Demographics of Finland

Demographics of Finland
Population pyramid of Finland in 2020
Population	5 569 431 (27.9. 2022 est)
Growth rate	0.24% (2022 est.)
Birth rate	8.9 births/1,000 population (2021)
Death rate	10.4 deaths/1,000 population (2021)
Life expectancy	81.76 years
• male	78.86 years
• female	84.79 years (2022 est.)
Fertility rate	1.45 children born/woman (2021)
Infant mortality rate	2.13 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate	2.35 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years	15.4% (2021)
15–64 years	61.6% (2021)
65 and over	23.1% (2021)
Sex ratio
Total	0.97 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth	1.05 male(s)/female
Under 15	1.05 male(s)/female
65 and over	0.63 male(s)/female
Nationality
Nationality	Finn
Major ethnic	Finnish (91.5% background)
Language
Official	Finnish
Spoken	Finnish

Finland has a population of over 5.53 million people and an average population density of 19 inhabitants per square kilometre (49/sq mi). This makes it the third most sparsely populated country in Europe, after Iceland and Norway. Population distribution is very uneven: the population is concentrated on the small southwestern coastal plain. About 85% live in towns and cities, with 1.5 million living in the Greater Helsinki area.^[1] In Arctic Lapland, on the other hand, there are only two inhabitants per square kilometre (5.2/sq mi).

Finland is a relatively ethnically homogeneous country. The dominant ethnicity is Finnish but there are also notable historic minorities of Finland-Swedes, Sami and Roma people. As a result of recent immigration there are now also large groups of ethnic Russians, Estonians, Iraqis and Somalis in the country. 7.9% of the population is born abroad and 5.2% are foreign citizens.^[2] The official languages are Finnish and Swedish, the latter being the native language of about 5.2% of the Finnish population.^[3] From the 13th to the early 19th century Finland was a part of Sweden.

With 68.7% of Finns in its congregation, the Lutheran Church is the largest religious group in the country. Two million people with roots in Finland live abroad. In a 2017 survey, 10% of residents of Finland said that they would prefer to live abroad.^[4]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1750	421,000	—
1760	490,000	+16.4%
1770	560,000	+14.3%
1780	660,000	+17.9%
1790	706,000	+7.0%
1800	837,000	+18.6%
1810	863,000	+3.1%
1820	1,177,500	+36.4%
1830	1,372,100	+16.5%
1840	1,445,600	+5.4%
1850	1,636,900	+13.2%
1860	1,746,700	+6.7%
1870	1,768,800	+1.3%
1880	2,060,800	+16.5%
1890	2,380,100	+15.5%
1900	2,655,900	+11.6%
1910	2,943,400	+10.8%
1920	3,147,600	+6.9%
1930	3,462,700	+10.0%
1940	3,695,610	+6.7%
1950	4,029,800	+9.0%
1960	4,496,220	+11.6%
1970	4,598,330	+2.3%
1980	4,787,770	+4.1%
1990	4,998,480	+4.4%
2000	5,181,000	+3.7%
2010	5,375,300	+3.8%
2020	5,536,146	+3.0%
Population size prior to 1812 may be affected by changes on administrative divisions. 2019 source[5]

The earliest inhabitants of most of the land area that makes up today's Finland and Scandinavia were in all likehood hunter-gatherers whose closest successors in modern terms would probably be the Sami people (formerly known as the Lapps). There are around 10,000 of them living in Finland today and they are recognised as a minority and speak three distinct languages: Northern Sami, Inari Sami and Skolt Sami. They have been living north of the Arctic Circle for more than 7,000 years now, but today are a 5% minority in their native Lapland Province. During the late 19th and 20th century there was significant emigration, particularly from rural areas to Sweden and North America, while most immigrants into Finland itself come from other European countries.

In 2022 there is an estimated 5,601,547 people in Finland.

