Privacy Notice for the Medical Birth Register Register description In accordance with section 10 of the Personal Data Act 523/1999 1. Controller Name: Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) Postal address: P.O. Box 30 Postcode: FI-00271 He...

News and press releases Choose a topic All Ageing Children, youth and families Chronic diseases Data resources Drugs and addiction Environmental health Equality Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare Infectious diseases and vaccinations Informat...

Privacy notice for the FinChildren research 2024 (child born in 2017) Information for study participants EU General data protection regulation, articles 12–14. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) conducts the FinChildren / Finland10...

Seri Support Centres for victims of sexual violence If you have experienced sexual violence, you can contact the Seri Support Centre (Sexual Assault Referral Centre, SARC) on your own, together with a close person, or through a referral from an au...

Privacy notice for the FinChildren research 2024 (child born in 2024) Information for study participants EU General data protection regulation, articles 12–14. The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) conducts the FinChildren study aimed...

Privacy notice for a DNA test requested by a private individual Privacy notice for data subjects (27.1.2026) The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) processes personal data on the basis of given consent, when you are a participant in a ...

Restricting the marketing of unhealthy foods reaching children and youth: awareness and implementation of guidelines in Finland and international best practices (LEAP) Duration 1.3.2026–31.3.2027 Unit at THL Lifestyles and Living Environments The ...

24.3.2026 | There will be service interruptions in the external online services of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) on Wednesday 25 March. There will be interruptions between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Quality report (OSF): Social protection expenditure and financing If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Social protection expenditure and financing Data description Statistical presentation The...

Quality report (OSF): Social protection expenditure and financing If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Social protection expenditure and financing Data description Statistical presentation The...

Quality report: Perinatal statistics – Parturients, delivers and newborns If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Perinatal statistics – parturients, deliveries and newborns Data description Stat...

Permit and data requests – Forensic materials Service description We grant permits for the medical research use of forensic sample materials. For forensic written materials, such as autopsy documents and death certificates, permits are applied for...

Sustainability and responsibility We want to promote sustainable development, population well-being, health and everyday safety. In autumn 2025, we began compiling THL’s new Sustainable Development Programme. Our Sustainable Development Group invo...

The Alcohol and drug survey charts Finns' use of illicit drugs and other intoxicants, their attitudes towards these substances, and opinions on drug policy.

Future Finland – Make the best decision for your child Log in to give your consent Thank you for the future! Research data helps us make wiser decisions for future generations. The data collected in Future Finland will be used in future research e...

Future Finland – Make the best decision for your child Log in to give your consent On this site you can find answers to frequently asked questions. What is Future Finland study? With the launch of Future Finland, a new birth cohort will be establi...

Drugs – Use and attitudes Experimenting with drugs is increasing Drug experimentation and use among the Finnish population have increased since the 1990s. The proportion of people who have tried some drug at least once in their lifetime has increa...

Quality report: Prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Prevalence of ADHD diagnoses among children and young people Data description ...

Services for older people – Informal care On this page Of the adult population, 1.3% served as an informal carer in 2024 In 2024, according to the national Incomes Register, 62,000 people were working as informal carers, corresponding to 1.3% of t...

12.3.2026 | The new Health from Nature programme aims to improve health and well being by strengthening people’s exposure to nature in everyday life and across different sectors of society. The programme is based on extensive research evidence on the health benefits of natural environments.

Quality report: Fatal drug poisonings and drug findings in fatalities Data description If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Drugs – Fatal poisonings and drug-related deaths Statistical present...

The IPS Development Project supports and assesses the implementation, expansion and establishment of IPS model in the psychiatric services of the wellbeing services counties.

Quality report: Mediation in criminal and civil cases If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Mediation in criminal and civil cases General description Mediation in criminal and civil cases is a ...

The programme aims to ensure that substance use and addiction services for young people operate smoothly and promptly.

26.3.2026 | The 2026 Public Health Award has been granted to Children of the Station and the Cancer Society of Finland in recognition of their significant and long-term efforts to promote the health and wellbeing of children and young people.

Digital recommendations promote the well-being of children and young people In recent years, concerns have arisen about the excessive use of digital devices by children and young people and their exposure to harmful content. Expanding research evi...

4.9.2026 | About six in ten clients of services for older people feel they get outdoors often enough.  Clients in service housing with 24-hour assistance feel they get outdoors often enough more commonly than clients in home care and communal housing.

11.5.2026 | The National Nutrition Council and the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) are revising the food recommendations for families with children. The draft of the recommendations is open for public consultation until 10 June.

The project strengthens the inclusion, participation, and equity of people of migrant origin, victims of human trafficking, and the Roma, and develops participatory and effective social services.

The FINGER study has found that a multidomain lifestyle intervention improves cognitive function and reduces the development of disability.

Quality report: Intimate partner violence and violence against women If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Domestic violence and violence against women Overview These statistics are the fourth ...

Infectious diseases – Food- and waterborne infections On this page 98 suspected food- and waterborne outbreaks in a year 20+ causative agents In Finland, an average of eight food- and waterborne outbreaks are investigated each month Municipal outb...

