Nearly 30 percent of young adults in Finland fall below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold, according to a report by social benefits agency Kela.
The report is based on an international comparative study of the life circumstances of people aged 20-29 in certain countries.
The risk of young people falling into poverty in Finland is higher than in Sweden, the Netherlands and Estonia — where the equivalent rate is just 15 percent.
Only one country in the study, Denmark, fared worse than Finland in terms of young people on the poverty line.
The study, which was carried out by Kela, put the at-risk-of-poverty threshold for a one-person household in Finland at 1,451 euros per month — meaning that one-in-three young people in Finland, who live on their own, survive on less than that amount.
A study conducted by the Prime Minister's Office last year found that living alone makes it more difficult for young people to make ends meet, and that an increasing reliance on student loans or grants can lead to young people falling further into debt.
However, although more young people in Finland were at greater risk of poverty, they were on average closer (17 percent) to the threshold compared to their counterparts in other countries (20 percent).
For the purposes of the study, each country's poverty threshold was determined by the country's median income.
In addition, other factors affected the at-risk rate in other countries. For example, it is more common for young people to still live with their parents in countries such as Estonia and the Netherlands, than it is in Finland, meaning that the poverty risk is therefore lower in these countries.
Edit Note: Article updated at 10:53 on 23.4.2025 to add a line about average distance from the low-income threshold.
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