's Party candidates earn nearly EUR 15,000 more. The income of the Green League's younger and often student candidates is, on average, EUR 2,300 higher than that of the persons entitled to vote. The earnings of the candidates of the True Finns and the Communist Party remain some two thousand euro below the average of the persons entitled to vote.

The average income of all candidates is one-third higher than that of persons entitled to vote. The income of Coalition Party candidates is 67 per cent higher than that of persons entitled to vote. The respective percentage among Swedish People's Party candidates is 64 per cent, among Centre Party candidates 34 per cent, among Social Democratic candidates 29 per cent, among Green league candidates 10 per cent and among Christian Democratic candidates 13 per cent. The differences are even bigger than this in the regions. The biggest difference between persons entitled to vote and candidates is found in Kanta-Häme and Kymenlaakso, where the Coalition Party candidates' average income is twice that of persons entitled to vote. In Itä-Uusimaa the Centre Party candidates' income is 84 per cent higher than that of the persons entitled to vote in the region. In Etelä-Savo the respective percentage is 60 and in Kainuu 54. In the Social Democratic Party the biggest difference between candidates and the persons entitled to vote (over 54 per cent) is found in Pohjois-Savo and Kainuu. The candidates of the Green League generally differ less than the average from the persons entitled to vote. The biggest difference is found in South Ostrobothnia (49 per cent). The income of the Christian Democrat candidates is 13 per cent higher than that of all persons entitled to vote, but in Kainuu the difference stands at 54 per cent. The Swedish People's Party has not nominated candidates in all regions, but on average a Swedish People's Party candidate earns 64 per cent more than a person entitled to vote. In North Ostrobothnia the respective figure is 69 per cent. The candidates of the True Finns come very close to the averages for persons entitled to vote, and in several regions their income is even lower than that of the persons entitled to vote.

Average income (EUR) of persons entitled to vote as well as that of candidates by party in Municipal elections 2008

Average income (EUR) of persons entitled to vote as well as that of candidates by party in Municipal elections 2008

	Average income
Persons entitled to vote	22,994
Candidates	30,344
Coalition Pty	38,207
Swedish People's Pty	37,658
Centre Pty	30,719
Social Democratic Pty	29,519
Others	26,696
Christian Democrats	25,874
Greens	25,292
Left Alliance	24,943
True Finns	21,024
Communist Pty	20,192

Candidates' average income by party compared to average income of persons entitled to vote by region in Municipal elections, %

	Persons entitled to vote	Candidates	Centre Pty	Coalition Pty	Social Democ. Pty	Left	Greens	Christian Democrats	Swedish People's Pty	True Finns	Communist Pty	Others
WHOLE COUNTRY	100.0	132.0	133.6	166.2	128.4	108.5	110.0	112.5	163.8	91.4	87.8	116.1
Uusimaa	100.0	130.2	170.5	173.4	123.0	97.4	102.7	97.4	140.9	83.9	83.8	101.4
Itä-Uusimaa	100.0	139.2	182.9	165.5	115.7	129.8	98.6	112.1	134.8	87.2	.	181.0
Varsinais-Suomi	100.0	135.0	127.8	176.7	133.8	102.6	105.2	112.2	162.2	91.9	74.7	80.7
Satakunta	100.0	143.3	134.4	183.5	141.5	114.3	116.9	132.7	.	107.5	77.2	150.0
Kanta-Häme	100.0	144.4	129.8	194.2	134.6	123.0	117.4	126.2	.	120.2	.	108.3
Pirkanmaa	100.0	131.7	125.9	167.9	130.1	114.7	110.4	132.1	.	91.5	87.4	120.4
Päijät-Häme	100.0	138.9	124.4	168.5	135.7	115.0	106.9	133.1	.	100.5	85.0	143.3
Kymenlaakso	100.0	145.2	131.1	192.0	142.6	108.2	115.8	131.8	.	112.9	.	144.5
South Karelia	100.0	141.2	146.2	166.3	138.0	119.9	107.8	133.4	.	93.5	85.7	120.2
Etelä-Savo	100.0	145.4	158.8	174.8	140.1	106.2	116.9	106.2	.	96.9	.	131.3
Pohjois-Savo	100.0	139.6	149.2	176.0	145.0	118.6	103.2	116.4	.	97.0	90.6	103.4
North Karelia	100.0	139.0	149.6	169.0	137.1	118.1	109.7	116.3	.	95.2	116.2	114.8
Central Finland	100.0	136.1	137.1	159.0	141.5	120.4	115.8	117.5	.	94.4	76.2	128.4
South Ostrobothnia	100.0	141.9	152.1	162.9	130.7	111.9	147.8	119.7	.	103.8	.	121.8
Ostrobothnia	100.0	144.6	132.9	158.1	134.0	126.7	111.4	114.0	168.5	88.1	.	140.3
Central Ostrobothnia	100.0	138.6	151.4	152.7	123.3	110.9	126.1	139.5	188.7	113.2	.	100.8
North Ostrobothnia	100.0	134.8	141.5	163.4	129.9	121.5	120.4	104.4	.	92.7	.	100.6
Kainuu	100.0	144,5	153,2	187,7	144,6	119,5	134,5	152,8	.	82,8	.	137,3
Lapland	100.0	137,4	146,1	156,8	140,7	123,7	90,3	109,4	.	88,9	83,4	129,1

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by income bracket in Municipal elections 2008, %

Persons entitled to vote and candidates (by party) by income bracket in Municipal elections 2008, %

	-8,999	9,000-16,999	17,000-26,999	27,000-41,999	42,000 +
Persons entitled to vote	23.1	22.6	23.8	20.1	10.4
Candidates	12.1	15.4	23.8	29.3	19.4
Social Democratic Pty	7.8	13.5	27.4	34.4	17.0
Swedish People's Pty	10.2	11.2	18.8	30.0	29.9
Coalition Pty	11.1	10.7	17.9	29.2	31.2
Centre Pty	11.7	15.8	23.8	29.3	19.5
Left Alliance	12.0	19.2	28.9	29.2	10.6
Christian Democrats	15.8	17.6	26.4	26.7	13.4
Others	16.4	19.7	22.2	25.2	16.6
Greens	20.5	17.1	21.3	25.3	15.8
True Finns	19.8	25.9	26.5	20.6	7.2
Communist Pty	22.8	25.8	25.6	18.1	7.8

Candidates' earnings are better than average which implies that a bigger proportion of them belong to higher income brackets. The annual income of nearly one-half of the persons entitled to vote remains under EUR 17,000. Only 27 per cent of the candidates belong to this bracket. Slightly more than one-fifth of the candidates of the major parties belong to the two lowest income brackets. The earnings distribution of the candidates of the True Finns and the Communist Party is the closest to the average distribution of the persons entitled to vote. Thirty-one per cent of Coalition Party candidates, 30 per cent of Swedish People's Party candidates and 20 per cent of Centre Party candidates belong to the top income bracket, i.e. their annual income exceeds EUR 42,000. Ten per cent of the persons entitled to vote belong to this bracket. The number of persons with an average income (income bracket EUR 27,000-41,999) is highest in the Social Democratic Party, at 34 per cent.

---

Last updated 26.10.2008