Advisory Council for Youth Affairs (Nuora), nowadays called the State Youth Council, started to produce Youth Surveys in 1994. This survey series charts attitudes and expectations of Finnish young people aged 15 - 29. Each survey contains both current questions and recurring questions which are repeated over time, enabling the study of long-term attitude changes. The main themes include attitudes to education, working life, social security, spending, drug use, and young people's willingness to participate in order to influence decision-making.
The Finnish Youth Survey 2024 examines young people's perceptions of their life situation, future prospects, and position in Finnish society.
First, respondents were asked about their views on working life, including job insecurity, coping at work, and the values and meaning associated with work. Respondents were also asked about their future expectations and life goals, including how important they considered achieving various milestones and things by the age of 35.
Next, the importance of public services in respondents' home municipalities was examined. Respondents were also asked about their trust in social institutions, their interest in politics, and their level of civic engagement and influence. In addition, respondents' attitudes towards societal issues such as national defence, membership of the European Union, and racism were explored.
Finally, the survey examined respondents' identities and experiences of belonging to different minority groups. Questions also focused on experiences of life management and life satisfaction, financial situation, leisure time, social relationships, and health.
Background variables included, among others, the respondent's gender, age group, region of residence, mother tongue, marital status, main activity, own and parents' level of education, household composition, and perceived financial situation.
The sample of respondents was drawn from the Population Information System using random sampling. The population was stratified based on age (15-19, 20-24, 25-29), registered gender (male, female), and native language (Finnish, Swedish, other). The sizes of the strata were determined based on the 2023 Finnish Youth Survey so that, if contactability were similar across strata, both data collection methods would yield a population-representative sample of approximately 1,000 young people.
The data were collected via telephone interviews and an online questionnaire. For the online questionnaire, 10,107 contacts were drawn from the Population Information System, while 150,079 contacts (including a supplementary sample) were drawn for the telephone interviews. For the telephone interviews, respondents were selected using stratified quota sampling, and the sample was supplemented in some strata due to lower-than-expected contactability. A total of 1,006 telephone interviews were conducted. The response rate was 3.9% among those individuals for whom a phone number was available. For the online questionnaire, respondents were selected using proportionate stratified sampling. A total of 1,347 responses were received, and the response rate was 13.3%. Invitations to participate in the online questionnaire were sent by post.