Number of students slides in varsities, ups in polytechnics

The number of students in upper secondary general schools and universities decreased in 2016 compared to that in the previous year, according to Statistics Finland.

The number of students, however, grew in comprehensive school education, vocational education, and tertiary education in applied sciences (polytechnics) over the period.

The total number of students in higher education leading to a qualification or degree was 1.28 million in 2016, which was 0.4 per cent higher than that in 2015.

In 2016, the number of new students totalled 286,700, while the number of students attaining qualifications or degrees was 221,900. A total of 52 per cent of the new students and 54 per cent of the students attaining qualifications or degrees were women.

Women were in the majority in all other educational sectors except at the lower secondary level. There were particularly more women among those who attained qualifications in polytechnic education.