According to a poll by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), one in five Finns have trouble paying for basic essentials including food, medicine, and doctor appointments.

According to the institute’s survey, which was released on Thursday, up to 18% of men and 23% of women in Finland have had to make cuts to basic essentials, which equates to about one million persons.

According to the Xinhua news agency, one-fourth of those in working age (20 to 64 years old) said they had to reduce their expenditure on food, medications, or doctor appointments in the previous year.

The youngest age groups are those who struggle the most to make a living.

The youngest age groups are those who struggle the most to make a living.

In the age group of 20 to 39, 26% of men and 33% of women reported having to spend less on food, medications, or doctor appointments.

According to Laura Kestila, a researcher at THL, “One explanation for the weaker situation of young adults can be their more uncertain situation in the labour market.”

She continued by saying that young individuals might not have enough financial reserves to handle the effects of numerous problems and unforeseen bills. Life situations frequently change swiftly.

According to THL, there are now more people struggling to make a living than ever before, particularly women more so than males.

The Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and growing pricing were the main causes of the problems, according to Kestila.

“These results do not yet fully reflect the impact of the increase in loan interest rates, which has likely made the situation even more challenging,” she continued.

The results of decreasing spending on needs are really troubling, Kestila told the Finnish national radio Yle on Thursday.

She cautioned that if the current trend continues, it will surely be detrimental to the population’s health and well-being in the long run.

Both the autumn of 2022 and the spring of 2023 saw the completion of the Healthy Finland Survey on livelihoods.

A total of 28,000 Finnish adults over the age of 20 responded to the poll.