Breast cancer screening programme: preliminary statistics 2025
Finnish Cancer Registry
29.10.2026
Latest annual statistics release
Screening programme overview
– These are the preliminary statistics of the breast cancer screening programme for screening year 2025. They include data on the primary phase of breast cancer screening (mammography) submitted to the Finnish Cancer Registry by 10 October 2026.
– The program’s target population consists of women aged 50–69. In 2016, full coverage in all age groups was achieved. Additionally, people of gender minorities with risk of breast cancer are eligible for screening. The screening method is mammography and the screening interval is two years.
– 341 950 persons were drawn from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency database for screening invitations. The invitation can be left unsent, for example due to non-disclosure for personal safety reasons or missing address details.
– Of the target population year 2025, 82 % attended screening. Of the attendees, 3 % were invited to diagnostic examinations.
– The data on the complete screening chain (incl. diagnostic examinations) of invitees to screening in 2025 will be published in the spring of 2027.
Whole country
Screening process
2025
|
Age group
|
Invited
|
Attended (of invited)
|
Invitation to diagnostic examinations (of attendees)
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | N | % | N | % | |
| 50 | 33599 | 28077 | 83.6 | 1761 | 6.3 |
| 52 | 29177 | 23821 | 81.6 | 728 | 3.1 |
| 54 | 31242 | 25812 | 82.6 | 715 | 2.8 |
| 56 | 32485 | 26406 | 81.3 | 672 | 2.5 |
| 58 | 35652 | 29342 | 82.3 | 732 | 2.5 |
| 60 | 35908 | 29431 | 82.0 | 720 | 2.4 |
| 62 | 36873 | 30225 | 82.0 | 757 | 2.5 |
| 64 | 36121 | 29906 | 82.8 | 767 | 2.6 |
| 66 | 35417 | 29187 | 82.4 | 777 | 2.7 |
| 68 | 35476 | 29149 | 82.2 | 789 | 2.7 |
| Total | 341950 | 281356 | 82.3 | 8418 | 3.0 |
Participation rate
2025
Positivity rate
2025
Population groups
Native language
Screening process
2025
|
Native language
|
Invited
|
Attended (of invited)
|
Invitation to diagnostic examinations (of attendees)
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | N | % | N | % | |
| Domestic | 315604 | 265125 | 84.0 | 7892 | 3.0 |
| Other/missing | 26346 | 16231 | 61.6 | 526 | 3.2 |
| Total | 341950 | 281356 | 82.3 | 8418 | 3.0 |
Level of education
Screening process
2025
|
Education
|
Invited
|
Attended (of invited)
|
Invitation to diagnostic examinations (of attendees)
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | N | % | N | % | |
| Primary education/unknown | 35516 | 22316 | 62.8 | 674 | 3.0 |
| Intermediate/secondary | 135166 | 110125 | 81.5 | 3027 | 2.7 |
| Tertiary/higher education | 171268 | 148915 | 86.9 | 4717 | 3.2 |
| Total | 341950 | 281356 | 82.3 | 8418 | 3.0 |
Region of birth
Screening process
2025
|
Region of birth
|
Invited
|
Attended (of invited)
|
Invitation to diagnostic examinations (of attendees)
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | N | % | N | % | |
| Africa | 1452 | 717 | 49.4 | 15 | 2.1 |
| Oceania | 99 | 66 | 66.7 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Americas | 905 | 573 | 63.3 | 15 | 2.6 |
| Asia | 6689 | 4064 | 60.8 | 109 | 2.7 |
| Europe excl. Finland | 19049 | 12707 | 66.7 | 433 | 3.4 |
| Finland | 313692 | 263185 | 83.9 | 7846 | 3.0 |
| Unknown | 64 | 44 | 68.8 | 0 | 0.0 |
| Total | 341950 | 281356 | 82.3 | 8418 | 3.0 |
Collaboration areas
Screening process
2025
|
Collaborative area
|
Invited
|
Attended (of invited)
|
Invitation to diagnostic examinations (of attendees)
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | N | % | N | % | |
| Eastern Finland | 51703 | 43783 | 84.7 | 1577 | 3.6 |
| Inland Finland | 54921 | 46515 | 84.7 | 1091 | 2.3 |
