Photo: Joonas Lyytinen · CC BY-SA 2.5 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 05 of 18 · Country Index 2026
Finland: Health & Wellbeing
How long, and how well fed, do people live?
Finland is placed 22nd of 200 countries on health & wellbeing in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Life Expectancy at Birth 81.91 (2023); Under-Five Mortality Rate 2.352 (2024).
Health & Wellbeing
22nd
of 200 countries placed
Placed from 4 of 4 key statistics
- 81.91Life Expectancy at Birth, 2023Years a newborn would live at current death rates
- 2.352Under-Five Mortality Rate, 2024Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births)
- 2.8Stunting Prevalence in Children Under Five, 2024Children under 5 who are stunted (%)
- 2.9Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity, 2023Population in severe food insecurity (%)
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Finland on health & wellbeing — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used — or, for a survey-based key, each country’s latest reading; the grey ticks are every other country it was compared with, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Life Expectancy at Birth
UN DESA Population Division
Why it is a key: How long people actually live — the one measure of adult health on this site. Child mortality, which it correlates with, is a measure of a health system's reach in the first five years; this is the whole span.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
81.91
Years a newborn would live at current death rates
Higher is better
Finland: 81.91. Across the 222 countries in this edition, values run from 54.46 (Nigeria) to 86.37 (Monaco); the world median is 74.63.
- World median
- 74.63
- Best in Northern Europe
- 83.31 Norway
- Land neighbours
- Norway 83.31 · Russia 73.15 · Sweden 83.26
Each grey tick is one of 222 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Under-Five Mortality Rate
UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME)
Why it is a key: Deaths before a fifth birthday, the most widely used summary of whether a health system reaches people.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
2.352
Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births)
Lower is better
Finland: 2.352. Across the 200 countries in this edition, values run from 1.26 (San Marino) to 115.65 (Nigeria); the world median is 14.54.
- World median
- 14.54
- Best in Northern Europe
- 2.016 Estonia
- Land neighbours
- Norway 2.487 · Russia 5.173 · Sweden 2.406
Each grey tick is one of 200 countries in the 2024 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Stunting Prevalence in Children Under Five
UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates)
Why it is a key: Children under five who are too short for their age — the mark chronic undernutrition leaves on a body, which says what early deprivation did rather than how many died of it.
Latest reading per country, 2014–2024 · Finland’s is from 2023 · CC BY 3.0 IGO
2.8
Children under 5 who are stunted (%)
Lower is better
Finland: 2.8. Across the 162 countries at their latest reading, values run from 0.518 (Latvia) to 52.8 (Burundi); the world median is 13.8.
- World median
- 13.8
- Best in Northern Europe
- 0.518 Latvia
Each grey tick is one of 162 countries at its latest reading, 2014–2024.
Key 4 of 4
Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Why it is a key: The share of people who went without food, established by asking them rather than by modelling the supply.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY 4.0
2.9
Population in severe food insecurity (%)
Lower is better
Finland: 2.9. Across the 133 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Armenia) to 63.1 (South Sudan); the world median is 4.7.
- World median
- 4.7
- Best in Northern Europe
- 1.1 Estonia
- Land neighbours
- Norway 1.6 · Russia 0 · Sweden 2.5
Each grey tick is one of 133 countries in the 2023 edition.
02Over time
Which way Finland is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Life Expectancy at Birth
Years a newborn would live at current death rates · higher is better
FinlandWorld median
Finland rose from 77.67 in 2000 to 81.91 in 2023; the world median went from 70.68 to 74.63.
