The annual number of doctoral degrees more than doubled in Finland during the 1990s, and the growth has continued in the early years of the 21st century. In 2008 there were 1,523 new doctorate degrees. Women represented 54,5% of the doctorates in 2008, whereas in the early 1990s the corresponding figure was 33%.

In 2004 there were nearly 13,000 employees with doctoral degrees, which makes about 0.5% of the workforce. The employment of PhDs is good; the rate of unemployment among PhDs in Finland is among the lowest (c. 1.5% in 2000) in international terms. The overall unemployment rate in Finland was 6,1% in December 2008. Most PhDs work in the public sector.

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