The spring matriculation exams start today, Tuesday, beginning with a reading comprehension test in the native language and literature.
A total of 50,400 candidates have registered for the examination, which is approximately 2,100 more than in spring 2025, according to the Matriculation Examination Board Office.
The number of registered candidates is the highest since comparable data became available in 2012.
There are approximately 145,000 registrations for various exams, which is about 5,200 more than a year ago.
“The increase in the number of applicants is mainly due to the size of the age groups attending upper secondary school. These age groups will continue to grow for a couple of years before the trend reverses,” Tiina Tähkä, the secretary general of the Matriculation Examination Board, noted in a release.
The percentage of retakes among all registrations has also risen slightly. In the spring exams, 22 percent of registrations are for retaking either failed or previously passed exams, compared to about 20 percent in recent years. During the spring, many students retake exams in subjects like biology, chemistry and English.
Exams in Finnish or Swedish as a second language and literature are also scheduled for today. On Thursday, short-course foreign language exams will take place. Friday is designated for the mother tongue and literature writing exam.
