Finland among the world's Top 20 congress destinations

4.8.2026

Finland ranks 17th in the UIA global meeting statistics report in 2025. It consistently ranks among the world's top 20 congress destinations.

According to the annual meetings statistics report*, published by the Union of International Associations (UIA) in June, Finland ranks 17th in the international comparison of congress countries, the top three countries being the USA, South Korea and Austria. Finland moved down two spots in the ranking. Among the Nordic countries, Norway ranked 14th, ahead of Finland, while Denmark and Sweden placed 20th and 23rd respectively. In the comparison of congress cities, Helsinki ranks 20th.

With several congresses already confirmed, Finland continues to be a popular destination for international events. Many association meetings and congresses are scheduled to take place in Finland during the second half of 2026 and in the years ahead. 

The World Planning Schools Congress 2026 brought together more than 1500 planning researchers, practitioners and educators from around the world in Espoo and Helsinki in July. With over 1200 scientific presentations across 15 tracks, 67 roundtables and 92 special sessions, WPSC 2026 was the largest academic planning event ever held. It was the first time the congress was organised in Europe and in Finland. 

The European Conference on Educational Research ECER is the largest educational research conference in Europe. The next ECER, to be held in Tampere in August 2026, is turning out to be the most well-attended conference in the ECER history. More than 4400 abstracts have been submitted for the conference, representing the highest number ever. The annual conference has been held since 1992.

Helsinki will be the host city for The SSIEM Annual Symposium of the Society for the Study of Inborn Errors of Metabolism in August. The event is expected to attract 2000 participants to Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre Messukeskus. The 11th IEEE Electronics System-Integration Technology Conference IEEE ESTC, welcoming 350 participants, will take place at Finlandia Hall in Helsinki in September. 

Lappeenranta will proudly host the 18th International European Geoparks Conference EGN (350 delegates) in September, and Vaasa will play host to the Nordic Conference on Human-Computer Interaction NordiCHI in October (300 delegates). 

In May 2027, the 37th Conference of the European Wound Management Association EWMA (3500 participants) and the 27th International Symposium on Radiopharmaceutical Sciences ISRS (800 participants) will take place in Helsinki. 

Congress of the Nordic Association of Otorhinolaryngology will be held in Turku in May 2027. The expected number of participants is 500. The 13th International Conference of Engineering Education for Sustainable Development EESD2027 in June 2027 brings together educators, researchers, and industry leaders to Turku to explore how sustainability can be embedded in engineering education and to share best practices for shaping a sustainable future.

The 28th Nordic Congress of Gerontology NKG will be organized in Jyväskylä in June 2027, with 700 people expected to attend.

European Narratology Network Conference will take place in Tampere in June 2027 and Congress of the Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology NFOG (1000 delegates) in August 2027. NFOG 2027 will feature a high-quality scientific program with distinguished speakers from across the Nordic countries and beyond.

FIM Europe Congress (Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme) has chosen Lahti as their host city in July 2027.

For a comprehensive list of upcoming congresses in Finland, please see our Congress Calendar.

* UIA.org / 67th International Meetings Statistics Report, June 2026.

According to the report, almost 9300 international association meetings took place globally in 2025. 
Number of countries represented for the reporting year (2025): 173. 
Number of cities represented for the reporting year (2025): 1445.

The report does not include corporate meetings or other corporate events. Since 1960, UIA has prepared statistics on the international meetings that have taken place worldwide in the preceding year.