Finland’s poverty levels set to reach record high as nearly one million at risk

A new report by the Finnish social and health NGO coalition Soste warns that Finland is failing to reduce poverty, with nearly one million people now at risk of poverty or social exclusion—despite national targets to cut these numbers by 2030.

The country was placed under EU social monitoring in December 2025 due to rising inequality and unemployment, alongside Lithuania, Bulgaria, and Romania. According to Soste’s poverty report, released Friday, there is little prospect of Finland exiting this oversight soon.

“The outlook is bleak, and the situation won’t improve quickly,” said Anna Järvinen, a Soste policy expert. Without intervention, the report projects the number of low-income Finns will grow by roughly 26,000 in the coming years.

Finland had aimed to reduce those at risk of poverty or exclusion by 100,000 by 2030, using 2019—when 838,000 people were affected—as a baseline. Instead, the figure rose to 958,000 in 2024. Järvinen warned the total “could already exceed one million.”

Households are classified as at-risk if unable to pay rent, bills, or heating costs on time. Soste attributes the rise to “exceptionally large” welfare cuts in 2024–2025, including reductions to unemployment benefits, housing allowances, and sick pay. Further cuts in 2026 have lowered basic income support and tightened eligibility rules.

Järvinen urged the next government to restore index-linked adjustments to social benefits and introduce child support supplements for single-parent families.

The report follows Finland’s quiet placement on a second EU monitoring list in 2025, tied to rising public debt.