Comprehensive schools' number on wane

There were 691 active providers of education and 3,105 educational institutions, in which around 1.79 million students pursued studies at the end of 2020, according to the Statistics Finland.

There were 2,130 active comprehensive schools. Comprehensive schools were closed down most in North Ostrobothnia, in total eight.

In 2020, there were 2,130 active comprehensive schools and they had a total of 548,100 pupils.

Active special education schools at the comprehensive school level numbered 61 and they had 3,500 pupils.

Comprehensive schools were more often than before joint schools comprising grades 1 to 9. In 2011, joint schools numbered 347, while the corresponding figure in 2020 was 471. In 10 years, the share of joint schools in all comprehensive schools has grown by eight percentage points. In the corresponding time period, the share of primary schools has decreased by seven percentage points and that of lower secondary schools by three percentage points.

A total of 64 comprehensive schools or comprehensive school-level special education schools were closed down or merged with another educational institution.

Twelve per cent of them were educational institutions with less than 20 pupils, 50 per cent had between 20 and 49 pupils, while 38 per cent had at least 50 pupils.

Most comprehensive schools and special education schools at the comprehensive school level were closed down in North Ostrobothnia, eight in all. The next most closures and mergers were made in Pirkanmaa, North Karelia and Southwest Finland, seven in each of them.

In 2020, the number of providers of education was in total 13 lower than one year earlier.

Of the providers of education, 49 per cent were municipalities or joint municipal authorities, four per cent were central government units and 45 per cent private.

The remaining two per cent of the providers of education operated in the region of Åland. In 2020, 10 new providers of education were added to the Register of Providers of Education. The number of educational institutions was 74 lower than in the year before.