International cooperation on digitalisation and ICT

The Public Sector ICT Department of the Ministry of Finance takes actively part in the work of international organisations, exerts its influence on their programmes and makes use of them in the development of administration in Finland. Finland also follows digitalisation and ICT developments in other countries by seeking comparative data and experiences from other countries’ development programmes for digital public administration and services.

Key international partners are the European Union, the OECD, the International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration (ICA) and the United Nations Development Assistance Plan (UNDAP). Finland follows closely the eGovernment Action Plan, the ISA2 programme and open data policy of the EU. Finland also takes advantage of EU funding under the CEF Telecom programme.

Finland works in close cooperation with the Nordic countries in the field of electronic identification, for example. Cooperation in the Nordic-Baltic region will in future make more use of digital opportunities, following a declaration the ministers from the Nordic and Baltic countries adopted in Oslo in April 2017 where they defined the policy goals to make the Nordic-Baltic region a digital forerunner in Europe.

Finland works in close cooperation with Estonia in digital matters. The two countries have signed several cooperation documents aiming to deepen further the cooperation between the countries with regard to electronic exchange of information and further developing of X-road technology. There are seven ongoing cooperation projects in the field of electronic exchange of information.

Finland has been highly rated in international ICT comparisons, ranking usually among the top five or at least among the top ten. The latest ranking, the Digital Economy and Society Index, was released in June 2019, and Finland ranked first on the list. Read more about the DESI index. In a 2018 UN E-Government Survey, Finland was ranked sixth. Read more about the UN E-Government Survey.

More information:

• European eGovernment Action Plan 2016–2020
• EU’s ISA2 programme 2016–2020
• OECD Digital Government
• International Council for Information Technology in Government Administration (ICA)
• Declaration by the Prime Ministers of Finland and Estonia regarding cross-border information exchange and services, 10 May 2016
• Nordic-Baltic declaration on Digital North and digital cooperation
• Finland in the Main International ICT Surveys 2015–2017 (pdf)
• UN E-Government Survey 2018
• EU’s Digital Economy and Society Index, (DESI2019)