June 2019

Virtual visits: how Finland is coping with an ageing population

It’s 11.30am on a midweek June morning in Helsinki, Finland. Duvi Leineberg, a remote care nurse, is doing the lunch rounds. But instead of jumping in a car and visiting each person one by one, she is sitting in an office looking at a large computer screen where she can see into seven people’s homes. Most are sitting at a table preparing to tuck into some food. This is a virtual lunch group, set up to make sure older...

May 2019

DBRS warns Finland about population ageing, rising household debt

FINLAND has received yet another warming about population ageing and growing household debt.DBRS, a credit rating agency headquartered in Toronto, Canada, on Friday stated that population ageing and the shrinking of the working-age population are putting pressure on the public economy, representing a major medium-term challenge for Finland.The high level of household debt was another source of concern for the credit rating agency. “The high debt level and substantial portion of mortgages with variable interest rates increase the vulnerability of the...