| Northern Finland | 43563 | 37292 | 85.6 | 1020 | 2.7 |
| Southern Finland | 138304 | 108523 | 78.5 | 3048 | 2.8 |
| Western Finland | 53459 | 45243 | 84.6 | 1682 | 3.7 |
| Total | 341950 | 281356 | 82.3 | 8418 | 3.0 |
Wellbeing services counties
Screening process
2025
|
Wellbeing service county
|
Invited
|
Attended (of invited)
|
Invitation to diagnostic examinations (of attendees)
|
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | N | % | N | % | |
| Central Finland | 16346 | 13974 | 85.5 | 232 | 1.7 |
| Central Ostrobothnia | 3996 | 3374 | 84.4 | 69 | 2.0 |
| Central Uusimaa | 13761 | 10825 | 78.7 | 302 | 2.8 |
| City of Helsinki | 38368 | 29185 | 76.1 | 833 | 2.9 |
| East Uusimaa | 6905 | 5684 | 82.3 | 171 | 3.0 |
| Kainuu | 4719 | 4002 | 84.8 | 101 | 2.5 |
| Kanta-Häme | 11506 | 9631 | 83.7 | 222 | 2.3 |
| Kymenlaakso | 11086 | 9204 | 83.0 | 274 | 3.0 |
| Lapland | 11314 | 9545 | 84.4 | 351 | 3.7 |
| North Karelia | 10318 | 8742 | 84.7 | 465 | 5.3 |
| North Ostrobothnia | 23534 | 20371 | 86.6 | 499 | 2.4 |
| North Savo | 15924 | 13476 | 84.6 | 680 | 5.0 |
| Ostrobothnia | 10068 | 8586 | 85.3 | 215 | 2.5 |
| Pirkanmaa | 31377 | 26534 | 84.6 | 623 | 2.3 |
| Päijät-Häme | 13484 | 11136 | 82.6 | 134 | 1.2 |
| Satakunta | 13623 | 11591 | 85.1 | 402 | 3.5 |
| South Karelia | 8316 | 6954 | 83.6 | 158 | 2.3 |
| South Ostrobothnia | 12038 | 10350 | 86.0 | 246 | 2.4 |
| South Savo | 9115 | 7591 | 83.3 | 200 | 2.6 |
| Southwest Finland | 29768 | 25066 | 84.2 | 1065 | 4.2 |
| Vantaa and Kerava | 16106 | 12315 | 76.5 | 453 | 3.7 |
| West Uusimaa | 30278 | 23220 | 76.7 | 723 | 3.1 |
| Total | 341950 | 281356 | 82.3 | 8418 | 3.0 |
Participation rate maps
Wellbeing services counties
Latest year (2025)
Municipalities
Latest year (2025)
Details
Data
- The data includes all persons eligible for screening in 2025, and their primary phase (mammography) screening data reported by 10 October 2026.
- These are preliminary statistics, the numbers of which may still be updated before the official statistics release in the spring of 2027.
Indicator definitions
- The participation rate was calculated by dividing the number of attendees with the number of persons invited. All persons drawn for screening have been interpreted as invited, so the actual number of invitations in these years might be slightly smaller/larger than reported here.
- Screening findings are classified at the screening episode level, according to the most severe finding of the person within the episode.
- The confidence intervals of positivity rates model the uncertainty related to the size of the population and random variation. The intervals are calculated using the exact binomial model at 95% confidence.
Population classification
- The statistics production uses Statistics Finland’s individual-level data on education under permit TK/2743/07.03.00/2023.
- Education categories were created by combining the categories of pre-primary, lower primary, and upper primary education into the primary education category, combining secondary education and special vocational qualifications into the secondary education category, and combining lower and upper tertiary education and doctoral education into the tertiary education category. Unknown and missing data were combined with the primary education category. The education data is from the year preceding the screening year (e.g for screening year2025, the education data is from 2024).
- Native language and country of birth are based on data from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.
Result classification
- Normal/benign: The next invitation will be sent in two years.
- Invitation to diagnostic examinations: The person was invited to diagnostic examinations (supplementary mammography, ultrasound, or biopsy).