ADHD medication use among young boys in Finland has more than doubled since 2017, with the share of boys starting treatment remaining considerably higher than comparable figures reported in Sweden and Norway, according to new data from the Social Insurance Institution of Finland, Kela.
In 2025, 3.1% of boys aged six to eight started ADHD medication. That was up from 2.9% in 2024 and 1.4% in 2017. The figures point to a substantial increase over the past decade, although Kela says the pace of growth appears to have slowed in recent years.
A total of 4,160 boys aged six to eight received ADHD medication in Finland in 2025. Of these, 2,352 began treatment during the year, while 1,808 had already started medication earlier. When both new and existing users are counted, 5.3% of boys in the age group received at least one ADHD medicine during the year.
Medication use among boys in this age group has risen steadily since 2017. The proportion receiving at least one ADHD medicine increased from 2.2% that year to 5.4% in 2023. It remained at 5.4% in 2024 before edging down to 5.3% in 2025.
“ADHD medication among young boys has settled at quite a high level, although the strongest growth appears to have slowed,” said Miika Vuori, a research manager at Kela. He said more research is needed to understand the reasons for the increase and how children reach medication treatment.
The national figures also hide significant differences between Finland’s wellbeing services counties. In North Savo, 5.3% of boys aged six to eight started ADHD medication in 2025. North Karelia followed closely at 5.2%. At the other end of the scale, Helsinki and Ostrobothnia both recorded a rate of 1.6%.
The regional differences become even larger when the figures include all boys who received medication during 2025, including those who had begun treatment in previous years. In North Karelia, 12.9% of boys aged six to eight received ADHD medication during the year, compared with 10.2% in North Savo. In Helsinki, the corresponding figure was 2.6%.
Kela’s register data cannot explain why medication use varies so sharply between regions. The differences may be linked to several parts of the healthcare system, but the available data do not establish a specific cause. Kela researchers plan to examine factors including access to healthcare, treatment pathways, the availability of healthcare professionals and the use of non-drug support.
Finland’s figures are also higher than those reported in Sweden and Norway, although Kela has warned that the countries use different age groups, registers and measurement methods. The figures therefore should not be treated as a direct comparison of ADHD treatment practices.
In Sweden, 2.7% of boys aged five to nine received ADHD medication in 2025. When the same age range is used for Finland, the rate was 5.7%.
Norwegian data show a similar increase over time, although from a lower level. Among boys aged six to 12, ADHD medication use increased from 2.6% in 2017 to 3.8% in 2025. In Finland, use among boys in the same age group rose from 3.9% to 9.8% over the same period.
The Finnish analysis is based on Kela records of reimbursed medicine purchases from 2017 through 2025. The regional comparison does not include the autonomous region of Aland.
The figures measure medication use rather than the number of children diagnosed with ADHD, and they do not by themselves explain why treatment has become more common. Kela is now preparing longer-term data that will allow researchers to follow groups of children over time, including their use of medication, rehabilitation and health and social services. That work could provide a clearer picture of how children move through the Finnish healthcare system and how medication fits into their wider treatment and support.