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.^[6]

• One birth every 9 minutes
• One death every 10 minutes
• One net migrant every 38 minutes
• Net gain of one person every 28 minutes

The geographical center of population (Weber point) of the Finnish population is currently located in Hauho, in the village of Sappee, now part of the town of Hämeenlinna. The coordinates of this point are 61' 17" N, 25' 07" E.^[7]

Urbanization

urban population: 85.4% of total population (2018)

rate of urbanization: 0.42% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)

The profound demographic and economic changes that occurred in Finland after World War II affected the Finnish family. Families became smaller, dropping from an average of 3.6 persons in 1950 to an average of 2.7 by 1975. Family composition did not change much in that quarter of a century, however, and in 1975 the percentage of families that consisted of a man and a woman was 24.4; of a couple and children, 61.9; of a woman with offspring, 11.8; of a man and offspring, 1.9. These percentages are not markedly different from those of 1950. Change was seen in the number of children per family, which fell from an average of 2.24 in 1950 to an average of 1.7 in the mid-1980s, and large families were rare. Only 2 percent of families had four or more children, while 51 percent had one child; 38 percent, two children; and 9 percent, three children. The number of Finns under the age of 18 dropped from 1.5 million in 1960 to 1.2 million in 1980.^[8]

People of foreign background have more babies in Finland in 2021 than of Finnish roots. Based on the ancestry, the total fertility rate of men and women in Finland in 2021, was the highest among women of foreign background born abroad (1.7), followed by women of foreign background born in Finland (1.65), making an average of 1.45 fertility rate of women in Finland. Women of Finnish background, have a fertility rate of a little above 1.4.^[9]

As per men, the total fertility rate was a little above 1.3 with men of Finnish background being a little below the average level. On the other hand, the fertility rates of men of foreign backgrounds and those with foreign backgrounds and born abroad, had approximately a 1.45 fertility rate, respectively.^[9]

The most common background countries for women with a foreign background who gave birth from 2018 to 2021 were countries of the former Soviet Union, Somalia and Iraq.^[9]

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. It is based on fairly good data for the entire period. Sources: Our World In Data and Gapminder Foundation.^[10]

Years	1776	1777	1778	1779	1780	1781	1782	1783	1784	1785	1786	1787	1788	1789	1790[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	5.42	5.51	5.82	5.91	5.71	5.17	5.74	5.42	5.79	5.39	5.6	5.46	4.86	4.51	4.88

Years	1791	1792	1793	1794	1795	1796	1797	1798	1799	1800[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	4.66	5.43	5.71	5.41	5.18	5.05	5.2	5.08	5.09	4.92

Years	1801	1802	1803	1804	1805	1806	1807	1808	1809	1810[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	5.07	5.23	4.78	5.24	5.21	4.84	4.97	4.16	3.69	5.1

Years	1811	1812	1813	1814	1815	1816	1817	1818	1819	1820[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	4.66	4.95	4.6	4.72	4.84	4.82	4.84	4.78	4.51	4.55

Years	1821	1822	1823	1824	1825	1826	1827	1828	1829	1830[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	5.34	4.59	5.21	4.84	4.83	4.89	4.77	5.12	4.98	4.85

Years	1831	1832	1833	1834	1835	1836	1837	1838	1839	1840[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	4.58	4.47	3.96	4.75	4.57	4.17	4.17	4.32	4.47	4.59

Years	1841	1842	1843	1844	1845	1846	1847	1848	1849	1850[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	4.56	4.96	4.77	4.64	4.76	4.39	4.46	4.84	4.92	4.78

Years	1851	1852	1853	1854	1855	1856	1857	1858	1859	1860[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	5.17	4.79	4.8	5.02	4.82	4.86	4.48	4.87	4.74	4.84

Years	1861	1862	1863	1864	1865	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	5.2	5.03	4.85	5.28	4.79	4.46	4.47	3.4	4.52	4.86

Years	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876	1877	1878	1879	1880[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	4.95	4.87	4.97	5.12	4.95	4.97	5.19	4.81	5.14	5.01

Years	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	4.79	4.99	4.96	5.04	4.79	4.98	5.17	5.07	4.89	4.83

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899[10]
Total Fertility Rate in Finland	5.04	4.65	4.43	4.59	4.87	4.8	4.77	5.07	4.96

The rate of fertility in Finland was greater than in neighbouring countries throughout the 20th century. After 2010, it has been dropping dramatically, although other Nordic countries had no such trend until recently. It's a modern phenomenon that Sweden and Finland are both social oriented countries, having almost the same income, but only Finland is faced with a natural population decline (excluding immigration).^[11] However, since 2020, there is evidence of fertility recovery as births increased by around 1,000 (around 7%) in the first quarter of 2021.^[12]

