How Finland's public administration works
Finland’s system of government comprises the highest state bodies, courts, state administration, and other public administration. The regions, wellbeing services counties, municipalities and their authorities cooperate closely with regional and local state authorities.
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Highest state bodies
Finland's highest state bodies are Parliament, the President of the Republic and the Government.
Courts
The courts exercise judicial power independently. They decide in each case what is in accordance with the law.
Finland as part of the European Union
Finland is one of the member countries of the European Union. In a number of matters, the EU makes joint decisions, while in others, each member country can act independently.
Central government
Central government comprises the ministries and the national agencies operating in their administrative branches.
Regional state administration
Regional State Administrative Agencies and the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment act as the regional state administrative authorities.
Local state administration
The agencies managing local state administrative duties include the police departments, tax offices, the employment and economic development offices.
Municipalities and local government
Municipalities are self-governing units and they are responsible for providing their residents with statutory basic services.
Wellbeing services county
The wellbeing services county produces the following in its own region social welfare and health care services and rescue services.
Self-governance
In addition to municipalities, there are also other self-governing entities Finland. These include the region of Åland, churches and other religious communities as well as the universities.
State business operations
The State of Finland owns shares in about 30 companies. State ownership steering is the responsibility of the Ownership Steering Department at the Prime Minister's Office.
Indirect public administration
Indirect public administration means organisations that are not authorities but that perform public tasks or exercise public power.
Rights and obligations of public servants
Public servants are employees working in a public-service relationship in central or local government or elsewhere in the public administration.