Although tuition is free for most students at Finnish universities, more people are having trouble paying off study loans.
At the end of last year, one in eight debtors facing enforcement proceedings was under the age of 29, the National Enforcement Authority said on Wednesday. Young people who were subject to enforcement proceedings had an average enforcement debt of 6,900 euros, the agency said in a press release.
Young people most frequently face the bailiffs over various types of unpaid loans, credits and payments.
The number of problems with delinquent student loans has risen in recent years. Over the past two years, the size of the average student loan requiring enforcement has increased by 14 percent. Public transport inspection fees are also common among young debtors.
According to the Enforcement Authority, the average student loan facing collection at this year was 8,500 euros, up from 8,000 euros a year earlier. Two years earlier, the average was 7,400 euros.
The average student loan last year totalled 12,700 euros, according to Kela.
Young people’s financial situation “challenging”
“The financial situation of young people is challenging in many ways. It is difficult to get a job, and young people often work part-time and for short periods. Learning to manage their own finances can be challenging in any case,” the authority’s Director General, Veikko Minkkinen, said in the statement.
“Fortunately, paying off debts through enforcement does not always mean that control over their finances has been permanently lost. That is why enforcement has specifically targeted advice and guidance at young clients,” he added.
Sixty percent of young people facing enforcement are male.
On average, people in Finland who face debt enforcement proceedings owed some 28,000 euros last year, according to Statistics Finland.
