Population:

 6 million

Number of prostitutes:

4000

Of which migrant:

1800

De Jure

Prostitution:

Prostitution is neither illegal nor regulated. Pimping and promoting prostitution are forbidden.

Age of consent (homosexual):

18

De Facto

Prostitution has not been common in Finland and it has not been professionally organised. Previously there used to be no street or child prostitution. However, the situation has changed since the beginning of the 1990s, when prostitution became more common and more organised.

In 1999, following Sweden's adoption of tough legislation which criminalises buyers of sex, Finland debated doing the same.  The bill was rejected in parliament by a narrow margin.

The police speak of hundreds of women from Estonia and Russia who come to Finland on a tourist visa for a few weeks. These women work as prostitutes in their home countries but come to Finland to earn more money

In early 2000 there were 13 sex clubs in Helsinki, as compared to only one in 1998