Finnish youth stay in school longest in the OECD

Finnish youngsters study longer than anyone else in the OECD countries. In 2006, over 40% of the 20-29-year-old Finns were still in some form of education.
      This is the highest percentage within the OECD nations, where the average was 25%. The percentage in Finland has only grown steadily since 1995, when it was still under 30%.
     
In other Nordic Countries, too, people prefer to study fairly long; in other words, the transition to working life takes place relatively late.
      Finland is followed by Denmark (38 %), Iceland, (37%), and Sweden (36%). Norway’s percentage was 30.
      The numbers compare strikingly for instance with the situation in Great Britain, where only 17 per cent of the age group was still in schooling.
      These were among the findings of the 2008 edition of OECD’s (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) annual "Education at a Glance" report published on Tuesday.
      Most of the figures are from 2006.
     
Finland’s “top ranking” results in great measure from people starting their tertiary education fairly late.
      Where nearly half of the 19-year-olds in the United States, Canada, and Belgium are already in a university or college of further education, the corresponding figure for Finland is only one in five.
      Women already form the majority of the new university students in nearly every OECD country. The average percentage of female students in the OECD nations is 54. For Finland the corresponding percentage is 56.
      In engineering sciences, though, only about 22 per cent of the new students are women. In Finland the figure is even lower, 19%.
      For example in Denmark and Iceland around a third of the new engineering students are female.
     
When comparing the price of education, Finland represents more or less the OECD average.
      In Finland the cost of education accounts for six per cent of the gross national product, whereas for example in Denmark the corresponding figure is more than 7% and in Iceland as much as 8%.
      When comparing the joint cost of comprehensive school and either upper secondary or vocational school education, Finland’s 12-year schooling period costs around EUR 53,500 per student. This is slightly below the OECD average.
      For example in Sweden the corresponding sum is EUR 63,700, in Norway EUR 86,600, in Switzerland EUR 92,200, and in Luxembourg a whopping EUR 146,000.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Finland breaks point record in PISA study (5.12.2007)
  Finns enter universities at relatively advanced age (15.9.2004)

Links:
  Education at a Glance: Briefing Notes for Finland (OECD, .pdf file)
  OECD: Soaring student numbers pose funding and quality challenges for universities in OECD countries