Atlas report
AI researchers in Finland
University of Helsinki is the largest, with 445 indexed researchers, barely ahead of Aalto University at 431. No single place dominates here.
The short answer
Finland is the 29th country by indexed AI researchers, 2 864 of them.
The subject where Finland weighs most against the rest of the world is Software Engineering Techniques and Practices: 1.3% of its subject assignments work on it, 5.6 times the world share of 0.2%.
Per million inhabitants, Finland has 511 AI researchers in the index against 90 worldwide, 5.7 times the world figure.
What stands out
Finland holds 0.4% of the researchers with a known country and 0.1% of the world's population, 5.7 times its demographic weight.
Industry employs 15% of Finland's indexed AI researchers; worldwide the share is 8.8%, so the country runs at 1.7 times the average.
Subjects
The single most common subject is Topic Modeling, on which 5.3% of Finland's subject assignments fall.
Subject reports: Natural Language Processing Techniques.
| Subject | Researchers | Share here | Share worldwide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topic Modeling | 316 | 5.3% | 7.9% |
| Natural Language Processing Techniques | 244 | 4.1% | 4.3% |
| Advanced Neural Network Applications | 136 | 2.3% | 4.4% |
| Speech Recognition and Synthesis | 133 | 2.2% | 1.3% |
| Software Engineering Research | 115 | 1.9% | 1.0% |
| Speech and Audio Processing | 115 | 1.9% | 1.0% |
| Software Engineering Techniques and Practices | 76 | 1.3% | 0.2% |
| Gaussian Processes and Bayesian Inference | 72 | 1.2% | 0.3% |
Newcomers by year
Newcomers between 2023 and 2025 number 345 in Finland, against 340 between 2020 and 2022: a ratio of 1.0, where the world sits at 1.1.
The 2025 intake for Finland was 1.0 times the average of the three previous years, against 0.8 worldwide.
Topic Modeling is the subject newcomers in Finland pick up fastest: 47 started on it between 2023 and 2025, and its share of new entrants is 1.1 times its share in the previous window.
| First publication | New in Finland | Share of the world's newcomers |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 120 | 0.6% |
| 2020 | 99 | 0.5% |
| 2021 | 104 | 0.4% |
| 2022 | 137 | 0.4% |
| 2023 | 110 | 0.4% |
| 2024 | 112 | 0.4% |
| 2025 | 123 | 0.5% |
Institutions
40% of the country's researchers sit in three institutions, led by University of Helsinki.
University of Helsinki is the largest, with 445 indexed researchers, barely ahead of Aalto University at 431. No single place dominates here.
| Institution | Researchers | Share of the country |
|---|---|---|
| University of Helsinki | 445 | 16% |
| Aalto University | 431 | 15% |
| Tampere University | 263 | 9.2% |
Compared with its peers
The two countries closest in size are Denmark and Belgium. Same order of magnitude, different profile. The gap that stands out is the share working in a company: 15% here against 6.8% for those two. Reports: AI researchers in Denmark, AI researchers in Belgium.
| Finland | Denmark | Belgium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Researchers | 2 864 | 2 919 | 3 034 |
| Per million inhabitants | 511 | 486 | 257 |
| In a company | 15% | 6.0% | 7.6% |
| Early career | 49% | 52% | 50% |
| Newcomers, recent against previous window | 1.0 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
Common questions
- How many AI researchers are there in Finland?
- As of November 2026, the index holds 2 864 researchers whose institution sits in Finland, 0.4% of everyone with a known country.
- Where do you find AI researchers in Finland?
- University of Helsinki, 445, Aalto University, 431, Tampere University, 263. Together they hold 40% of the country's indexed researchers.
- What is Finland strongest in?
- Software Engineering Techniques and Practices, at 5.6 times the world share.
- Is the pool of AI researchers in Finland growing?
- Yes, at the world's pace. Between 2023 and 2025, 345 people in Finland published for the first time, against 340 over the three years before, a ratio of 1.0 where the world sits at 1.1.
The names behind the numbers
Every count on this page is a list in the index.
Search it by subject and country, and get an alert before they come free.