What Finland's 2024 arthroplasty registry tells us

Finland keeps one of the most complete joint-replacement registries in the world. The 2024 figures are reassuring — and they let us give patients honest, evidence-based answers.

The numbers

• About 32,700 primary hip, knee and shoulder replacements were performed in 2024 — roughly 120 every working day, and around 20% more than the year before.
• Osteoarthritis was the reason in the large majority of cases — about 89% of hips and 96% of knees.
• Around two-thirds of patients were over 65.
• Reporting coverage is 97–98% — among the best in the world, which makes the data genuinely trustworthy.

Built to last

Only about 1% of hip and 0.6% of knee replacements in use are revised in a given year — the overwhelming majority keep doing their job, one of the clearest success stories in modern medicine.

Where the work still is

Infection remains the leading reason a joint ever needs revision. That keeps our focus on prevention — patient optimisation, meticulous technique and careful aftercare — not on the newest gadget.