10.4.2024 valid documentation

Basic data of the statistics

Data description

The main data content of the statistics on restructuring of debts concerns debt restructuring petitions in Finland. The numbers are classified by the petitioner's gender, age, main type of activity and family type. The classifying variables used in the statistics are also region, district court, duration of the payment schedule, amount of debt, decisions given by district court and nature of the debt restructuring case.

Petitions for restructuring of debts received by district courts refer to all petitions filed at district courts during the period under review. Debt restructuring cases concluded refer to cases concluded at district courts during the year. In addition to debt restructuring petitions, other debt restructuring cases processed by district courts are also recorded in the statistics on debt restructuring cases concluded.

The same person can submit several petitions for debt restructuring per year, so the number of petitions is higher than the number of applicants for debt restructuring.

The first enterprise restructuring petition for a calendar year is recorded as a pending restructuring case. Other petitions concerning the same enterprise or corporation received during the calendar year are only visible in the statistics in cases concluded.

The statistics on debt restructuring cases concluded describe a different population than the statistics on petitions filed at district courts. Cases concluded include cases instituted already before the statistical reference year and correspondingly, part of the cases instituted during the statistical reference year will be concluded only in coming years.

Statistical presentation

Statistics Finland publishes statistics on cases concerning the restructuring of private debts handled and concluded by district courts. A new law concerning the restructuring of private debts entered into force in Finland on 8 February 1993, with the aim of improving the economic position of private people who have run into financial difficulties. The restructuring of private debts gives insolvent persons the possibility to become discharged from some or all of their debts if they are for reasons other than temporary ones unable to make the repayments that fall due on their debts. Admittance of a private person into a debt restructuring scheme is decided by the court.

Statistical population

The population of the statistics is debt restructuring petitions filed at district courts and debt restructuring cases concluded by district courts.

Statistical unit

The key observation units of the statistics (debt restructuring petitions filed and debt restructuring cases concluded) are legal cases. It is a question of cases brought before district courts and cases decided there.

Unit of measure

The measurement unit of the data published in the statistics is number.

For debt restructuring petitions filed, the number of petitions filed at district courts is recorded.

In the statistics on debt restructuring cases concluded, the number of debt restructuring cases concluded at district courts is recorded.

Reference period

The reference period of the statistics on debt restructuring petitions filed at district courts is a quarter. The statistics describe the number of debt restructuring petitions filed by the end of a quarter (before the release) in the statistical reference year in question. For example, the data for the January to March period (1st quarter) of the year in question are released in April.

For debt restructuring cases concluded, the reference period is the statistical reference year. The data are usually released in early June and they describe the data for the previous year. For example, data concerning 2018 were published in 2019.

Reference area

The reference area of the statistics is Finland.

Sector coverage

The phenomenon in the statistics has no connection with economic activities or sectors.
 

Time coverage

As regards debt restructuring petitions filed at district courts, the statistics start from the beginning of 2003. This applies to both annual, quarterly and monthly data.

As regards debt restructuring petitions filed, the data become revised as a result of reviews and corrections. As a rule, the figures are corrected already during the next statistical month. The changes caused by the corrections are small in terms of total numbers and they are not significant in forming the overall image of the occurrence.

The statistics on debt restructuring cases concluded start from 2009. These are annual statistics and the published data are final.

Frequency of dissemination

The statistics on debt restructuring petitions filed are disseminated quarterly.
The statistics on debt restructuring cases concluded are disseminated yearly.

Concepts

Restructuring of private debts

A district court can admit a person with severe debt problems into a debt restructuring scheme. The provisions on the restructuring of private debts are included in the Act on the Adjustment of the Debts of a Private Individual, which entered into force on 8 February 1993. The purpose of the Act is to ameliorate the situation of private persons in financial difficulties.

Before petitioning for debt restructuring, the debtor shall determine whether there is a possibility to a negotiated settlement with the creditors. If a settlement cannot be negotiated, a petition for debt restructuring can be filed in a court of justice. If the preconditions of debt restructuring are in place, the court of justice may confirm a payment schedule. When the payment schedule ends the debtor is released from the remainder of his/her debts.

Accuracy, reliability and timeliness

Overall accuracy

The statistics on restructuring of debts, including both petitions filed and cases concluded, are statistics based on the (register) data produced from the district courts’ case management system. The statistics describe the examined phenomenon as it is stored in the system on which the statistics are based. The main sources of error in the statistics are possible errors in the basic data or errors caused in the processing of the data.

A key means of assessing the accuracy of the data is to examine statistical data relative to the source data. Another way is to examine quarterly or annual data relative to previous quarters or years.

Timeliness

The statistics on debt restructuring petitions filed are published quarterly approximately two to three weeks from the end of the quarter.

The statistics on concluded cases are released yearly approximately six months from the end of the statistical reference year.
The release dates can be found in Statistics Finland's release calendar.

Punctuality

There is no delay between the release calendar and the release date for the statistics on debt restructuring petitions filed.
In 2019, the statistics on debt restructuring cases concluded were delayed by around one month, on account of the extra time required for the processing of the data.

Comparability

Comparability - geographical

The statistics are comparable regionally for the entire time series.

Comparability - over time

The time series of the statistics are mostly comparable from one year to the next.

Coherence - cross domain

Monthly data (debt restructuring petitions filed) and annual data (debt restructuring cases concluded) released in the statistics are produced from the same statistical data in different processes. The above-mentioned statistics describe the same topic from different perspectives and are thus not coherent with each other.