Every year’s figures
Year Finland World median 2023 81.91 74.630 2022 81.24 74.313 2021 81.81 72.433 2020 81.82 73.063 2019 81.86 74.196 2018 81.63 74.081 2017 81.50 74.029 2016 81.30 74.013 2015 81.38 73.783 2014 81.05 73.330 2013 80.87 73.386 2012 80.51 73.210 2011 80.39 73.003 2010 80.01 72.827 2009 79.83 72.426 2008 79.70 72.264 2007 79.39 72.113 2006 79.37 72.027 2005 78.97 71.876 2004 78.85 71.477 2003 78.53 71.409 2002 78.27 71.173 2001 78.14 70.926 2000 77.67 70.678 Under-Five Mortality Rate
Deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births) · lower is better
FinlandWorld median
Finland fell from 4.277 in 2000 to 2.352 in 2024; the world median went from 30.43 to 14.54.
Every year’s figures
Year Finland World median 2024 2.35250 14.5 2023 2.35543 15.2 2022 2.35537 14.7 2021 2.35626 15.1 2020 2.36083 15.3 2019 2.36969 15.7 2018 2.38379 16.3 2017 2.40641 16.8 2016 2.43877 17.5 2015 2.48787 17.9 2014 2.55866 18.3 2013 2.64756 18.7 2012 2.75709 18.8 2011 2.88096 19.0 2010 3.01771 19.2 2009 3.16297 20.8 2008 3.31422 20.7 2007 3.46562 21.8 2006 3.61183 22.8 2005 3.74563 24.0 2004 3.86158 25.9 2003 3.96593 26.9 2002 4.06274 28.0 2001 4.16252 29.1 2000 4.27682 30.4 Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity
Population in severe food insecurity (%) · lower is better
FinlandWorld median
Finland rose from 2.4 in 2015 to 2.9 in 2023; the world median went from 3.3 to 4.7.
Every year’s figures
Year Finland World median 2023 2.9 4.7 2022 3.0 5.4 2021 2.6 5.7 2020 2.4 5.6 2019 1.9 4.5 2018 2.0 3.9 2017 2.1 3.6 2016 2.3 3.3 2015 2.4 3.3
03In context
Finland beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 200 countries on health & wellbeing, never a place within the region.
Finland and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 200 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Life Expectancy at BirthYears a newborn would live at current death rates | Under-Five Mortality RateDeaths before age five (per 1,000 live births) | Stunting Prevalence in Children Under FiveChildren under 5 who are stunted (%) | Prevalence of Severe Food InsecurityPopulation in severe food insecurity (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Norway | 13th | 83.31 | 2.487 | — | 1.6 |
 Sweden | 18th | 83.26 | 2.406 | — | 2.5 |
| Finland | 22nd | 81.91 | 2.352 | 2.8 | 2.9 |
 Russia | 51st | 73.15 | 5.173 | — | 0 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Northern Europe
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 200.
Placed either side on health & wellbeing
The countries immediately above and below Finland in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Finland is ahead of the world, and behind
13 more statistics filed under health & wellbeing, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median11
Statistics on which Finland does better than the middle country measured.
Gender Inequality IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.3510.0210.351No real change since 2013
Finland: 0.021 · world median 0.351 · GII (0 = full equality, 1 = maximum inequality). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.003 to 0.838; lower is better.
Ranked 6th of 172 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.
Human Capital IndexWorld Bank Group · 2020 · world median 0.5640.7960.564No real change since 2010
Finland: 0.796 · world median 0.564 · HCI score (0–1). World Bank Group, 2020 edition, data for 2020.
Published values in that edition run from 0.292 to 0.879; higher is better.
Position 6th of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Infant Mortality RateUN IGME · 2024 · world median 12.261.87212.26▼ Worsened since 2014
Finland: 1.872 · world median 12.26 · Deaths before age one (per 1,000 live births). UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.214 to 71.87; lower is better.
Position 194th of 200 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Human Development IndexUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 0.7620.9480.762No real change since 2013
Finland: 0.948 · world median 0.762 · HDI score (0–1). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.388 to 0.972; higher is better.
Ranked 12th of 193 by UNDP Human Development Report Office.
Life Expectancy at Age 65UN DESA Population Division · 2023 · world median 16.3920.3216.39▼ Worsened since 2013
Finland: 20.32 · world median 16.39 · Further years a 65-year-old would live at current death rates. UN DESA Population Division, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 12.13 to 23.21; higher is better.
