Accessibility statement for Statistics Finland’s web service

Statistics Finland aims to guarantee the accessibility of its web services in accordance with the Act on the Provision of Digital Services (306/2019).

This accessibility statement applies to Statistics Finland's stat.fi website. Separate statements have been made on Statistics Finland's other web services.

State of accessibility

Statistics Finland’s web service is partially compliant with the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 level AA. 

We are in the process of renewing our website, and parts of the contents are already published on new kinds of pages. New kinds of pages are now available in the Statistical data section of the website. We aim to make all the pages that are being renewed accessible. There are deficiencies in accessibility particularly on older pages.

If you need such content that you cannot use because of deficiencies in accessibility, please contact Statistics Finland’s information services. Email address of information services is info@stat.fi and telephone number +358 29 551 2220.

Non-accessible content

  • Not all images on the website have text alternatives or the text alternatives are incomplete. There are deficiencies especially in the figures of the statistical releases published before 5 April 2022. The structure and content of tables used as text alternatives to newer statistical figures are in some cases difficult to understand (WCAG 1.1.1)
  • The website has videos that do not have subtitling and do not have an audio description or script. The requirements of the Act do not apply to videos published before 23 September 2020. Audio description is also missing from videos published after that. (WCAG 1.2.1, 1.2.2, 1.2.3, 1.2.5)
  • There are shortcomings in the headings of the pages. For some pages the heading levels have not been used or they have not been used hierarchically correctly. Especially in tables the notations of column and row headings are missing. In the files on the pages the content structures have been marked deficiently. The requirements of the Act do not apply to files published before 23 September 2018. There are also deficiencies in newer files than this. (WCAG 1.3.1)
  • The order of contents in the Future publications section does not fully describe the relationships of the content. Some PDF files have deficiencies in reading sequence affecting meaning especially in graphs. The requirements of the Act do not apply to files published before 23 September 2018. There are also deficiencies in newer files than this. (WCAG 1.3.2)
  • Only colour is used in figures for conveying information, so it may be difficult to perceive the content of the figure. In the statistical releases published before 5 April 2022, corrections are reported only in red colour. (WCAG 1.4.1)
  • In some pictures originating from international organisations the text is shown as figures and colour contrasts between the text and background are not sufficient. The requirements of the Act do not apply to such content of a third party. (WCAG 1.4.3, 1.4.5)
  • In statistical graphs, the contrast of all adjacent colours is not sufficient. (WCAG 1.4.11)
  • In some interactive visualisations, moving the pointer over an element triggers more content to become visible that cannot be hidden or shown. (WCAG 1.4.13)
  • The calendar menu of the archived release calendar cannot be used with the keyboard. (WCAG 2.1.1)
  • The website data collection section is missing a transition link that bypasses blocks. (WCAG 2.4.1)
  • The titles are in good order in most parts of the website, but at places the titles do not describe the content sufficiently. (WCAG 2.4.2)
  • Accompanying letters for data collections are available on the web pages as PDF files. Swedish and English language files are marked as Finnish. There are also deficient language markings in other files. (WCAG 3.1.1)
  • The website has pages that contain sections in different languages without the different languages being marked in a way that is understood by assistive devices. For example, links referring to international materials are often in English and there are some expressions in Finnish on Swedish-language pages. (WCAG 3.1.2)
  • Elements on the website that implement the same functionality are not consistently marked. (WCAG 3.2.4)
  • The website code contains shortcomings and errors. Some errors may make it difficult to use or prevent using some pages with assistive devices. (WCAG 4.1.1, 4.1.2)

Due to the extent of the website, not all pages have been assessed and other deficiencies in accessibility may be found there.

We are not able to correct all the shortcomings of our old website due to the large volumes of data and the lack of cost-effective and automated methods, as the correction would impose a disproportionate burden. In assessing the disproportionate burden we have taken into account the needs of people with disabilities to use our web services. (Act on the Provision of Digital Services, Section 8).  We will renew our web service one section at a time and intend to make the new pages accessible.

Our website also has content that is not covered by the Act on the Provision of Digital Services due to release time limits or content limitations (Sections 3 and 17 of the Act on the Provision of Digital Services). Such content includes 

  • Videos published before 23 September 2020
  • Content archived before 23 September 2019
  • Files published before 23 September 2018
  • Map services not meant for navigation
  • Content produced by a third party that Statistics Finland has not produced or financed and the production of which has not been supervised by Statistics Finland.

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 4 April 2022.

We have assessed the accessibility of the service ourselves. In respect of the newest parts of the pages, the assessment was supported by an earlier evaluation made by an external expert organisation. The main and most used pages have been examined in the assessment.

Feedback and contact information

If you notice any deficiencies in the stat.fi web service that are not listed on this page, please let us know about it. We will do our best to correct the deficiencies.

You can send feedback with our feedback form or by email at saavutettavuus@stat.fi. If you want to give feedback by telephone, call Statistics Finland's information services, tel. +358 29 551 2220.

We will respond to your feedback as soon as possible or within two weeks at the latest.

Supervision authority

If you notice accessibility problems on the website, start by giving feedback to us, that is, the website administrator. Receiving a response may take 14 days.

If you are not satisfied with the response from us or if you do not receive any response within two weeks, you may file a report with the Regional State Administrative Agency for Southern Finland. The agency website has detailed instructions (in Finnish and Swedish only) on how to file a complaint and how the issue will be processed.

Supervisory authority’s contact information

Southern Finland Regional State Administrative Agency
Supervision unit of accessibility
Saavutettavuusvaatimukset web service (in Finnish and Swedish only)
saavutettavuus(at)avi.fi
tel. (switchboard) +358 295 016 000