Region	Fertility rate (2016)[13]	Fertility rate (2017)[14]
Uusimaa	1.45	1.38
Southwest Finland	1.45	1.42
Satakunta	1.66	1.61
Kanta-Häme	1.59	1.61
Pirkanmaa	1.51	1.42
Päijät-Häme	1.51	1.49
Kymenlaakso	1.62	1.45
South Karelia	1.52	1.49
South Savo	1.58	1.52
North Savo	1.54	1.46
North Karelia	1.61	1.44
Central Finland	1.60	1.45
South Ostrobothnia	1.91	1.82
Ostrobothnia	1.84	1.75
Central Ostrobothnia	2.13	1.96
North Ostrobothnia	1.91	1.83
Kainuu	1.79	1.59
Lapland	1.59	1.52
Åland	1.79	1.68

Mother's mean age at first birth

28.8 years (2015 est.)

The Finnish population is ageing.

Age structure

0-14 years: 16.44% (male 467,598 /female 445,186)

15-24 years: 11.21% (male 317,500 /female 303,326)

25-54 years: 37.64% (male 1,064,751 /female 1,019,748)

55-64 years: 13.19% (male 359,434 /female 370,993)

65 years and over: 21.51% (male 519,775 /female 671,353) (2018 est.)

Median age

total: 42.6 years. Country comparison to the world: 27th

male: 41 years

female: 44.3 years (2018 est.)

Sources: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

Years	1755	1765	1775	1785	1795	1805	1815	1825	1835	1845	1855	1865	1875	1878	1879	1880[15]
Life expectancy in Finland	37.3	34.9	39.4	33.8	37.1	31.8	35.8	38.4	34.7	40.5	35.1	32.1	41.6	39.2	44.9	39.6

Years	1881	1882	1883	1884	1885	1886	1887	1888	1889	1890[15]
Life expectancy in Finland	37.6	40.4	42.7	42.8	41.3	40.8	45.5	45.1	44.9	44.6

Years	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899	1900[15]
Life expectancy in Finland	42.5	39.7	43.3	45.2	47.6	46.5	48.1	48.0	44.3	41.7

Years	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909	1910[15]
Life expectancy in Finland	42.8	46.2	46.6	47.2	46.0	47.0	46.7	46.1	48.6	48.5

Years	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919	1920[15]
Life expectancy in Finland	48.7	49.1	49.0	49.7	49.5	48.0	46.5	32.8	43.1	47.5

Years	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930[15]
Life expectancy in Finland	52.4	51.9	52.5	50.2	53.4	53.8	51.8	53.7	51.3	54.5

Years	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940[15]
Life expectancy in Finland	54.9	55.8	55.4	56.0	54.4	56.2	57.1	57.2	54.6	46.6

Years	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950[15]
Life expectancy in Finland	46.5	54.0	56.3	48.0	57.2	60.2	60.5	62.0	61.9	64.2

1950–2015

Period	Life expectancy in Years	Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	66.4	1985–1990	75.8
1955–1960	68.2	1990–1995	77.1
1960–1965	69.1	1995–2000	78.4
1965–1970	69.7	2000–2005	79.6
1970–1975	70.9	2005–2010	80.7
1975–1980	72.7	2010–2015	81.6
1980–1985	74.3

Source: UN World Population Prospects

Infant mortality rate

total: 2.5 deaths/1,000 live births Country comparison to the world: 220th

male: 2.7 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 2.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)

Data according to Statistics Finland, which collects the official statistics for Finland.^[16]

