Government at a Glance 2017

Country Fact Sheetwww.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm

Finland has the second-highest public spending as a share of GDP among OECD countries

The fiscal balance in Finland in 2015 reached a deficit of 2.7% of GDP in 2015, close to the -2.8% average level among OECD countries for that year. Between 2009 and 2015, government expenditures have in-creased by 9.3 p.p., from 46.8% of GDP to 56.1%, making Finland the country with second-highest public spending levels. During the same period, revenues increased only by 2 p.p. from 52.2% of GDP to 54.2%. Because of this, the fiscal balance continue to be in deficit in 2016 and the structural primary balances, have been estimated by the OECD to remain in deficit as well in 2017 and 2018.

Chapter 2. Public finance and economics

General government fiscal balance as a percentage of GDPGeneral government expenditures as a percentage of GDPGeneral government revenues as a percentage of GDPGeneral government projected structural primary balance as a percentage of potential GDP

Finland has used spending review to help prioritize public expendituresafter the financial crisis

The comprehensive spending review it undertook in 2015 helped identify consolidation measures that would reduce public expenditures and increase revenues.

Chapter 5. Budgeting practices and procedures

Frequency and scope of spending reviews

Trust in the government decreased significantly in Finland

The percentage of citizens expressing confidence in government decreased by close to 30 p.p. between 2007 and 2016, a period covering the economic downturns in 2009 and between 2012 and 2014. Even though confidence in government remains at around 50%, well above the OECD average of 42%, this decline in Finland has been the largest among OECD countries in this period.

Chapter 13. Core government results

Confidence in national government in 2016 and its change since 2007

Finland

Fiscal balance*(2015, 2016)

Government expenditures(2015, 2016)

Government gross debt*(2015, 2016)

% of GDP % of GDP % of GDP

Source: OECD National Accounts Source: OECD National Accounts

G@G /dataG@G /data

26134,500

88,70052,700

Middle Managers(D3 positions)

Senior Managers(D1 positions)

SeniorProfessionals

SecretarialPositions

2015USD PPP

150,000

300,000

450,000

231,500

63,900

Finland

110,400 123,600197,000

Annual compensation across central government positions (2015)

Government investment(2015, 2016)

How to read the figures:

Finland

Country value in blue (not represented if not available)

Average of OECD countries in red

Range of OECD country values in grey

Public Finance and Economics

10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

24.9%30.9%

Finland

20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

2015

40.9%

56.1%2016

57.0%2015

Finland

2015

3.2%

3.7%2016

3.8%2015

0% 2% 4% 6% 8%

Finland

74.9%2015

75.9% 100%

0%

2016

112%100%

0%

2015

0% 50% 100% 150% 200% 250%

Finland

Values have been rounded. n.a. refers to

data not available

% of GDP

Public Employment

Source: OECD (2016) Survey on the Composition of the workforce in Central/federal Governments

Source: OECD (2016) Survey on the compensation of employees in central / federal governments

... and in senior positions (2015)

Source: OECD* See Notes National Accounts

Source: OECD* SNA definition, see Notes National Accounts

Public Sector Compensation

53.0%58.4%Finland

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

32.4%34.1%Finland

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Women in the civil service ...

Source: OECD (2016) Survey on the Composition of the workforce in Central/federal Governments

Percentage of central government employees aged 55 years or older

(2015)

General government employmentas % of total employment (2015)

18.1%

24.9%Finland

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%

Source: OECD National Accounts

-10% 0%-5% +5% +10%

-2.8%

Finland2016

-1.9% -2.7%

2015

2015

Budgeting

Women in Government

Extent of delegationof HRM practicesin line ministries

0.73

0.64

Extent of the useof performance

assessmentsin HR decisions

0.550.64

Extent of the useof performance

related pay

0.83

0.66

Use of separateHRM practices

for seniorcivil servants

0.55 0.55

Collectionof administrative

data

0.75 0.68

Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 1 highest

0

0.25

0.50

0.75

1

Finland

G@G /data

Source: OECD (2016) Strategic Human Resources Management Survey

Composite indicators on HRM practices in central government (2016)

