Finland's coalition government resigned on Friday a month ahead of a general election, saying it could not deliver on a healthcare reform package that is widely seen as crucial to securing long-term government finances.

Key points: Prime Minister Juha Sipila said he would resign if the reforms weren't carried

Prime Minister Juha Sipila said he would resign if the reforms weren't carried Demographic pressures have reduced Finland's capacity to pay for healthcare

Demographic pressures have reduced Finland's capacity to pay for healthcare Finland heads to the polls on April 14

Healthcare systems across much of the developed world have come under increasing stress in recent years as treatment costs soar and people live longer, meaning fewer workers are supporting more pensioners.

Nordic countries, where comprehensive welfare is the cornerstone of the social model, have been among the most affected.

Finland's post-war governments developed a generous social welfare program that included universal healthcare. ( Vapriikki Photo Archives: EM Staf )

But reform has been controversial and, in Finland, plans to cut costs and boost efficiency have stalled for years.

"The picture I've got over the last few days from parliament forces me to draw conclusions. There is no way ahead. I am hugely disappointed," Centre Party Prime Minister Juha Sipila told reporters at a news conference.

"We need reforms, there is no other way for Finland to succeed."

Parliament's constitutional committee said the reform package was unconstitutional and required significant changes the government did not have time to implement before the scheduled elections.

President Sauli Niinisto accepted Mr Sipila's resignation but asked his government of his Centre party and the National Coalition Party to continue in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet was appointed.

"My government works on a 'result or out' principle... one has to carry responsibility in politics," Mr Sipila said.

He added it was his personal decision to resign.

The government had aimed to dramatically slow the increase in healthcare spending over the next decade, reducing the budget to €18.3 billion euros ($29.2 billion) in 2029 against an estimate of €21.3 billion.

Demographic pressures prompt social welfare cuts

Finns live longer as a result of its post-war welfare, which has strained its capacity to deliver cradle-to-grave welfare. ( Finnish Museum of Photography )

The reforms expected to generate savings by creating 18 new regions to organise healthcare services instead of the 200 entities that are currently responsible.

Critics said the scale of the projected savings was unrealistic.

Other Nordic countries have also grappled with the need to cut costs.

Sweden is to gradually raise its retirement age and has opened up parts of the healthcare system to the private sector in a bid to boost efficiency.

Denmark will gradually increase the retirement age to 73 — the highest in the world — while cutting taxes and unemployment benefits to encourage people to work more.

The problem has been particularly acute in Finland where the financial crisis of 2008-9 magnified the effects of demographic changes such as a rapidly declining birth rate.

Several Finnish governments have tried to push through healthcare reform in different forms over the past 12 years, and all have failed.

Mr Sipila had previously said he would dissolve his centre-right coalition government if it failed to push through its healthcare and local government reform.

With the election so close, analysts said the Prime Minister's resignation would have a minor effect.

"Since elections were already set for 14 April, the resignation of the government is not a big deal at all at this point. Still, it does create some ugly headlines," Nordea's chief analyst Jan von Gerich wrote on Twitter.

The latest poll by national broadcaster Yleisradio (YLE) puts the Social Democrats on 21.3 percent ahead of the National Coalition Party on 16.2 percent and the Centre on 14.1 percent.

In the 2015 general election Mr Sipila's Centre party topped the poll with 21.2 percent of the vote.

At 9.5 percent of GDP, Finland ranked ninth among EU countries in terms of how much it spent on healthcare in 2016, relative to the size of its economy, according to Eurostat figures.

Spending has declined over recent years as a result of sluggish growth.

France topped the rankings at 11.5 percent of GDP with Germany second and Sweden third. Denmark was fifth. Non-EU member Norway would rank fourth.

Reuters