	Average population	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Total fertility rate[fn 1][10]
1900	2,646,000	86,339	57,915	28,424	32.6	21.9	10.7	4.83
1901	2,667,000	88,637	56,225	32,412	33.2	21.1	12.2	4.92
1902	2,686,000	87,082	50,999	36,083	32.4	19.0	13.4	4.79
1903	2,706,000	85,120	49,992	35,128	31.5	18.5	13.0	4.62
1904	2,735,000	90,253	50,227	40,026	33.0	18.4	14.7	4.85
1905	2,762,000	87,841	52,773	35,068	31.8	19.1	12.7	4.67
1906	2,788,000	91,401	50,857	40,544	32.8	18.2	14.5	4.81
1907	2,821,000	92,457	53,028	39,429	32.8	18.8	14.0	4.76
1908	2,861,000	92,146	55,305	36,841	32.2	19.3	12.9	4.65
1909	2,899,000	95,005	50,577	44,428	32.8	17.4	15.3	4.72
1910	2,929,000	92,984	51,007	41,977	31.7	17.4	14.3	4.60
1911	2,962,000	91,238	51,648	39,590	30.8	17.4	13.4	4.46
1912	2,998,000	92,275	51,645	40,630	30.8	17.2	13.5	4.45
1913	3,026,000	87,250	51,876	35,374	28.8	17.1	11.7	4.15
1914	3,053,000	87,577	50,690	36,887	28.7	16.6	12.1	4.13
1915	3,083,000	83,306	52,205	31,101	27.0	16.9	10.1	3.89
1916	3,105,000	79,653	54,577	25,076	25.7	17.6	8.1	3.69
1917	3,124,000	81,046	58,863	22,183	25.9	18.8	7.1	3.71
1918	3,125,000	79,494	95,102	-15,608	25.4	30.4	-5.0	3.60
1919	3,117,000	63,896	62,932	964	20.5	20.2	0.3	2.87
1920	3,133,000	84,714	53,304	31,410	27.0	17.0	10.0	3.76
1921	3,170,000	82,165	47,361	34,804	25.9	14.9	11.0	3.58
1922	3,211,000	80,140	49,180	30,960	25.0	15.3	9.6	3.43
1923	3,243,000	81,961	47,556	34,405	25.3	14.7	10.6	3.44
1924	3,272,000	78,057	53,442	24,615	23.9	16.3	7.5	3.22
1925	3,304,000	78,260	47,493	30,767	23.7	14.4	9.3	3.17
1926	3,339,000	76,875	47,526	29,349	23.0	14.2	8.8	3.02
1927	3,368,000	75,611	51,727	23,884	22.5	15.4	7.1	2.92
1928	3,396,000	77,523	48,713	28,810	22.8	14.3	8.5	2.92
1929	3,424,000	76,011	54,489	21,522	22.2	15.9	6.3	2.83
1930	3,449,000	75,236	48,240	26,996	21.8	14.0	7.8	2.75
1931	3,476,000	71,866	48,968	22,898	20.7	14.1	6.6	2.59
1932	3,503,000	69,352	46,700	22,652	19.8	13.3	6.5	2.46
1933	3,526,000	65,047	47,960	17,087	18.4	13.6	4.8	2.27
1934	3,549,000	67,713	46,318	21,395	19.1	13.1	6.0	2.33
1935	3,576,000	69,942	45,370	24,572	19.6	12.7	6.9	2.37
1936	3,601,000	68,895	49,124	19,771	19.1	13.6	5.5	2.31
1937	3,626,000	72,319	46,466	25,853	19.9	12.8	7.1	2.52
1938	3,656,000	76,695	46,930	29,765	21.0	12.8	8.1	2.52
1939	3,686,000	78,164	52,614	25,550	21.2	14.3	6.9	2.56
1940	3,698,000	65,849	71,846	-5,997[17]	17.8	19.4	-1.6	2.15
1941	3,702,000	89,565	73,334	16,231	24.2	19.8	4.4	2.90
1942	3,708,000	61,672	56,141	5,531	16.6	15.1	1.5	2.00
1943	3,721,000	76,112	49,634	26,478	20.5	13.3	7.1	2.46
1944	3,735,000	79,446	70,570	8,876	21.3	18.9	2.4	2.56
1945	3,758,000	95,758	49,046	46,712	25.5	13.1	12.4	3.07
1946	3,806,000	106,075	44,748	61,327	27.9	11.8	16.1	3.41
1947	3,859,000	108,168	46,053	62,115	28.0	11.9	16.1	3.47
1948	3,912,000	107,759	43,668	64,091	27.5	11.2	16.4	3.47
1949	3,963,000	103,515	44,501	59,014	26.1	11.2	14.9	3.33
1950	4,009,000	98,065	40,681	57,384	24.5	10.1	14.3	3.16
1951	4,047,000	93,063	40,386	52,677	23.0	10.0	13.0	3.01
1952	4,090,000	94,314	39,024	55,290	23.1	9.5	13.5	3.06
1953	4,139,000	90,866	39,925	50,941	22.0	9.6	12.3	2.96
1954	4,187,000	89,845	37,988	51,857	21.5	9.1	12.4	2.93
1955	4,235,000	89,740	39,573	50,167	21.2	9.3	11.8	2.93
1956	4,282,000	88,896	38,713	50,183	20.8	9.0	11.7	2.91
1957	4,324,000	86,985	40,741	46,244	20.1	9.4	10.7	2.86
1958	4,360,000	81,148	38,833	42,315	18.6	8.9	9.7	2.68
1959	4,395,000	83,253	38,827	44,426	18.9	8.8	10.1	2.75
