Skip to main content
Menu Menu Close
Africa
Americas
Asia and the Pacific
Europe
Western Asia
Flag

Finland

Monthly Event Reports

February 2024 | Former PM Alexander Stubb wins run-off presidential election
Election flag

On 11 February, Alexander Stubb from the center-right National Coalition Party (NCP) won 51.6 per cent of the vote in the run-off against Pekka Haavisto, who received 48.4 per cent. Haavisto is a member of the centre-left Green Party but ran as an independent candidate. Stubb previously served as Prime Minister from 2014 to 2015, as well as Foreign Minister, Finance Minister, and a Member of the European Parliament. The incumbent President, Sauli Niinistö (NCP), is retiring after serving the maximum two consecutive six-year terms. As head of foreign and security policy, the incoming President will define Finland’s defence planning and NATO cooperation following the country’s recent accession. The President-elect will be inaugurated on 1 March. Voter turnout in the run-off election was 70.7 per cent. Stubb also won the first round of the elections on 28 January with 27.2 per cent of the vote, followed by Haavisto (25.8 per cent) and Jussi Halla-aho, of the far-right Finns party, who came third with 19 per cent. In the first round, three of the nine candidates were women.  

September 2023 | Government outlines anti-discrimination plan
Watch flag

The Finnish government released a statement on promoting equality and non-discrimination in response to the multiple racism scandals that have rocked the government since its formation. In it, the government pledges to implement measures such as banning holocaust denial and prohibiting the use of Nazi and communist symbols. It was drafted by a newly convened working group for combatting racism in consultation with civil society and academics. The communique has been met with substantial criticism. Amnesty International has described the plans outlined as inadequate, the opposition Social Democrats called it “too little, too late” and on 3 September, 10,000 attended an anti-racism and anti-government protest in Helsinki. The racism scandal sparked a no-confidence vote on 8 September, which the government and its ministers survived.

July 2023 | Prime Minister urges parliamentary groups to review online behavior rules
Watch flag

Prime Minister Petteri Orpo expressed his opposition to online harassment and called on all parliamentary groups to reassess acceptable online behavior among their members, with the goal of upholding Finland as a role model for freedom of the press. The response comes following criticism of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, who issued a statement calling the online harassment of journalist Ida Erämaa a smear campaign. Erämaa was covering the racist scandals of Cabinet members (Vilhelm Junnila, Minister of Economic Affairs – who later resigned, Riikka Purra, the Finns Party leader and Deputy Prime Minister, and Wille Rydman the Minister of Economic Affairs), when she was subjected to online abuse, including threats of physical and sexual violence, as well as personal comments by MPs. The nonprofit Coalition for Women in Journalism has also condemned this.

June 2023 | Finland forms right-wing coalition government led by National Coalition Party

Following the April parliamentary elections, a coalition deal was reached between the conservative National Coalition Party (NCP), the Eurosceptic Finns Party, the minority-language Swedish People’s Party, and the Christian Democrats. The coalition negotiations lasted 74 days and were the second-longest in the country’s history. The new right-wing coalition holds 108 out of the 200 seats in the Finnish parliament. Petteri Orpo, the NCP leader, has been voted in as the country’s new prime minister. Key policy priorities for the new government are expected to be fiscally conservative changes, such as reduced government deficit and taxes, private sector job creation, and tighter policies on immigration. Out of the 18 ministries, 12 will be led by women, including the ministries of foreign affairs, finance, interior, and justice.

Explore past monthly event reports

GSoD Indices Data 2013-2022

Chevron

Basic Information

Chevron
Population Tooltip
5 541 700
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (since 2023)
Head of government party
National Coalition Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
46.0%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2023
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
5.5
Head of state
President Sauli Niinistö
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
09/11/2022
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
78.43%
Population Tooltip
5 541 700
System of government
Parliamentary system
Head of government
Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (since 2023)
Head of government party
National Coalition Party
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
46.0%
Women in upper chamber
Not applicable
Last legislative election
2023
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
5.5
Head of state
President Sauli Niinistö
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
09/11/2022
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
78.43%
Tooltip text

Human Rights Treaties

Chevron
State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
Signatory
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 4 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 7 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
in
Tooltip text

Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rights
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Rule of law
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024
Representation neutral Participation
Sep 2023
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2024

Global State of Democracy Indices

Hover over the trend lines to see the exact data points across the years

Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
0
/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Annual value

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

Use the slider below to see how democratic performance has changed over time

0 10