Per-resident data on social security expenditure in 2024 now available in new edition of Kela’s Statistical Yearbook
On a per-resident basis, Kela’s benefit expenditure was highest in the municipality of Rautavaara and lowest in Ingå in 2024. This information is available in the newly published 2024 edition of Kela’s Statistical Yearbook.
In 2024, Kela paid about EUR 2,830 on average in benefits per each resident of Finland.
However, significant differences persisted in benefit expenditure per municipality in 2024 as in previous years. Kela’s benefit expenditure was highest in Eastern and Northern Finland and lower on average in Southern Finland and on the west coast.
In 2024, Kela paid the lowest amount of benefits per resident in Ingå (about EUR 1,967) and the highest in Rautavaara (EUR 4,085).
The euro amount paid by Kela in benefits per resident grew slightly in most municipalities compared to 2023, reflecting the changes in, for example, living costs and unemployment benefits.
Data on Kela’s benefit expenditure are available in the newly published 2024 edition of Kela’s Statistical Yearbook. The Yearbook is a comprehensive source of information on the benefits available from Kela and on Kela’s role in the Finnish social security system. In addition to presenting statistical data, the Yearbook outlines the eligibility criteria for the individual benefits. The Yearbook’s appendices also provide an overview of how benefits have changed over the years.
Along with the statistics on social security, the Yearbook includes data on Kela’s finances, organisation and benefit administration. The appendices also provide historical data on how social security benefits have changed over the years. The Yearbook is published in separate editions in Finnish, Swedish and English.
The 2024 edition is the 60th edition of the Yearbook. The first edition was published in 1965.
Kela’s role has expanded over the decades
Kela, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, was founded on 16 December 1937. For the first few decades of its history, Kela was, as its Finnish name (“National Pensions Institute”) implies, a pension provider whose sole responsibility was to pay out national pensions. Over the years, Kela’s operations have expanded considerably, and the number of benefits that Kela provides has grown from one to several dozen.
As of the time of writing, Kela’s largest expenditure is national health insurance. The national health insurance scheme surpassed the national pension insurance scheme in terms of size in the 2000s.
