Older and younger age groups are united in their concern about Finland’s growing public debt, according to a survey commissioned from Taloustutkimus by OP Financial Group. A total of 42 per cent of 18–24 year-olds and 40 per cent of over-65s are extremely concerned about the debt. In the overall population, 37 per cent are extremely concerned and 65 per cent are somewhat or extremely concerned.

Almost half of men in Finland are extremely concerned about growth in Finland’s public debt. Around 28 per cent of women are equally worried.

“Rising interest rates are taking a toll on both household and government finances. Interest rate costs are rising after years of fiscal deficits. People in Finland are right to be worried in this respect. When discussing debt, we should remember that the economy functions on many levels: cuts alone won’t improve things – we need to restructure the economy to support growth and ensure that Finland flourishes going forward,” says Timo Ritakallio, President and Group CEO.

Concern about the welfare state is paramount

People are worried in various ways about the consequences of mounting debt. The chief concern is that Finland will be unable to maintain its welfare state at the current level. Around 31 per cent of respondents were extremely concerned about this. The second-biggest concern was about tax rises as a consequence of public debt.

“I think it is highly understandable that people in Finland are concerned about the ability to maintain our welfare state at a time when the Finnish population is rapidly ageing and the birth rate is extremely low, while the labour shortage keeps worsening,” says Timo Ritakallio.

About 26 per cent of respondents are extremely concerned that growing public debt will mean lack of financial provision for the respondent’s old age, whereas 22 per cent are extremely concerned about their children’s financial futures.

“It’s worth noting that background factors do not cause high variation in responses about debt-related worries – the chief concerns are widely shared in Finland. For example, household income does not have a major effect on how worried people are about higher taxes or the future of the welfare state. This suggests that the same picture of Finland’s public debt is widely held across society,” says Ritakallio.

Taloustutkimus was commissioned by OP to perform the survey. The target group was a nationally representative group of people aged 18–79. Taloustutkimus carried out the online survey on 4–16 May 2023. The final number of respondents was 2,419 and the resulting data was weighted by age, gender and geographical area.

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OP Financial Group Communications, tel. +358 10 252 8719, viestinta@op.fi