Finland

FINLAND Introduction: In numerous rankings of education systems around the world, Finland routinely finishes in one of the top spots. For example, in the 2006 PISA results, which compare secondary school systems around the world, Finland finished first. Finland boasts a literacy rate of 100%.

Primary education: In 2007, 364,902 students, including 178,397 females, were enrolled. Students enter at age seven (although the country provides a free year of preschool prior to entering the primary school level) and spend six years at this level. The pupil teacher ratio is 15.03. The survival rate in grade five is 99.8%. Only .5% of primary students have to repeat a grade. The transition rate from primary to secondary school is 99.9%.

Secondary education: The total enrollment is 432,607 students, 216,675 of whom are female. At this point, students begin work on either a vocation/technical track or a secondary education designed to prepare students for tertiary education. Students in the vocational/technical programs make up 29.12% of the total secondary population. The pupil teacher ratio is 12.4

Tertiary education: In 2009, the population of students was 326,324, of whom 159,398 were female.

Human and financial resources: In terms of total education expenditures, the primary level receives 20.2%, secondary 41.3 %, and tertiary 32.7%. Educational expenditures in 2006 were 12.6% percent of government expenditures and were 6.1% of the GDP in 2006 (ranked 33rd in the world). Public expenditures as a percent of total expenditures on education equal 92.9%. Female teachers make up 77% of the total at the primary level and 66.8% at the secondary level.