Position 36th of 222 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Fatal Occupational InjuriesILO · 2023 · world median 2.0051.0282.005▼ Worsened since 2013
Finland: 1.028 · world median 2.005 · Fatal occupational injuries per 100,000 workers. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.12 to 8.409; lower is better.
Prevalence of UndernourishmentFAO · 2023 · world median 5.22.55.2▼ Worsened since 2013
Finland: 2.5 · world median 5.2 · Population undernourished (%). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 2.5 to 54.2; lower is better.
Position 104th of 104 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Maternal Mortality RatioMMEIG · 2023 · world median 46.657.8846.65▼ Worsened since 2013
Finland: 7.88 · world median 46.65 · Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.11 to 992.83; lower is better.
Position 154th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Dietary Energy SupplyFAO · 2024 · world median 2,9823,3772,982▼ Worsened since 2014
Finland: 3,377 · world median 2,982 · Dietary energy supply (kcal per person per day). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1,757 to 3,962; higher is better.
Position 42nd of 155 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Global Violent DeathsSmall Arms Survey · 2021 · world median 4.021.814.02No real change since 2011
Finland: 1.81 · world median 4.02 · Violent deaths per 100,000 people. Small Arms Survey, 2021 edition, data for 2021.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 112.28; lower is better.
Position 141st of 206 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = worst. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Births Attended by Skilled Health StaffUNICEF · 2019 · world median 98.899.598.8▼ Worsened since 2009
Finland: 99.5 · world median 98.8 · Births attended by skilled health staff (%). UNICEF, 2019 edition, data for 2019.
Published values in that edition run from 31.9 to 100; higher is better.
Position 35th of 86 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No better end2
These describe the shape of a country — more is not better or worse, only different — so they are never ahead or behind.
Pesticide Use per HectareFAO · 2024 · world median 1.731.521.73Moved since 2014
Finland: 1.52 · world median 1.73 · Pesticide use (kg per hectare of cropland). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 37.72.
Position 96th of 178 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Average Weekly Hours WorkedILO · 2025 · world median 38.8929.138.89No real change since 2015
Finland: 29.1 · world median 38.89 · Average weekly hours actually worked per employed person. International Labour Organization (ILO), 2025 edition, data for 2025.
Published values in that edition run from 23.64 to 54.7.
Position 176th of 182 — derived here by ordering the published values, counted from the highest value. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Finland
Children with Functional Difficulties, Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six Months, Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Global Report on Food Crises, INFORM Severity Index and Violent Discipline of Children. Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Health & Wellbeing among Finland’s 16 topics
Health & Wellbeing is Finland’s 9th best-placed topic of 16. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Democracy & Civil Libertiesjoint 5th of 1983/3 keys
- Governance & Institutions5th of 1944/4 keys
- Economy & Innovation5th of 1764/4 keys
- Risk & Resilience9th of 1923/3 keys
- Digital & Technology11th of 1983/3 keys
- Energy14th of 1933/3 keys
- Development & Human Capitaljoint 16th of 1963/3 keys
- Gender & Equality17th of 1834/4 keys
- Health & Wellbeing22nd of 2004/4 keys
- Poverty & Inequality19th of 1592/2 keys
- Education & Knowledge24th of 1712/4 keys
- Food & Agriculture34th of 1754/4 keys
- Mobility & Tradejoint 36th of 1473/3 keys
- Peace & Security45th of 1774/4 keys
- Work & Labour82nd of 1824/4 keys
- Environment & Sustainability112th of 1812/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on health & wellbeing
The three countries placed highest of 200, and the leaders Finland can most readily be measured against.
