Financial support

All the Nordic countries provide financial support for children living at home. In all countries, parents receive a financial support in the form of child allowance. All countries also have regulations helping with child maintenance if parents are no longer cohabiting. Furthermore, there are regulations in place that makes it possible for authorities to pay a child maintenance allowance to the parent having the child at home.

Child allowance

All the Nordic countries have regulations that provide allowances for children. The allowance is tax-free in all countries and only means-tested in Iceland. In Finland and Sweden, the allowance is equal for children of all age groups, meaning that in the other Nordic countries the size of the allowance depends on the age of the child. Most countries provide child allowances for children until they reach the age of 18 years, except for Finland where the age limit is 17 years, and Sweden where the age limit is 16 years. 

The following graph shows the annual payments of child allowance in the Nordic countries.  

The data presented is correlated with the purchasing power standard (purchasing power parity/Euro) to enhance the comparison of the allowance. Using the purchasing power standard, it is possible to compare the values more directly than when using the national currency. 

Author group

Editorial group for NOSOSCO welfare statistics