Health services are used by almost every Finn
According to the information received in Care register for health care (Terveyshilmo) and Register of primary health care visits (Avohilmo) in 2025, there were a total of more than five million patients in health services, which means that almost every Finnish person used health services.
Public health services were used by approximately 4.5 million patients and private health services by about 2.7 million patients.
In 2025, the number of care events, or visits, remote contacts or episodes of inpatient care, totalled more than 63 million.
Outpatient services in primary healthcare were the most widely used health services in 2024
Eighty per cent of all 5.2 million healthcare clients used outpatient services in public primary healthcare in Finland in 2024.
In 2024, the number of outpatient visits and remote contacts in public primary healthcare totalled approximately 37 million and the number of clients 4.3 million. The largest number of services were delivered in outpatient health care.
In specialised healthcare, the number of patients in non-psychiatric and psychiatric specialised healthcare increased in 2024
Specialised healthcare covers the demanding examination, treatment and emergency care of somatic and mental illnesses in the population. In 2024, more than 2.6 million patients used the services of specialised healthcare.
The majority of care contacts are in outpatient care. A total of about 9.6 million outpatient visits and other contacts were made in non-psychiatric and psychiatric specialised healthcare
Almost 2.5 million patients used non-psychiatric specialised healthcare services in 2024
Approximately 2.4 million patients were treated in non-psychiatric specialised healthcare, and the most common reasons for treatment in outpatient care were related to musculoskeletal disorders.
The number of inpatients and episodes of inpatient care decreased. There were 396,000 patients and 570,000 care episodes in 2024.
The volume of care in inpatient wards decreased in the last decade. The number of care episodes went down by 23 per cent and the number of patients cared for in inpatient wards by 18 per cent between 2014 and 2024.
The number of short care episodes increased in psychiatric specialised healthcare in 2024
There were approximately 216,000 patients in psychiatric specialised healthcare, and the treatment provided was typically for affective disorders. In inpatient care, approximately 396,000 patients were treated in non-psychiatric healthcare and 22,600 in psychiatric healthcare.
The number of inpatients treated in psychiatric specialised healthcare remained almost unchanged and the number of care episodes grew by 2.1 per cent compared to 2023.
One third of all health care patients used occupational health services in 2025
In 2025, more than 12 million visits and remote contacts for a total of 1.7 million clients were delivered in occupational healthcare.
In addition to statutory preventive occupational healthcare, occupational healthcare services focus on medical care and other healthcare delivered in occupational healthcare. Occupational healthcare clients used the services provided by doctors, public health nurses and registered nurses the most.
Mental health challenges are visible in working-age patients encountered by prehospital emergency medical services
Emergency medical services are an essential part of emergency services and preparedness in healthcare and social welfare. Wellbeing services counties are responsible for organising emergency medical services. Emergency medical services personnel assess the patient’s condition on site, provide immediate treatment and, if necessary, transport the patient to receive further treatment.
Approximately one half of the tasks received by the Emergency Response Centre Agency are forwarded to emergency medical services. In numbers, this is just under 700,000 tasks.
Mental health problems are the main reason for alerting emergency medical services for people of working age. In approximately 14 per cent of all tasks, the paramedic had recorded an ICPC-2 entry for mental health problems.
THL receives the prehospital emergency medical care data from the authorities’ field system KEJO and the associated prehospital emergency medical care report.
Three out of four critically ill patients treated in intensive care units are alive one year after the period of intensive care
Intensive care is provided in intensive care units to seriously ill or injured patients whose state of health requires close monitoring and treatment that supports unstable vital functions. The most common reasons for needing intensive care are respiratory insufficiency, circulatory shock and disturbances of consciousness.
According to the results of the intensive care quality register, 75 per cent of patients with a life-threatening disturbance of vital functions were alive one year after receiving intensive care. The majority of intensive care patients recover and are able to live independently.
Episodes of inpatient care resulting from accidents decreased in all age groups in 2024
In 2024, approximately 48,000 people were treated on inpatient wards because of an accident. This meant approximately 67,000 separate hospitalisations. Fifty-three per cent of patients treated on inpatient wards were female and 47 per cent were male.
In outpatient care in specialised healthcare, 240,000 persons received treatment because of accidents in 2024. A total of 426,000 visits to specialised healthcare were due to accidents.
Accidents leading to inpatient care mostly occurred at home (39%), during leisure time (22%) or in traffic (9%). Occupational accidents accounted for three per cent of accidents. One fifth of accidents occurred in an unfamiliar environment.
The number of care episodes caused by an accident was the highest in Pirkanmaa (4,672 persons) and the lowest in Åland (447 persons). In proportion to the population, the highest number of care episodes was recorded in Åland (146/10,000 inhabitants) and the lowest in the wellbeing services county of Central Uusimaa (55/10,000 inhabitants).
Next publications on the topic
The date of publication of new data can be found in the THL statistics publication calendar.
Statistics publication calendar
You will find current information in the database reports available on the tabs.
Contact details
- Email addresses: [email protected]
- Primary healthcare and occupational healthcare: Kaisa Pyrhönen. Any enquiries should primarily be sent to the shared email address avohilmo(at)thl.fi
- Specialised healthcare: Atte Kyrölä. Any enquiries should primarily be sent to the shared email address terveyshilmo(at)thl.fi
- Emergency medical services and intensive care: Juho Riihimäki.
- Accidents: Antti Impinen.
- Health services as a whole: Jutta Järvelin ja Kaisa Pyrhönen. Enquiries should primarily be sent to the shared email addresses avohilmo(at)thl.fi and/or terveyshilmo(at)thl.fi