Central government

Central government consists of central, regional and local state administration. Central state administration comprises the ministries together with the government agencies and institutions in their branches of government. Central government employs a total of about 76,750 people.

The tasks and sizes of the different government agencies and public bodies vary. In addition to their administrative duties, they also see to internal and external safety and security, perform statistical, information management and registration duties as well as develop their designated sectors and share information produced within their sectors for wider use in society. Some of the agencies and public bodies operate as government research institutes.

Central state administration

Each ministry within its mandate is responsible for preparing issues that fall within the Government’s remit and for maintaining effective administration. The ministries’ mandates are laid down in the Government Rules of Procedure and their duties are prescribed in decrees issued on the ministries. Specific provisions apply to each central administrative agency operating under the ministries. Measured by number of personnel, the largest government agencies are the Finnish Defence Forces, the Finnish Tax Administration and the Finnish Border Guard.

Regional state administration

In regional state administration, official duties are carried out by the Economic Development Centres (10 centres). In the Åland Islands, these duties are performed by the State Department of Åland (Statens ämbetsverk på Åland).

The Economic Development Centres are responsible for duties relating to business and industry, agriculture, transport, the environment and natural resources. Overall administrative guidance of the Centres is the responsibility of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.

Website of the Economic Development Centres

Local state administration

Local administrative agencies comprise the police departments and the Employment and Economic Development Offices (TE Offices). The agencies also provide their services at shared service points as required by local conditions and needs. The Social Insurance Institution of Finland (Kela), an agency governed by public law which answers directly to Parliament, also has an extensive network of branches.

Development of central state administration in the 2000s

The basic structure of central government has changed little since Finland gained independence. The highest institutions of state and the division of power between them were defined in the Constitution Act, the predecessor of today’s Constitution. Only minor changes have been made to the ministry structure.

The ministries focus on strategic guidance and direction, while the agencies handle operative tasks. Some duties and individual agencies have been transferred from one branch of government to another as a result of structural changes affecting the ministries and their government branches. Development efforts have mainly aimed at improving the Government’s operations as a whole and the ministries’ performance.

There have been more changes on the level of central administrative agencies, and the independence and jurisdiction of central administrative agencies has varied. Central administrative agencies and institutions have been merged and closed, and new ones have been established. Some agencies have also been turned into unincorporated state enterprises, many of which have later been incorporated. Administrative reforms have also been carried out by centralising the administration’s expert and support services in shared service centres. As an example, the Government Centre for Information and Communication Technologies (Valtori) was established in 2014.

Development of regional state administration

In the beginning of 2026, an extensive overall reform was carried out in regional state administration. The reform brought the central government’s permit, guidance and supervision duties together in the Finnish Supervisory Agency. At the same time, new regional Economic Development Centres (10 centres) were established. The State Department of Åland (Statens ämbetsverk på Åland) continues as the regional administrative authority in the Åland Islands.

In the reform, permit and supervisory practices were strengthened and harmonised across the regions, and processes and services were streamlined. More information about the project is available on the website of the Ministry of Finance and in the Gateway to Information on Government Projects.

The reform closed the Regional State Administrative Agencies (6 agencies) and Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (15 Centres), which were established in 2010 and previously formed regional state administration.

Local state administration has been transformed

Changes in the agency structure have been carried out in recent years, giving national powers to many authorities that were previously considered local state administration. For example, the National Prosecution Authority began operating on 1 October 2019. 

At the beginning of 2020, the local register offices merged with the Population Register Centre to form a national Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

Enforcement activities were reorganised on 1 December 2020 into a single nation-wide agency, the National Enforcement Authority Finland. 

There are currently 11 police departments that are part of local state administration, though they mainly operate regionally or even more widely. 

Employment and economic development services (TE services) were transferred to the municipalities at the start of 2025. The related staff also transferred to the municipalities, and the TE Offices ceased to operate as local state administrative agencies.

Other forms of central government activities

Central government activities may take the form of agencies, but also of unincorporated state enterprises, fully or partly state-owned companies (called special-assignment companies), off-budget entities as well as institutions governed by public law, foundations and other funds governed by public law.

Unincorporated state enterprises include Senate Properties in the Ministry of Finance’s government branch and Metsähallitus in the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s branch. Senate Properties is a central government organisation with expertise in work environments and facilities. Metsähallitus manages business operations associated with state-owned land and water areas and performs public administration duties. While the finances of unincorporated state enterprises are not included in the Budget, they do not comprise separate assets, as the central government is ultimately responsible for their commitments.

The central government has 36 special-assignment companies. The state owns special-assignment companies because it has a special interest relevant to regulation or official duties. Special-assignment companies have an industrial, social or other political task or some other special role determined by the state. For more information on state-owned companies, visit the website of the Ownership Steering Department of the Prime Minister’s Office.

Ownership Steering Department, Prime Minister’s Office

There are 11 off-budget entities. Under section 87 of the Constitution, an off-budget entity may be established by an Act of Parliament if this is necessary for the performance of a permanent central government duty. To pass a bill for the establishment of an off-budget entity or for a significant extension of such an entity or of its intended use, a majority of at least two thirds of the votes cast in Parliament is required. Off-budget entities do not have independent funds, as their cash reserves are part of the state’s funds (excluding the State Pension Fund).

Detailed descriptions of off-budget entities can be found in the Report on State Annual Accounts

State foundations governed by public law, institutes and other funds governed by public law include the Finnish National Gallery, universities operating as foundations governed by public law, the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, the Bank of Finland, the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, the Finnish Wildlife Agency, the Finnish Forestry Centre, the Finnish Centre for Pensions, Sitra and the Unemployment Insurance Fund.

Contact information

Mikko Saarinen
Senior Financial Adviser
Tel. +358 295 530047
[email protected]