ADHD diagnoses among children and young people continued to become more common in 2024
In 2024, around 13% of boys aged 7–12 and 11% of boys aged 13–17 had an ADHD diagnosis. Compared with 2023, the prevalence of diagnoses among boys increased by about 1-2 percentage points, and compared with 2015 by about 9 percentage points.
Among girls, around 5% of those aged 7–12 and 7% of those aged 13–17 had an ADHD diagnosis in 2024. Compared with 2023, the prevalence of diagnoses among girls increased by about one percentage point, and compared with 2015, approximately 4 percentage points among 7–12-year-olds and about 6 percentage points among 13–17-year-olds.
In recent years, diagnoses have increased most strongly in relative terms among girls aged 13–17.
The number of individuals diagnosed with ADHD more than doubled between 2020 and 2024.
In 2024, just over 60,600 children and young people with an ADHD diagnosis used primary health care services (including school and student health care) and specialised medical care. Of these, 41,800 were boys and 18,800 were girls. In 2020, the corresponding figures were 20,400 boys and 6,500 girls (a total of 26,900 individuals).
The diagnosis data are based on information from the care registers maintained by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
| Year | boys aged 7–12 | girls aged 7–12 | boys aged 7–12 | girls aged 13–17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,3 | 0,7 | 2,4 | 0,6 |
| 2016 | 3,7 | 0,9 | 2,7 | 0,8 |
| 2017 | 4,3 | 1,0 | 3,2 | 1,1 |
| 2018 | 4,9 | 1,2 | 3,8 | 1,4 |
| 2019 | 5,7 | 1,4 | 4,5 | 1,7 |
| 2020 | 6,4 | 1,7 | 5,2 | 2,2 |
| 2021 | 7,8 | 2,4 | 6,4 | 3,2 |
| 2022 | 9,1 | 3,0 | 7,4 | 4,2 |
| 2023 | 11,3 | 3,9 | 9,5 | 5,7 |
| 2024 | 12,6 | 4,6 | 11,3 | 6,7 |
Prevalence of diagnoses varied considerably between regions in 2024
There are large differences between wellbeing services counties in the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people. In 2024, depending on the wellbeing services county, the prevalence of diagnoses ranged from 8% to 22% among primary school-aged boys and from 3% to 10% among girls. Among 13–17-year-olds, the regional range was 6% to 18% for boys and 4% to 11% for girls.
ADHD diagnoses among children and young people were most common in Eastern Finland and least common in Ostrobothnia.
About the data in more detail
- Prevalence of ADHD diagnoses in children and adolescents 2024 (cube)
- Read the entire statistical report (Julkari) (2023)
Background information
Source
Prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people in 2024.
Prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people. THL.
Description of the statistics
The data in the statistics on the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people (attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD) are based on individual-level care register data from primary health care (Avohilmo) and from inpatient care in health care and hospitals as well as outpatient specialised medical care (TerveysHilmo).
The statistics on the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people include all individuals whose care register entry contained an ADHD diagnosis (ICD-10 codes F90 or F98.8). The data extraction takes into account the reason for visit or the primary, secondary or long-term diagnoses. The review is restricted to children and young people aged 7–17.
The data content of the statistics has been aggregated so that the prevalence of ADHD among children and young people is examined by gender and wellbeing services county in the following age groups: 7–12-year-olds and 13–17-year-olds. The statistics cover data on the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people from 2015 onwards (so-called annual prevalence) and illustrate trends in the increasing prevalence of ADHD diagnoses in Finland by age group and gender. In addition, the prevalence of ADHD diagnoses is examined by wellbeing services county.
In these statistics, prevalence refers to individuals for whom an ADHD diagnosis entry related to a primary health care or specialised medical care visit can be found in the Hilmo registers at least once in each calendar year under review (so-called annual prevalence).
The annual prevalence figure does not distinguish between newly diagnosed cases (incidence) and cases possibly diagnosed in previous years. Prevalence expressed as a percentage has been calculated by proportioning the number of cases to the population of the same age and gender. The population estimate used is the population at the end of the final week of the calendar year.
Update schedule
The statistics are updated and published annually. The published data always cover the situation in the calendar year preceding the publication year.
The statistics will next be updated in May 2027.
A more precise publication date will be updated in the publication calendar.
Publication calendar for statistics
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Chief Physician
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