Helsinki, Dec 20 (IANS): The income gap widened in Finland in 2021, the national statistical institute said.

Statistics Finland said on Monday that the average income among the highest-income decile of the population grew by 8.1 per cent in real terms, reports Xinhua news agency.

However, the actual income of the lowest-income decile remained on a level with the previous year, while the actual income level of the middle-income deciles rose by 1.5 percent.

These factors led to relative income differences approaching their previous record year of 2007.

In Finland in 2021, the average income in the lowest group was 11,703 euros ($12,435).

Meanwhile, the average income in the highest decile was 77,398 euros.

In Finland, income differences began to increase in the mid-90s.

Based on the Eurostat definition of 60 percent on median income, 718,700 Finns, or 13.2 per cent of the population, were defined as having a low income, or 1,350 euros for a single-person household in 2021.

Some 241,200 people had no other income than social security support in 2021.

While most Finnish welfare state services are universal, certain benefits such as housing subsidies are calculated based on income.

Finland also maintains a highly progressive income tax system, whereby income tax percentages increase with income.