Human Resource Management

Composite indices on regulatory governance for primary laws*(2014)

G@G /data

Regulatory governance

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

29.1%

50%

30.8%

Finland

Source: OECD National Accounts

General governmentprocurement expenditures

(2015)% of government expenditures

Public Procurement

Support for greenpublic procurement

Some procuring entities have developed an internal strategy/policy

A strategy/policy has been developed at a central level

Support forSMEs

Support for innovativegoods and services

A strategy/policy has been rescinded

There has never been a strategy/policy in place

11 25 1 0 8 24 0 1 9 19 0 6

Finland

Strategic public procurement - Objectives(2016)

Source: OECD (2016) Survey on Public Procurement

* See Notes Source: OECD Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG)

0.41

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

0.54Finland

Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 1 highest

Performance budgetingpractices at the central level

of government (2016)

Source: OECD (2016) Survey of Performance Budgeting

Stakeholderengagement in

developing regulations

2.432.09

Regulatory ImpactAssessment for

developing regulations

1.75 2.05

Ex post evaluationof regulations

0.76

1.54

Composite indexfrom 0 lowest to 4 highest

0

1

2

3

4

Finland

Notes Fiscal balance as reported in the System of National Accounts (SNA) framework, also referred to as net lending (+) or net borrowing (-) of government, is calculated as total government revenues minus total government expenditures. Regulatory governance indicators: The results for stakeholder engagement and Regulatory Impact Assessment apply exclusively to processes for developing primary laws initiated by the executive. Data is not applicable to the United States, where all primary laws are initiated by Congress. In the majority of countries, most primary laws are initiated by the executive, except for Mexico and Korea, where a higher share of primary laws are initiated by parliament/congress (respectively 90.6% and 84%). Government gross debt is reported according to the SNA definition, which dif fers from the definition applied under the Maastricht Treaty. It is defined as all liabilities that require payment or payments of interest or principal by the debtor to the creditor at a date or dates in the future. All debt instruments are liabilities, but some liabilities such as shares, equity and financial derivatives are not debt.

Open Data Digital Government

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

35.6%60.0%

Finland

Individuals using the Internet for sending filled forms via public authorities websites

in the past 12 months (2016)

Source: OECD, ICT database; and Eurostat, Information Society database

OURdata Index:Open, Useful, Reusable Government Data

(2017)Composite index: from 0 lowest to 1 highest

Source: OECD (2017) Survey on Open Government Data

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

0.67

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

0.55

Finland

Dataavailability

Dataaccessibility

Governmentsupportto re-use

Differences in income inequality pre and post-taxand government transfers (2013)

Finland

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6Higher

inequality

Lowerinequality

Before After

0.50

0.26taxes and transfers

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

Before After

0.47

0.32taxes and transfers

Higherinequality

Lowerinequality

Source: OECD Income Distribution Database

Limited government powers (2016)

0.75

0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

0.89Finland

Source: The World Justice Project

Core Government ResultsSatisfaction and confidence across public services

(2016)

70%

Judicial system Education system

77%20

40

60

80

100

Health care

67%81%55%75%

National government42%49%

Finland

Average

Range

Police77%88%

Source: Gallup World Poll

% of citizens expressing confidence/satisfaction

Government at a Glance 2017Government at a Glance provides readers with a dashboard of key indicators assembled with the goal of contributing to the analysis and international

comparison of public sector productivity and performance. Indicators on government revenues, expenditures, and employment are presented,

alongside key output and outcome data for education, health and justice. Information on key enablers to increase productivity including on digital

government, budget procedures, strategic human resource management, open government data and innovative practices are also included. In

a context of tight budget constraints in many member countries, good indicators are needed more than ever, in order to help governments make

informed decisions regarding resource allocation and to help restore confidence in government institutions.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/gov_glance-2017-en

The Excel spreadsheets used to create the tables and figures in Government at a Glance 2017 are available via the StatLinks provided throughout the publication:

For more information on the data (including full methodology and figure notes)and to consult all other Country Fact Sheets: www.oecd.org/gov/govataglance.htm