Democracy policy

The goal of the Government's democracy policy is to address topical democracy-related challenges and ensure that citizens are provided with opportunities for participating and exerting influence in society. 

Promoting democracy is long-term work extending beyond government terms. Achieving the objectives of democracy policy requires cooperation between the different branches of government. 

The state and development of Finnish democracy can be monitored with the assistance of democracy indicators. 

The National Programme to Promote Democracy and Participation is based on the policies of Prime Minister Orpo's Government. A particular objective of the programme is to improve voter turnout and strengthen the participation of children and young people. The programme also aims to promote the development of good practices in democracy education and human rights education. Furthermore, a culture of good discussion and exchange of opinions will be strengthened in society, starting at an early age, while safeguarding the constitutional freedom of expression and opinion. A cross-administrative working group was appointed by the Ministry of Justice to coordinate the implementation of the Democracy Programme in the Government in 2025–2027.

The National Democracy Programme 2025 encompassed several measures promoting the civil society and participation during the 2019–2023 parliamentary term. The Democracy Programme functioned as an umbrella for democracy-related projects carried out by different ministries. The Government’s Democracy Network, appointed by the Ministry of Justice, was responsible for coordinating the Democracy Programme and the Government’s democracy policy. 

The follow-up report for the National Democracy Programme 2025 (in Finnish) examines how well the objectives set in the Democracy Programme have been achieved, what measures have been taken to achieve the objectives, and what kinds of impacts the measures are expected to have on the development of Finnish democracy. 

The Action Plan on Democracy Policy for 2017–2019 (in Finnish) was based on the Government Report on Democracy Policy submitted to Parliament in 2014.