Finnish Education in Georgia
Georgia's international school market is small but growing, mostly around Tbilisi. A Finnish-curriculum school already operates just outside the capital, giving families and educators a working example of the approach.
- Georgia's Ministry of Education runs a free public system alongside a small, growing private and international sector concentrated in Tbilisi and Batumi.
- A Finnish International School already operates in Saguramo, near Tbilisi, opened in 2019 with support from Finnish partners, using an English-medium, Georgia-localised version of the Finnish curriculum.
- Georgia's PISA 2022 results sat below the OECD average and were roughly flat since 2018, a period that coincided with the removal of Georgia's national school-leaving exam in 2019 and frequent changes in education leadership.
- Migration into Georgia since 2022, including from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine, roughly doubled the number of international students in the country and filled private-school capacity in Tbilisi.
Georgia's school system and its small international sector
Public schooling in Georgia is free and Georgian-medium, with some schools teaching in Armenian, Azerbaijani or Russian for minority communities. The private and international sector remains small but is growing, concentrated in Tbilisi, and includes established players such as the British International School of Tbilisi and IB World Schools including the European School in Tbilisi and Newton Free School.
A Finnish school already exists in Georgia
The Finnish International School in Saguramo, near Tbilisi, opened in 2019 and is reportedly the country's first school authorised to use a Finnish-model curriculum. It was set up with Finnish partners Polar Partners and Tbilinomics Policy Advisors, teaches in English using a version of the Finnish curriculum localised for Georgia (Georgian history in place of Finnish history, for example), and also serves as a training base for local teachers learning Finnish methods.
This makes Georgia one of the more concrete examples of Finnish pedagogy operating outside Finland, rather than a purely hypothetical fit.
Why Georgia's recent reforms leave room for a Finnish-style alternative
Georgia's PISA scores have stayed below the OECD average through the 2018 and 2022 assessment cycles, a period that included the 2019 removal of the national school-leaving exam and repeated changes in education-ministry leadership. Against that backdrop of reform instability, and a private-school sector already stretched by post-2022 migration, a low-stakes, teacher-autonomy-driven approach like Finnish education offers families a clearer, tested alternative.
Frequently asked questions
Is there already a Finnish-curriculum school in Georgia?
Yes. The Finnish International School in Saguramo, near Tbilisi, has operated since 2019 using an English-medium, Georgia-localised version of the Finnish curriculum.
How does Georgia's school system compare with Finland's?
Georgia runs a free public system with a small, growing private sector. Unlike Finland, Georgia has faced instability in its national assessment policy in recent years, including the 2019 removal of its school-leaving exam.
Is Finnish education growing in demand in Georgia?
There is no independent survey data on parent demand specifically, but rising international-student numbers since 2022 and growing interest in alternatives to Georgia's exam-policy changes point in that direction.
Related reading
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