The purpose of basic education is to help pupils grow and become ethically responsible members of society and to acquire the knowledge and skills needed in life.

Pre-primary education as part of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) is the systematic education and instruction provided in the year preceding the start of compulsory education, usually at the age of 6.  Pre-primary education is organized in ECEC-centers and schools. Providing a place in pre-primary education free of charge for all children is a statutory duty for municipalities. Participation became compulsory in August 2015. These statistics include pupils in pre-primary education in schools and in ECEC-centers. Statistics on early childhood education and care (ECEC) are not included in Vipunen portal but can be found from the statistics of The National Institute for Health and Welfare.

Compulsory schooling begins in the year when the child turns seven. Basic education statistics include data on pupils in grades 1-9 (compulsory schooling) and in additional education grade 10. These statistics include data on basic education provided in comprehensive schools (including special education schools on the comprehensive school level, comprehensive and upper secondary level schools). ‘Pupils entering basic education’ refers to children who enter first grade in the autumn, usually at the age of seven.

The statistics are based on data and registers collected by Statistics Finland and the Finnish National Agency for Education.