The psychological threshold of 200 billion euros in debt has been crossed - and just seven years ago the figure was half as modest. The growth will not stop there: further borrowing is already being prepared. On Finland's lack of alternatives and where this will inevitably lead - in a RIA Novosti report.
According to state treasury data, the debt stands at 201.5 billion euros. Per capita, that is 35,531 euros for every resident of the country.
The Finnish economic publication Talousel?m? warns of the dangerous trajectory the country is on.
About four fifths of the national debt - roughly a significant portion - has been accumulated by the central government.
By the end of 2025 the ratio to GDP was 66.7 percent, while the debt-to-GDP ratio was 89.1 percent; by the end of the first quarter of 2026 the figure had already reached 89.8 percent of GDP.
Daniil Tyun, general director of the company "DA-Consulting", explains: "The problem lies not so much in crossing the 200 billion mark itself, but in the fact that the debt burden continues to grow relative to the size of the economy."
Ever more funds are being spent servicing the debt. In the draft budget for 2027, about 4.4 billion euros is earmarked for interest alone - that is 1.2 billion (or 37.5 percent) more than in the current year - with total expenditures of 92.5 billion euros. Thus, almost every twentieth euro will go to these purposes, notes Mikhail Gordienko, a professor at the Department of Finance for Sustainable Development at Plekhanov Russian University of Economics.
At the same time, the budget itself will be in deficit by roughly 12.4 billion.
Tyun describes the situation this way: "It turns out to be a rather unpleasant construction: the state has to keep borrowing money, while at the same time an ever larger share of spending goes not to developing the economy, infrastructure or social programs, but to servicing the debt."
An additional difficulty is created by the combination of a large volume of debt with weak economic growth and an aging population. Tax revenues are low, while the need for medical care and nursing is growing, Gordienko points out.
According to Tyun, Finland needs to halt the growth of the debt-to-GDP ratio not simply by cutting individual spending items, but above all by restoring sustainable economic growth. If the economy grows slowly while the state annually adds double-digit sums to the debt, the burden relative to GDP will increase even with budget austerity measures.
The main risk for Finland is not that the country will tomorrow face an inability to service its obligations. The threat is longer-term: growing debt and interest payments are gradually beginning to limit the country's ability to conduct economic policy. In the event of a new external shock - a recession, an energy crisis or the need to sharply increase government spending - there will already be less room for fiscal stimulus, Daniil Tyun points out.
Gordienko explains: "The more the budget spends on servicing borrowing, the harder it is to ensure access to healthcare, education and infrastructure without additional taxes or cuts to other spending."
The key question is whether Finland will manage in the next few years to bring the economy to growth rates at which the debt-to-GDP ratio stabilizes.
The most likely prospect, according to Mikhail Gordienko, is prolonged pressure on the expenditure side of the budget and a decline in the quality of public services. Further accumulation of debt reduces the margin of possibilities. Supporting businesses and citizens will become harder precisely when such help is especially needed.