Finland has no state church but two so-called folk churches. One is the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which is home to about eight out of ten residents. The other is the Finnish Orthodox Church with about 60,000 members.

Since the early 1990s, around half a million Finns have left the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Despite this, most Finns still baptize their children and get married in the church. However, most Finns only attend church once a year.

The possibility of women being ordained to the priesthood has been contested, but in 2010, for the first time, a woman was appointed bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Of the free churches, Pentecostal friends are the largest with about 50,000 members. There are also smaller groups of Catholics, Jews and Muslims. Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons have also been active in Finland for decades.

Almost one in five Finns do not belong to any religious community.

• Countryaah: Population statistics for 2020 and next 30 years in Finland, covering demographics, population graphs, and official data for growth rates, population density, and death rates.

2020

June

The Minister of Finance resigns

June 8

Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni, who is also the party leader of the Center Party, announces that she will resign after it is discovered that she has used public funds to fund her education in holding speeches. She also used the speech training, which cost EUR 56,000, to practice speeches to be held before the Center Party Party Conference.

April

The suspension of the Helsinki region is canceled

April 17

Prime Minister Marin announces that Helsinki and Uusimaa, which was closed at the end of March as part of stopping the spread of the corona virus, will be reopened. The reason is that the spread of infection now exists throughout the country and that the blockade of the metropolitan region no longer has support in the legislation. The population is still urged to avoid travel within the country, while previous restrictions on the public and schools are still in force.

March

Travel to and from Helsinki is stopped

March 25th

Prime Minister Sanna Marin announces the introduction of new tough restrictions for Helsinki and its surroundings. The reason is that it is here that more than two thirds of the cases of covid-19 exist and that the area therefore needs to be isolated to reduce the spread of infection. Travel in and out of the countryside Nyland should therefore be stopped for three weeks. Three people have died from the corona virus in Finland. A total of 880 cases have been reported.

Tough measures to combat corona spread

March 17

To try to keep the spread of the corona virus ahead of the government 19 emergency measures that will be valid for at least a month. The measures include closing schools and universities and banning public gatherings with more than ten people and encouraging people over 70 to stay home. The government also announces that EUR 5 billion will be set aside to combat the economic consequences of the corona crisis.