Surveys and data collections

If the survey is carried out as an interview, our interviewer always has an identity card with a photograph.

If you want to make sure that the person who contacted you works at Statistics Finland, call or send an email to the telephone interview centre:

• On-call duty, tel. +358 800 09191
• Interviewer Supervisor Emilia Peedu, tel. +358 29 551 6447 
• Planning Officer Veli-Mikko Palovaara, tel. +358 29 551 3587
• haastattelut@stat.fi

Supervisors of interviewers by area

• Greater Helsinki: Planning Officer Johanna Kuttila, tel. +358 29 551 6817
• rest of Uusimaa, Southwest Finland, Satakunta, Åland: Planning Officer Christian Ehnlund, tel. +358 29 551 3688
• Kanta-Häme, Päijät-Häme, Kymenlaakso, South Karelia, South Savo, North Karelia: Planning Officer Marjaana Nieminen, tel. +358 29 551 3877
• South Ostrobothnia, Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, North Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, Lapland: Planning Officer Mirjami Kauppinen, tel. +358 29 551 2910
• Pirkanmaa, North Savo, Central Finland: Planning Officer Christian Ehnlund, tel. +358 29 551 3688

The contact details of individual respondents are the address, email and telephone number
as well as corresponding information in the names of members of the same household. The data derive from the Population Information System and from those authorities from which data are obtained based on the Statistics Act. In addition, contact details are obtained from public sources, such as telephone operators.

Statistics Finland is a central government authority to which the same direct marketing bans do not apply as to commercial research institutions, for example.

As a government authority, we are also entitled to receive the contact information of people who have a ban on direct marketing for survey purposes.

We always primarily try to reach the respondent selected to the inquiry. If we are unable to contact the respondents concerned, we try to reach them through some other person aged at least 18 living at the same address. We only do this in three cases:

• we do not have the telephone number of the person selected as a respondent
• we have not been able to reach the respondent after two phone call attempts
• an interview or other contact has been agreed on with the respondent but they can no longer be reached.

Principles we follow in such attempts of contacting

We try to reach the respondent through a person living at the same address:

• To reasonable extent, with respect to the duration of data collection and the number of attempts to reach the respondent
• From telephone numbers listed in number search services or from numbers found in other commonly used sources
• Using the personal telephone number, email address or other personal contact information
• Primarily by telephone – after the attempt, the respondents can be informed by text message or answerphone message why we have tried to reach them.

Sometimes address data have not been updated

⁠⁠When we select respondents, we extract the respondents’ addresses from the Population Register data. Later we try to contact the respondents or persons living at the same address based on these data. Sometimes the address data have changed between the extraction of data and time of contacting and not all persons live at the same address anymore. 

If you want contacting to stop or want to give feedback

 If attempts have been made to reach you through some other person and you want the contacting to stop, you can call the telephone interview centre:

• On-call duty, tel. +358 800 09191

You can also give feedback on the contacting on our feedback form.

We get the contact information of enterprises and corporations from several sources, such as 

• the Business Information System maintained by the Finnish Patent and Registration Office and the Tax Administration 
• directly from enterprises and corporations
• from Posti.

Our automated telephone service reminds data suppliers of responding to data collections

We also use automatic phone calls as reminders to respond to data collections.
⁠
Our automated telephone service calls you from number:
⁠
09 427 32150
⁠0942732150
⁠+358942732150

Data protection and data security are of primary importance to us. Our automated telephone service never asks for personal data or other confidential information concerning the enterprise or its contact persons. 

We also answer inquiries about the data collections by email. The email addresses
of the data collections can be found on the home page of each collection.

Data protection description concerning corporate bodies' response data and contact information for corporate bodies' respondents (in Finnish)

More information about Statistics Finland's data collections

It is possible to log in to some of Statistics Finland's enterprise data collections with the help of Suomi.fi identification. In these data collections, the enterprise can authorise a specific person or, for example, an accounting firm to respond on behalf of the enterprise. The authorisation is granted in the section e-Authorizations in the Suomi.fi service. 

The name of the mandate to be granted is Responding to data collections from enterprises and organisations. ⁠If a mandate definer is needed for the data collection, it is mentioned in the letter sent to the respondents and on the web page of the data collection.

Statistics Finland's instructions related to mandates and identification (PDF, 5 pages)

Further information on identification on the Digital and Population Data Services Agency’s website

Enterprises and organisations that have been selected as a respondent for a data collection have an obligation to respond to Statistics Finland's data collections. The obligation to provide data is based on the Statistics Act (280/2004).

Exemption from the obligation can be sought based on Section 8 of the Statistics Act if responding causes unreasonable inconvenience. Unreasonable inconvenience refers to putting the respondent in an unequal position with regard to other data providers. Exemption can be sought only from individual surveys and Statistics Finland cannot grant a general exemption from all data collections. Exemption is granted for a fixed period and may be granted wholly or in part.

When we consider granting an exemption, we consider the respondents' possibilities to supply the requested data and the importance of the data in producing and utilising statistics. Unreasonable inconvenience caused to the data supplier refers to putting the data supplier
in an unequal position with regard to other data suppliers. 

We cannot grant an exemption due to an enterprise's lack of resources or time or the difficulty caused by the provision of data or corresponding reasons.

How can I submit a request for exemption?

If you are considering requesting exemption, please contact us first.

You can seek exemption with a free-form written application or with the form ⁠ Application for exemption from the obligation to provide data (PDF). 

If necessary, download the free Adobe Reader software (adobe.com) for filling in the PDF file. Specify the data collections from which you apply for exemption in the application. You can add appendices to the application. Send the application to Statistics Finland’s Registrar’s Office.

• Postal address: Statistics Finland, Registrar’s Office, FI-00022 STATISTICS FINLAND
• Email: kirjaamo@stat.fi
• Instructions for sending encrypted email

The classification service for data collections from enterprises offers enterprises a table containing the latest information on the basic classifications of all enterprises and establishments in operation and those having closed operation after 1 January 2018.
⁠The data are updated monthly. The file can be copied and saved as part of your enterprise's information systems.

You need a user ID and password to open the table. You can request them at: rahoitus@stat.fi.

Introduction of the classification service for data collections from enterprises