Study in Finland

Finland is located in North Europe. The countries on its borders are Russia to the east, Sweden to the west and Norway to the North. Finland has a population of 5.2 million with the main ethnic majority being Finns of Scandinavian-Baltic origin. They account for 94% of the population. Ethnic minorities include the Swedish Finns who account for 6% of the population, and then there are the Lapps. Finnish and Swedish are the official languages with 94% of the population speaking Finnish and 6% speaking Swedish. Other languages spoken are Russian and Lappish. The capital city is Helsinki.

Finland is a country that places a very high priority on education. It has adopted the so called Nordic model, which is a system that involves the utilization of research and a lifelong learning process as a means for economic development. Through this mechanism it has achieved a per capita output that rivals that of France, Germany, Sweden and Italy. Though the primary economic sector is services, its main exports are in manufacturing and technology.

Finland has a reputation for having one of the most successful education systems in the world. The country sees education as an essential underpinning for the maintenance of a high wage and high skill economy. In 2005 and 2006 Finland ranked second in the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) in a survey carried out by the World Economic Forum based in Geneva. This essentially means that Finland has one of the most competitive economies in the world. The GCI is based on nine factors: institutions, infrastructure, macro economy, health and primary education and training, market efficiency, technology readiness, business sophistication and innovation.

There are 20 university level institutions in Finland, all offering degrees up to the doctoral level. There are a further 29 polytechnics offering Master’s level courses. Finland has a strong interest in attracting international students and course programs in the English language programs now number about 400. Over 4,000 international students are enrolled in university degrees in Finland. And note that Finland does not charge fees to foreign students.