Infectious diseases – Sexually transmitted infections and chronic viral hepatitis On this page Record number of gonorrhoea cases, chlamydia decreased In 2025, a record-high 2,097 gonorrhoea cases were reported to the Infectious Diseases Register. ...

Violence – Mediation in criminal and civil cases On this page No changes in the total number of cases referred to mediation In 2024, a total of 10,604 mediation initiatives nationwide were referred to criminal and civil case mediation provided by ...

10.12.2025 | The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has launched the Health Foresight online service. Based on past development and possible future scenarios, the service offers forecasts related to population morbidity, functional capacity and work ability limitations as well as the risk factors affecting them, such as lifestyles.

Diseases and quality of care – Spinal diseases On this page Outcomes of spine surgery are good Approximately 12,000 people in Finland underwent spine surgery in 2025. The number of spine surgeries has increased in Finland and many other Western co...

Quality Report: Functioning and Service Needs of Older People – RAI Benchmarking Data If you are looking for the figures for this statistic, go to the statistics page: Functioning and Service Needs of Older People – RAI Benchmarking Data General D...

Preventing and identifying violence between young people On this page Who are the guidelines for? This guideline helps professionals working with children and young people to identify violence between young people and its different forms. The guid...

Diseases and quality of care – Cardiovascular diseases On this page Repeated procedures after balloon angioplasty and bypass surgery are relatively uncommon Urgent repeat procedures within seven days after balloon angioplasty or bypass surgery are...

Get the recommended vaccinations – they protect you and people close to you from serious diseases Taking care of your own and your children’s vaccination protection is one of the most effective ways to safeguard health. The benefits of vaccination...

Safe Streets (2024–2026) is a project that aims to prevent youth street violence and improve everyday safety by combining development work, research, and regional initiatives.

Registry and Archive – List of tasks This page lists THL’s most common tasks. The list helps you gain a clearer understanding of the types of information processed by THL. Using the task categories, you can further specify your information request...

8.6.2026 | Family centres and meeting place activities have become established in Finland’s wellbeing services areas and are now more closely linked to goals for the wellbeing of children, young people and families. The next phase of development is to assess whether service integration leads to more timely services for families with children and how it strengthens effectiveness, according to a recent report by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)

27.4.2026 | Efforts to prevent violence in the wellbeing services counties have developed in a positive direction in many respects over the past two years, according to a recent survey conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). At the same time, regional differences remain considerable, and in particular the weakening of coordination structures and the lack of services for perpetrators threaten the effectiveness and continuity of this work.

15.1.2026 | The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) and the Finnish National Agency for Education are launching work at the national level to strengthen parenthood. The Strength from Parenthood project brings parents’ point of view to the development of services and determines shared national principles for supporting parenthood.

What we do We defend well-being, health, and safety The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) is an independent state-owned expert and research institute that defends the well-being, health and safety of the population. THL’s duties are e...

Organisation THL's management team is in charge of the overall management of the institution. In addition to the Director General, the management team includes the RDI Director, the Communications Director and all the directors of departments. THL...

Contact us Tel. (exchange): +358 29 524 6000 E-mail addresses: [email protected] Postal address: P.O. Box 30, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland Street address: Mannerheimintie 166, Helsinki (reception in building A) Calls to THL's 029 52 numbers (+358 29...

Quality report: Family law related social services Anna otsikko Anna kuvaustekstiIf you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Perheoikeudelliset palvelut (på finska) Data description Statistical prese...

Quality report (OSF): Sterilisations If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Sterilisations Data description Statistical presentation The statistics on sterilisations contain data on all sterilis...

Pharmaceutical wholesale On this page Service description The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) operates a pharmaceutical wholesaler that procures and distributes vaccines for the National Vaccination Programme. In addition, THL ensur...

Quality report (OSF): Congenital Malformations If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Congenital malformations Data description Statistical presentation The Register of Congenital Malformations,...

Quality report (OSF): Induced abortions If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Induced abortions Data description Statistical presentation The statistics on induced abortions contain data on all...

Data quality THL’s statistics are mainly based on register data that describes how the population uses services and on THL’s extensive population studies, which consist of surveys as well as health examinations measurements. High-quality data requ...

Quality report: Tobacco statistics If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Tobacco and nicotine products Data description Statistical presentation The Tobacco Statistics is a consolidated set of ...

Quality report: Assisted Fertility Treatments Om du letar efter statistikuppgifter om denna statistik, gå till statistikens sida: Assisted fertility treatments Data description Statistical presentation Statistics on assisted fertility treatments a...

Lessons from Ukraine on strengthening psychological resilience Serious and prolonged crises, such as wars, put not only the structures of society to the test but also people’s wellbeing, sense of security and trust. What helps people and society e...

Blog In our blog, our experts comment on current topics, interpret the significance of societal phenomena, and present new perspectives and solution proposals. THL’s official position is presented by the institute’s leadership. Previous blog posts...

Quality report: Aggregate statistics on social services If you are looking for statistical figures for these statistics, go to the statistics page: Compilation Data description Description of statistic The aggregate statistics on social services a...

Open networks Open networks bring together experts from different fields and support competence development and networking. The Finnish Network for Toxicological Expertise The Finnish Network for Toxicological Expertise (TOSVE) is a national colla...