Drug crimes were particularly common among non-Finnish inmates, the Prison and Probation Service reports.
Finland’s prison population continued to grow last year, according to the Prison and Probation Service’s 2025 yearbook.
It noted that there were an average 3,545 incarcerated people in 2025, which was 189 more than the previous year, reflecting a 5.6 percent increase.
The figure is expected to continue to grow by more than five percent this year as well, the agency said in a press release.
It said prison populations of non-Finns grew to a ‘new record’ of 839 prisoners, “representing an increase of as much as 22 percent compared with the previous year”.
The non-Finnish prisoners included individuals from 78 different countries.
“Narcotics offences were particularly common among foreign prisoners serving prison sentences. The principal offence of nearly half of foreign prisoners (49.1%) was a narcotics offence,” the release said.
“The second most common principal offence among foreign prisoners was a sexual offence, accounting for just over one fifth (20.6%). The shares of both violent offences and offences against property were below 15 percent,” it continued.
There were 283 females incarcerated in 2025, or about eight percent of the prison population, according to the Prison and Probation Service.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Finnish prisons are overcrowded. The situation has caused violence at some facitlities and has also prompted expansion plans.
Most inmates in for violent crimes
Nearly one third (32.6%) of inmates were serving sentences for violent offence convictions, according to the yearbook.
“However, the number of prisoners sentenced for homicide and other violent offences, such as assaults, has decreased significantly over the past 10 years. As recently as 2016, violent offences were the principal offence for nearly 1,000 prisoners, while last year, the number was down to about 850 prisoners,” the agency’s release read.
The second-most common main offence among prisoners were narcotics crimes, a group that made up nearly a quarter (24.4%) of inmate populations.
“Last year, the number of prisoners sentenced for narcotics offences exceeded 600 and surpassed those sentenced for offences against property. Offences against property were the principal offence of 23.8 percent of prisoners,” the agency said.
It noted that the share of those serving sentences for robberies had increased, but other property-related offences — like theft and fraud — have decreased over the past decade.
About 11 percent of prisoners (just under 300) were serving sentences for sexual offences, making that category the fourth most common principal offence.
Around 100 people were in prison for drunk driving crimes last year, or about 3.3 percent of the total inmate population.