1960	4,430,000	82,129	39,797	42,332	18.5	9.0	9.6	2.71
1961	4,461,000	81,996	40,616	41,380	18.4	9.1	9.3	2.65
1962	4,491,000	81,454	42,889	38,565	18.1	9.5	8.6	2.66
1963	4,523,000	82,251	42,010	40,241	18.2	9.3	8.9	2.66
1964	4,549,000	80,428	42,512	37,916	17.7	9.3	8.3	2.58
1965	4,564,000	77,885	44,473	33,412	17.1	9.7	7.3	2.46
1966	4,581,000	77,697	43,548	34,149	17.0	9.5	7.5	2.41
1967	4,606,000	77,289	43,790	33,499	16.8	9.5	7.3	2.32
1968	4,626,000	73,654	45,013	28,641	15.9	9.7	6.2	2.15
1969	4,624,000	67,450	45,966	21,484	14.6	9.9	4.6	1.94
1970	4,606,000	64,559	44,119	20,440	14.0	9.6	4.4	1.83
1971	4,612,000	61,067	45,876	15,191	13.2	9.9	3.3	1.70
1972	4,640,000	58,864	43,958	14,906	12.7	9.5	3.2	1.59
1973	4,666,000	56,787	43,410	13,377	12.2	9.3	2.9	1.50
1974	4,691,000	62,472	44,676	17,796	13.3	9.5	3.8	1.62
1975	4,711,000	65,719	43,828	21,891	14.0	9.3	4.6	1.69
1976	4,726,000	66,846	44,786	22,060	14.1	9.5	4.7	1.72
1977	4,739,000	65,659	44,065	21,594	13.9	9.3	4.6	1.69
1978	4,753,000	63,983	43,692	20,291	13.5	9.2	4.3	1.65
1979	4,765,000	63,428	43,738	19,690	13.3	9.2	4.1	1.64
1980	4,780,000	63,064	44,398	18,666	13.2	9.3	3.9	1.63
1981	4,800,000	63,469	44,404	19,065	13.2	9.3	4.0	1.65
1982	4,827,000	66,106	43,408	22,698	13.7	9.0	4.7	1.72
1983	4,856,000	66,892	45,388	21,504	13.8	9.3	4.4	1.74
1984	4,882,000	65,076	45,098	19,978	13.3	9.2	4.1	1.70
1985	4,902,000	62,796	48,198	14,598	12.8	9.8	3.0	1.64
1986	4,918,000	60,632	47,135	13,497	12.3	9.6	2.7	1.60
1987	4,932,000	59,827	47,949	11,878	12.1	9.7	2.4	1.59
1988	4,946,000	63,316	49,063	14,253	12.8	9.9	2.9	1.70
1989	4,964,000	63,348	49,110	14,238	12.8	9.9	2.9	1.71
1990	4,986,000	65,549	50,028	15,521	13.1	10.0	3.1	1.78
1991	5,014,000	65,395	49,294	16,101	13.1	9.8	3.3	1.79
1992	5,042,000	66,731	49,844	16,887	13.3	9.8	3.4	1.85
1993	5,066,000	64,826	50,988	13,838	12.8	10.1	2.7	1.81
1994	5,088,000	65,231	48,000	17,231	12.8	9.4	3.4	1.85
1995	5,108,000	63,067	49,280	13,787	12.3	9.6	2.7	1.81
1996	5,125,000	60,723	49,167	11,556	11.8	9.6	2.3	1.76
1997	5,140,000	59,329	49,108	10,221	11.5	9.6	2.0	1.75
1998	5,153,000	57,108	49,262	7,846	11.1	9.6	1.5	1.70
1999	5,165,000	57,574	49,345	8,229	11.1	9.6	1.6	1.73
2000	5,176,000	56,742	49,339	7,403	11.0	9.5	1.4	1.73
2001	5,188,000	56,189	48,550	7,639	10.8	9.4	1.5	1.73
2002	5,201,000	55,555	49,418	6,137	10.7	9.5	1.2	1.72
2003	5,213,000	56,630	48,996	7,634	10.9	9.4	1.5	1.76
2004	5,228,000	57,758	47,600	10,158	11.0	9.1	1.9	1.80
2005	5,246,000	57,745	47,928	9,817	11.0	9.1	1.9	1.80
2006	5,266,000	58,840	48,065	10,775	11.2	9.1	2.0	1.84
2007	5,289,000	58,729	49,077	9,652	11.1	9.3	1.8	1.83
2008	5,313,000	59,530	49,094	10,436	11.2	9.2	2.0	1.85
2009	5,339,000	60,430	49,883	10,547	11.3	9.3	2.0	1.86
2010	5,375,000	60,980	50,887	10,193	11.4	9.5	1.9	1.87
2011	5,403,000	59,961	50,585	9,376	11.1	9.4	1.7	1.83
2012	5,426,000	59,493	51,707	7,786	11.0	9.6	1.4	1.80
2013	5,450,000	58,134	51,472	6,662	10.7	9.5	1.2	1.75
2014	5,472,000	57,232	52,186	5,046	10.5	9.6	0.9	1.71
2015	5,486,000	55,472	52,492	2,980	10.1	9.6	0.5	1.65
2016	5,503,000	52,814	53,923	-1,109	9.6	9.8	-0.2	1.57
2017	5,509,000	50,321	53,722	-3,401	9.1	9.8	-0.7	1.49
2018	5,521,000	47,577	54,527	-6,950	8.6	9.9	-1.3	1.41
2019	5,525,292	45,613	53,949	-8,336	8.3	9.8	-1.5	1.35
2020	5,536,146	46,463	55,488	-9,025	8.4	10.0	-1.6	1.37
2021	5,549,599	49,594	57,659	-8,065	8.9	10.4	-1.5	1.46
2022	5,565,519	44,933	62,886	-17 953	8.1	11.3	-3.2	1.32