1
San MarinoSouthern Europe
1st of 200 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Matl derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
2
MonacoWestern Europe
2nd of 200 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Martin Weber derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
3
AndorraSouthern Europe
3rd of 200 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Tiia Monto derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest placed on all 4 keys
South Korea5th4/4 keysHighest in Europe
San Marino1st2/4 keysHighest in Northern Europe
Estonia11th4/4 keysThis page
Finland22nd4/4 keys
Positions out of 200 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Analysis
Charts and analysis about Finland and health & wellbeing
On health & wellbeing
Global Hunger Index 2025: Countries with the Most Alarming Hunger Crisis
Thirteen countries scored across four editions — 2000, 2008, 2016 and 2025 — and five the report could not score at all. DR Congo and South Sudan share 121st place on 37.5.
On health & wellbeing
World Happiness Report 2025: Finland Leads Again as the US and UK Face Major Declines
The ten highest life evaluations of 2025, drawn on a world map, and the six things the report uses to explain them. Costa Rica and Mexico are the only two outside Europe and the Middle East.
08Questions
Finland on health & wellbeing: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Finland rank on health & wellbeing?
Finland is placed 22nd of 200 countries on Health & Wellbeing in the Country Index 2026, from 4 of its 4 key statistics (Life Expectancy at Birth, Under-Five Mortality Rate, Stunting Prevalence in Children Under Five and Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Life Expectancy at Birth figure for Finland?
81.91 in 2023 (years a newborn would live at current death rates), according to UN DESA Population Division. The world median in the same edition was 74.63.
What is the latest Under-Five Mortality Rate figure for Finland?
2.352 in 2024 (deaths before age five (per 1,000 live births)), according to UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME). The world median in the same edition was 14.54.
How does Finland compare with Russia on health & wellbeing?
Russia is placed 51st of 200, and Finland 22nd. Life Expectancy at Birth: Russia 73.15, Finland 81.91; Under-Five Mortality Rate: Russia 5.173, Finland 2.352; Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity: Russia 0, Finland 2.9.
How have Finland’s health & wellbeing figures changed?
Life Expectancy at Birth rose from 77.67 in 2000 to 81.91 in 2023; Under-Five Mortality Rate fell from 4.277 in 2000 to 2.352 in 2024; Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity rose from 2.4 in 2015 to 2.9 in 2023.
Which health & wellbeing statistics are missing for Finland?
No current reading is published for Finland on Children with Functional Difficulties, Exclusive Breastfeeding Under Six Months, Female Genital Mutilation Prevalence, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index, Global Report on Food Crises, INFORM Severity Index and Violent Discipline of Children. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
09Keep reading
Explore further
Finland, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions5th of 194
- Economy & Innovation5th of 176
- Work & Labour82nd of 182
- Education & Knowledge24th of 171
- Development & Human Capital=16th of 196
- Environment & Sustainability112th of 181
- Gender & Equality17th of 183
- Democracy & Civil Liberties=5th of 198
- Peace & Security45th of 177
- Risk & Resilience9th of 192
- Mobility & Trade=36th of 147
- Food & Agriculture34th of 175
- Poverty & Inequality19th of 159
- Energy14th of 193
- Digital & Technology11th of 198
- The full Finland profile
Nearby, on health & wellbeing
The key statistics, for every country
10Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
Health spending, hospital beds and doctors per person are not measured, because more of any of them does not guarantee better outcomes. Mental health and self-reported happiness are not part of this topic. Food supply per person is measured under Food & Agriculture. Maternal mortality and many other indicators are published here as context; maternal mortality is a key in Development & Human Capital instead.
How the Health & Wellbeing standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 20 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2024, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 200 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Life Expectancy at Birth — UN DESA Population Division, CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Under-Five Mortality Rate — UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME), CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Stunting Prevalence in Children Under Five — UNICEF, WHO and World Bank Group (Joint Malnutrition Estimates), CC BY 3.0 IGO
- Prevalence of Severe Food Insecurity — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), CC BY 4.0
The other 13 statistics on this page come from 9 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Finland’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Finland (banner) — Joonas Lyytinen, CC BY-SA 2.5
- San Marino — Matl derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Monaco — Martin Weber derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Andorra — Tiia Monto derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Finland: Health & Wellbeing — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/finland/health