Education in Oulu, Finland: official figures
13.8% of residents aged 15 or over in Oulu held a master's degree in 2024, above the national figure of 11.5%; that is 4th highest among the nine largest cities, up from 12.4% in 2019.
How many people have a PhD in Oulu?
Doctoral degree holders made up 2.00% of the population aged 15 or over in Oulu in 2024, 4th highest among the nine largest cities (Finland 1.20%).
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus) · saved copyWhat is the education level in Oulu?
19.5% of residents aged 15 or over in Oulu had no qualification beyond comprehensive school in 2024, below the national figure of 24.9%; that is the lowest among the nine largest cities, down from 20.3% in 2019.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus) · saved copyHow many young people lack qualifications in Oulu?
13.2% of young adults aged 25 to 29 in Oulu had not completed any qualification after comprehensive school in 2024 (4th lowest among the nine largest cities; Finland 17.0%).
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus) · saved copyHow many students live in Oulu?
Students made up 11.2% of the population of Oulu in 2024, above the national figure of 7.9%; that is 2nd highest among the nine largest cities.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus) · saved copyWhat percentage of people have a degree in Oulu?
39.0% of residents of Oulu aged 15 or over held a tertiary qualification in 2024, against 34.1% nationally.
Source: Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus) · saved copyHow many young children are in childcare in Oulu?
65% of children under 5 were in day care or school in 2024 (652 per 1,000).
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many students are there in Oulu?
25,113 students were enrolled in higher education in Oulu in 2024, 117 for every 1,000 residents.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many people in Oulu have a degree?
Of adults aged 25 to 64 in Oulu in 2024, 50% had a degree-level education, 41% an upper secondary education and 9% at most lower secondary schooling.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyHow many young people leave school early in Oulu?
7.0% of 18 to 24-year-olds had left education and training early in 2018.
Source: Eurostat · saved copyMore figures
- In the EU's 2023 survey of quality of life in European cities, 80% of residents of Oulu were satisfied with schools and other educational facilities. Source: Eurostat · saved copy
How Oulu compares with other cities in Finland
People aged 15 or over with a master's degree (%) (2024)
Oulu ranks 4 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | People aged 15 or over with a master's degree (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espoo | 22.0% |
| 2 | Helsinki | 21.4% |
| 3 | Tampere | 15.0% |
| 4 | Oulu | 13.8% |
| 5 | Turku | 13.2% |
| 6 | Jyvaskyla | 13.0% |
| 7 | Kuopio | 11.0% |
People aged 15 or over with a doctoral degree (%) (2024)
Oulu ranks 4 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | People aged 15 or over with a doctoral degree (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Espoo | 2.60% |
| 2 | Helsinki | 2.50% |
| 3 | Turku | 2.10% |
| 4 | Oulu | 2.00% |
| 5 | Jyvaskyla | 1.80% |
| 6 | Tampere | 1.70% |
| 7 | Kuopio | 1.70% |
People aged 15 or over with no qualification beyond basic education (%) (2024)
Oulu ranks 9 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | People aged 15 or over with no qualification beyond basic education (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Espoo | 24.8% |
| 4 | Helsinki | 23.4% |
| 5 | Turku | 23.2% |
| 6 | Kuopio | 20.4% |
| 7 | Tampere | 20.0% |
| 8 | Jyvaskyla | 19.8% |
| 9 | Oulu | 19.5% |
People aged 25 to 29 with no qualification beyond basic education (%) (2024)
Oulu ranks 6 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | People aged 25 to 29 with no qualification beyond basic education (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Lahti | 19.4% |
| 4 | Helsinki | 18.0% |
| 5 | Turku | 16.4% |
| 6 | Oulu | 13.2% |
| 7 | Tampere | 13.0% |
| 8 | Jyvaskyla | 12.9% |
| 9 | Kuopio | 12.8% |
Students as a share of the population (%) (2024)
Oulu ranks 2 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | Students as a share of the population (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jyvaskyla | 11.7% |
| 2 | Oulu | 11.2% |
| 3 | Tampere | 10.9% |
| 4 | Turku | 10.8% |
| 5 | Kuopio | 9.5% |
| 6 | Espoo | 9.4% |
| 7 | Helsinki | 8.7% |
Higher education students per 1,000 residents (2024)
Oulu ranks 5 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | Higher education students per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Jyvaskyla | 160 |
| 3 | Tampere | 138 |
| 4 | Kuopio | 124 |
| 5 | Oulu | 117 |
| 6 | Helsinki | 93 |
| 7 | Espoo | 89 |
| 8 | Lahti | 68 |
Children 0-4 in day care per 1,000 (2024)
Oulu ranks 2 of 9, highest first.
| Rank | City | Children 0-4 in day care per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kuopio | 661 |
| 2 | Oulu | 652 |
| 3 | Jyvaskyla | 648 |
| 4 | Tampere | 635 |
| 5 | Turku | 631 |
| 6 | Helsinki | 626 |
| 7 | Lahti | 625 |
More on Oulu: overview · economy and jobs · health · poverty and living standards · government budget · government and politics · all cities in Finland
Sources
- Statistics Finland (Tilastokeskus): Regional time series 1987-2025 (table 142h, Municipal key figures database): population, housing, education, employment and jobs by NUTS region, region and municipality (PxWeb API POST query, json-stat2, years 2015-2025), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 18a97e220312…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset urb_percep: Quality of life in European cities survey 2023: perception (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 81bd3e277f3e…)
- Eurostat: Eurostat dataset urb_ceduc: Urban Audit: education (cities), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 af187c7040a4…)
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