Coherence - internal

Quarterly (petitions filed) and annual (cases concluded) statistics on restructuring of debts are not fully coherent internally. The above-mentioned statistics describe the same occurrence from different viewpoints. The statistics on petitions filed at district courts show the number of debt restructuring petitions filed during the year. The statistics on debt restructuring cases concluded present the number of cases concluded by district courts during the year.

Thus, the population of the two sets of statistics mentioned above is different, one describing the number of petitions filed and the other the number of cases concluded during the year.

Source data and data collections

Source data

The statistics on restructuring of debts are based on register data derived from the district courts' case management system (Tuomas). The basic data are received monthly from the Legal Register Centre.

The background information on the persons used in the compilation of the statistics derives from the data of population statistics.

Data collection

The data are received once a month as a line transfer from the Legal Register Centre. The delivery of the data and the practices of the following year are agreed on once a year (towards the end of the year).

Frequency of data collection

The basic data are collected once a month.

Methods

Data compilation

The data received from the Legal Register Centre are processed monthly according to the same process. Data from Statistics Finland's population statistics system are combined with the data.

Data validation

The data are validated in connection with the compilation of the statistics by means of established review routines.

Principles and outlines

Contact organisation

Statistics Finland

Contact organisation unit

Population and Social Statistics

Legal acts and other agreements

The compilation of statistics is guided by the Statistics Act. The Statistics Act contains provisions on collection of data, processing of data and the obligation to provide data. Besides the Statistics Act, the Data Protection Act and the Act on the Openness of Government Activities are applied to processing of data when producing statistics.

Statistics Finland compiles statistics in line with the EU’s regulations applicable to statistics, which steer the statistical agencies of all EU Member States.

Further information: Statistical legislation

Confidentiality - policy

The data protection of data collected for statistical purposes is guaranteed in accordance with the requirements of the Statistics Act (280/2004), the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999), the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and the Data Protection Act (1050/2018). The data materials are protected at all stages of processing with the necessary physical and technical solutions. Statistics Finland has compiled detailed directions and instructions for confidential processing of the data. Employees have access only to the data essential for their duties. The premises where unit-level data are processed are not accessible to outsiders. Members of the personnel have signed a pledge of secrecy upon entering the service. Violation of data protection is punishable.

Further information: Data protection | Statistics Finland (stat.fi)

Confidentiality - data treatment

According to the Statistics Act (280/2004), the data of the statistics are public.

The data of the statistics are not released in identifiable form outside Statistics Finland. The use of the data for scientific research and statistical surveys is possible only on the basis of a separate decision on user licence and in unidentifiable form.

Release policy

Statistics Finland publishes new statistical data at 8 am on weekdays in its web service. The release times of statistics are given in advance in the release calendar available in the web service. The data are public after they have been updated in the web service.

Further information: Publication principles for statistics at Statistics Finland

Data sharing

The data are not shared between other statistical offices or units. There are thus no established procedures or arrangements for the sharing of data.

Accessibility and clarity


Statistical data are published as database tables in the StatFin database. The database is the primary publishing site of data, and new data are updated first there. When releasing statistical data, existing database tables can be updated with new data or completely new database tables can be published.  

In addition to statistical data published in the StatFin database, a release on the key data is usually published in the web service. If the release contains data concerning several reference periods (e.g. monthly and annual data), a review bringing together these data is published in the web service. Database tables updated at the time of publication are listed both in the release and in the review. In some cases, statistical data can also be published as mere database releases in the StatFin database. No release or review is published in connection with these database releases.

Releases and database tables are published in three languages, in Finnish, Swedish and English.

Information about changes in the publication schedules of releases and database tables and about corrections are given as change releases in the web service.

Data revision - policy

Revisions – i.e. improvements in the accuracy of statistical data already published – are a normal feature of statistical production and result in improved quality of statistics. The principle is that statistical data are based on the best available data and information concerning the statistical phenomenon. On the other hand, the revisions are communicated as transparently as possible in advance. Advance communication ensures that the users can prepare for the data revisions.

The reason why data in statistical releases become revised is often caused by the data becoming supplemented. Then the new, revised statistical figure is based on a wider information basis and describes the phenomenon more accurately than before.

Revisions of statistical data may also be caused by the calculation method used, such as annual benchmarking or updating of weight structures. Changes of base years and used classifications may also cause revisions to data.

Quality assessment

Official Statistics of Finland (OSF) are a comprehensive collection of statistics describing the development and state of society. They comprise nearly 300 sets of statistics on 26 different topics. The producers of Official Statistics of Finland have approved a common quality assurance in which they commit to common quality criteria and quality assurance measures. The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice. The good practices followed in the statistics are presented in Statistics Finland's Quality Guidelines for Official Statistics handbook.

Quality assurance

Quality management requires comprehensive guidance of activities. The quality management framework of the field of statistics is the European Statistics Code of Practice (CoP). The quality criteria of Official Statistics of Finland are also compatible with the European Statistics Code of Practice.

Further information: Quality management | Statistics Finland (stat.fi)

User access

Data are released to all users at the same time. Statistical data may only be handled at Statistics Finland and information on them may be given before release only by persons involved in the production of the statistics concerned or who need the data of the statistics concerned in their own work before the data are published.

Further information: Publication principles for statistics

Unless otherwise separately stated in connection with the product, data or service concerned, Statistics Finland is the producer of the data and the owner of the copyright. The terms of use for statistical data.

Statistical experts

Service email
oikeus@stat.fi
Sami Fredriksson
Senior Statistician
029 551 2696