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22.4.2026 | Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s Government has agreed on the General Government Fiscal Plan for 2027–2030. Both the global economy and Finland’s finances are facing challenges. In its spending limits session, the Government focused on new targeted measures to strengthen people’s confidence in the future and improve the conditions for growth and employment.

27.10.2025 | The Ministry of Transport and Communications is inviting comments on a draft government proposal to amend the Driving Licence Act. The proposal aims to improve road safety for young people. Comments may be submitted until 14 December 2025.

28.2.2024 | The quality recommendation for older people strives to guarantee the active ageing and functional capacity of older people along with sustainable services. The quality recommendation is a tool for planning, developing and assessing services for older people. The recommendation is also intended for older people themselves and their families and other people close to them.

17.11.2022 | On 17 November, the Government submitted to Parliament a proposal for gradually increasing the minimum staffing level in 24-hour care for older people. According to the proposal, the minimum staffing level would be 0.65 employees per client as from 1 April 2023 and 0.7 employees per client as from 1 December 2023.

5.2.2026 | According to the Government Programme, Finland’s annual refugee quota is 500 persons. In its plenary session on 5 February, the Government decided on which refugee groups would be included in this year’s quota and how many places would be reserved for each group.

23.11.2023 | The minimum staffing level for care personnel in units providing 24-hour care for older people will rise from the current minimum level of 0.65 employees per client to 0.7 employees per client on 1 January 2028. During the transition period, the service structure will be developed and a number of measures will be taken to improve the availability of healthcare and social welfare personnel. 

9.12.2021 | The second phase of the reform concerning services for older people will proceed to Parliament for consideration. The reform aims to improve particularly the sufficiency and quality of services provided to older people at home. It will also expand the diversity of services.

Governments and ministers You can browse the information on the site by government, minister, ministerial title and ministry. All ministers are listed for each government, along with their terms of office. The information on individual ministers i...

Governments and ministers You can browse the information on the site by government, minister, ministerial title and ministry. All ministers are listed for each government, along with their terms of office. The information on individual ministers i...

23.4.2024 | The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has appointed a working group to improve the employment, competence and working life participation of special groups, such as persons with impaired capacity to work, disabilities or a low education level, immigrants and older people.

13.6.2024 | Avian influenza vaccines will be offered to people who may be exposed to avian influenza. Vaccinations are scheduled to start as soon as possible.

14.10.2023 | Early Saturday morning, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs repatriated 149 people on its evacuation flight from Israel to Finland. The flight was carried out in cooperation with various authorities under the leadership of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ consular rapid response team. Yesterday, Finland also assisted 31 people in evacuating on a Swedish flight to Stockholm Arlanda Airport in cooperation with the Swedish authorities.

17.3.2022 | The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment has published a website for those involved in integration work where they can find answers to general questions about people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The Frequently asked questions (FAQ) section includes answers to questions related to temporary protection, services and employment. The FAQ is available at the integration.fi online service and it will be updated as necessary. 

9.2.2023 | Finland has around 50,500 civil defence shelters with space for about 4.8 million people. Finland has a sufficient number of places in shelters. Civil defence shelters are located in large cities in particular. The highest number of places in civil defence shelters in relation to the population can be found in the Greater Helsinki area and Pirkanmaa. This is evident in the preliminary data of the Ministry of the Interior’s report.

25.7.2019 | The weather in Finland is currently exceptionally hot. Older people and people with long-term illness are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of heatwaves. With age, the ability of the body to regulate its own temperature weakens and the risk of dehydration increases. People over 65 of age are the most vulnerable risk group.

12.2.2019 | In its meeting on Tuesday 12 February, the ministerial working group for health and wellbeing discussed the current status of care services for the elderly. The ministerial working group decided to start its work on the reform of the Act on Care Services for Older Persons during this government term.

29.1.2024 | A recent report compares Finns’ state of health and Finnish health services with other EU states and Nordic countries. Released by the European Commission, focus areas of the report include the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and mental health. Although Finland does well in many respects, there are challenges especially in the availability of health services.

31.8.2021 | As part of Finland's Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers, a webinar will be held from 31 August to 1 September that will focus on the rights of indigenous people with disabilities and diseases causing memory loss, and on the provision of linguistically and culturally sensitive services. The webinar seeks to raise awareness of rights, and share experiences to develop services.

8.8.2025 | The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health proposes appropriations of EUR 14.8 billion for the Ministry and its branch of government for 2026. This is about EUR 475 million less than in the 2025 Budget. The funding of wellbeing services counties is not included in the appropriations for the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and its branch of government. Instead, it falls under the main title of the Ministry of Finance.

17.12.2020 | The number of new coronavirus infections is still at a high level, and community transmission is common in different age groups across Finland. It is alarming that more and more infections are found in older age groups and that there is a clear increase in the number of patients in need of hospital care.