Number of upper secondary students’ decreases

A total of 103,600 students attended upper secondary general school education leading to a qualification in 2016, according to Statistics Finland.

The number of students decreased by 0.5 per cent from the previous year. A total of 30,500 students completed the matriculation examinations and the figure was 100 lower than one year before.

Fifty-seven per cent of the students of the matriculation examination were women.

Upper secondary general education was provided in 389 educational institutions. There were 342 upper secondary general schools, eight fewer than one year earlier.

Education in Swedish was offered in 36 upper secondary schools and six per cent of the students in upper secondary general school education studied at these schools.

Of all students, 1,800 studied for an international matriculation examination. The International Baccalaureate examination was passed by 423 students in one upper secondary schools, the European Baccalaureate examination by 8 students at the European School of Helsinki, and the Reifeprüfung by 24 students in the Helsingin saksalainen koulu (the German School of Helsinki).

From 2006 to 2016, the number of educational institutions providing upper secondary general school education has fallen by 72. Over the same period, the number of students in upper secondary general school has diminished by 12 per cent. The number of matriculation examinations has gone down by seven per cent in ten years.

Throughout the 2000’s, over one-half of the students and passers of the matriculation examination have been women.