Helsinki drops in global quality of life rankings

Helsinki has fallen eight places in Mercer’s 2024 Quality of Life Ranking, landing at 26th position. This decline places the Finnish capital behind other Nordic cities, with Copenhagen ranked highest in the region at 4th place. Stockholm also surpassed …

Finland Provides EUR 25 Million Aid Package To Ukraine

Fewer than 50% of Finns forecast to marry before age of 50

FEWER THAN HALF of Finns are expected to get married before the age of 50. Statistics Finland announced in November it is forecasting that if the trend for first marriages remains unchanged from last year, 50 per cent of unmarried women and 45 per cent of …

Finnish state could shed 3,000–5,000 jobs by 2027, estimate unions

A BELT-TIGHTENING CAMPAIGN by the Finnish government has set off a flurry of consultative negotiations across government agencies and ministries. Helsingin Sanomat revealed last week that the negotiations have so far resulted in roughly 300 lay-offs, …

Poliovirus detected in Tampere wastewater, but no cases reported

The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has identified a mutated type 2 poliovirus (VDPV2) in wastewater samples collected in the Tampere region in November. This strain, derived from an oral polio vaccine, is similar to findings reported in …

Helsinki celebrates new Finnish citizens with annual ceremony

The City of Helsinki will celebrate residents who gained Finnish citizenship in 2023 with a citizenship ceremony at City Hall on Tuesday, 10 December. Hundreds of guests are expected to attend the event, which marks a significant milestone for the city’s …

Social Democrats stay at top as support for ruling coalition continues dwindling

THE SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY has held on to the top spot in the latest opinion poll commissioned by YLE. The Finnish public broadcasting company reported last week that popular support for the opposition party has fallen by 0.3 percentage points to 24.0 per …

612 march sparks clashes, arrests, and Nazi salute accusations

Independence Day demonstrations in Helsinki concluded with police detaining 40 counter-protesters and accusations of extremist symbolism within the 612 torch march. The day featured high tensions between the far-right 612 torch procession and the Helsinki …

Police criticised after clashes with Helsinki without Nazis protesters

A protest organised by Helsinki without Nazis (Helsinki ilman natseja) on Finnish Independence Day ended with 41 arrests and accusations of police misconduct. Authorities denied the claims, stating officers faced violence during attempts to disperse the …

THL: Fur farming should only be allowed if pandemic risk is reduced

THE FINNISH INSTITUTE for Health and Welfare (THL) in November stated that fur farming in its current form constitutes a constant pandemic risk. In a statement submitted to the Parliament’s Agriculture and Forestry Committee, THL argued that fur farming …