Mental health is tracked in many different ways
Services and care needs related to mental health are increasingly reflected in Finnish healthcare as growing numbers of clients and a greater diversity in the use of services.
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) compiles and produces a wide range of statistical, registry, and monitoring data that help form an overall picture of the use of mental health services, access to care, and developments in population wellbeing.
Healthcare visits related to mental health have increased in recent years
The number of mental‑health‑related service events has increased steadily over the past few years. Time‑series data from 2020–2025 show a consistent upward trend, which may reflect growing demand for services and the increasing visibility of mental‑health challenges within the healthcare system.
At the same time, remote services have established their place as part of the care offering. Real‑time remote consultations and video appointments now form a permanent and growing share of the service structure, improving access to care and providing greater flexibility across the country.
Mental health situation overview
The Mental Health Situation Overview report compiles information on mental‑health‑related visits and patient numbers at the national level, based on the primary healthcare and specialised healthcare care register data (Avohilmo and Terveyshilmo).
The content of the Mental Health Situation Overview report is built on several extraction criteria that are continuously refined and developed in collaboration with THL’s mental health experts. For this reason, the report’s data foundation is improved step by step. The aim is to ensure that the report provides the most reliable and consistent possible description of mental‑health‑related visits, patient groups, and forms of care across the country.
You can explore the Mental health situation overview report (in Finnish)
Upward trend in outpatient numbers in psychiatric specialised health care
In 2024, a total of 215,850 patients were treated in psychiatric specialised health care. There were 22,645 patients in inpatient care and 212,821 in outpatient care. The number of completed care periods in inpatient care in 2024 was 40,486. There were approximately 2.3 million contacts in outpatient care in psychiatric specialised health care.
Psychiatric specialised health care consists of outpatient care services and inpatient care. The wellbeing services counties and state operators, as well as private service providers to some extent, are responsible for its implementation.
The focus of treatment is on outpatient care, where the largest number of patients are treated. The most common reasons for treatment in outpatient care include various mood disorders, as well as neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders. Inpatient care often focuses on the treatment of conditions with more severe symptoms, and the most common reasons there are schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, as well as severe mood disorders.
More info on psychiatric specialised health care (in Finnish)
The prevalence of psychotic disorders varies regionally
A total of 4,008 individuals received a diagnosis of nonaffective psychotic disorder for the first time in 2024. At the end of 2024, there were 85,826 persons with a psychosis diagnosis alive in Finland. There is regional variation in the prevalence of psychotic disorders.
Schizophrenia is the most common and the most severe psychotic disorder. At the end of 2024, 9.3% of persons aged 7–64 included in the Psychosis Care Quality Register were using social care institutional or housing services. There is regional variation in the use of these services.
In 2024, the mortality rate among individuals diagnosed with psychosis was 2.6 times higher than in the general population. High-quality treatment and rehabilitation improves the outcome and functioning of people with psychotic disorders.
The Quality of Psychosis Care Register collects information on the treatment and quality of care for individuals with psychosis. The register enables monitoring of how well quality criteria for care are met, as well as regional and temporal comparisons of long term outcomes among people diagnosed with psychosis.
Data for the Quality of Psychosis Care Register have been compiled from the Care Register for Health and Social Care (Hilmo), the registers of Kela, and Statistics Finland since 1995. Register information is updated once a year.
Statistics on psychosis treatment (in Finnish)
Primary health care is providing mental health support and treatment to a growing number of young people
During 2023, approximately 1.5 million mental health–related diagnostic and treatment visits were reported among 7–22 year olds in public health care. The visits concerned around 175,000 children and young people. During the year, approximately 6,500 children and young people received mental health–related inpatient care.
Twelve percent of children aged 7–12 had a visit related to mental health reasons. Two-thirds of mental health-related visits in this age group were among boys.
Among 13–17 year olds, mental health–related visits were more common than among younger children. Visits were recorded for 19 percent of this age group. Girls accounted for a clearly higher proportion of the visits than boys (73 percent of visits).
In the oldest age group, among 18–22 year olds, the prevalence of mental health–related visits increased further, and close to three quarters of patients (68 percent) were women.
Read more about treatment of young people (in Finnish)
ADHD diagnoses among children and young people continued to become more common in 2023
In 2023, around 11% of primary school-aged boys had an ADHD diagnosis. Among boys aged 13–17, the corresponding figure was around 10%. Among primary school-aged girls, the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses was around 4%, and among girls aged 13–17 around 6%. ADHD diagnoses became more common among both girls and boys in all age groups, but in relative terms the strongest increase in recent years has been among girls aged 13–17.
There are large differences between wellbeing services counties in the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people. In 2023, ADHD diagnoses were most common in Eastern Finland and least common in Ostrobothnia and East Uusimaa.
Read more about ADHD in children and young people (in Finnish)
The diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder is generally rare among persons with a foreign background
According to the latest statistics, which concern data for 2016–2020, the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is rare, but varies according to background factors, such as background country, age and gender. The statistics also show over-representation of recent immigrants. So far, there is no comparative data on the prevalence of PTSD diagnoses in the entire Finnish population for the period under examination.
PTSD can develop when a person has experienced an exceptionally threatening or catastrophic event. Its symptoms include reliving the traumatic event, avoiding circumstances that resemble the traumatic event, difficulty remembering some of the factors associated with the traumatic event, and/or persistent emotional hyperarousal.
Statistics on post-traumatic stress disorder (in Finnish)
Contact details
Email addresses: [email protected]
Mental health situation overview: Aamu Klutas
Psyciatric spesialised healthcare: Atte Kyrölä
Quality of Psychosis Care Register: Jaana Suvisaari
Mental health–related assessment and treatment of children and young people: Martta Forsell
ADHD in children and young people: Maaret Vuorenmaa
Post-traumatic stress disorder among persons with a foreign background: Regina García Velázquez