Period[18][19]	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January – March 2022	11,075	16,413	−5,338
January – March 2023	10,412	14,928	−4,516
Difference	–663 (−5.99%)	–1485 (−9.05%)	+822

Attitudes toward marriage have changed substantially since World War II. Most obvious was the declining marriage rate, which dropped from 8.5 marriages per 1,000 Finns in 1950 to 5.8, in 1984, a decline great enough to mean a drop also in absolute numbers. In 1950 there were 34,000 marriages, while in 1984 only 28,500 were registered, despite a growth in population of 800,000. An explanation for the decline was that there was an unprecedented number of unmarried couples. Since the late 1960s, the practice of cohabitation had become increasingly common, so much so that by the late 1970s most marriages in urban areas grew out of what Finns called "open unions." In the 1980s, it was estimated that about 8 percent of couples who lived together, approximately 200,000 people, did so without benefit of marriage. Partners of such unions usually married because of the arrival of offspring or the acquisition of property. A result of the frequency of cohabitation was that marriages were postponed, and the average age for marriage, which had been falling, began to rise in the 1970s. By 1982 the average marriage age was 24.8 years for women and 26.8 years for men, several years higher for both sexes than had been true a decade earlier.^[20]

The overwhelming majority of Finns did marry, however. About 90 percent of the women had been married by the age of forty, and spinsterhood was rare. A shortage of women in rural regions, however, meant that some farmers were forced into bachelorhood.^[20]

While the number of marriages was declining, divorce became more common, increasing 250 percent between 1950 and 1980. In 1952 there were 3,500 divorces. The 1960s saw a steady increase in this rate, which averaged about 5,000 divorces a year. A high of 10,191 was reached in 1979; afterwards the divorce rate stabilized at about 9,500 per year during the first half of the 1980s.^[20]

A number of factors caused the increased frequency of divorce. One was that an increasingly secularized society viewed marriage, more often than before, as an arrangement that could be ended if it did not satisfy its partners. Another reason was that a gradually expanding welfare system could manage an ever-greater portion of the family's traditional tasks, and it made couples less dependent on the institution of marriage. Government provisions for parental leave, child allowances, child care programs, and much improved health and pension plans meant that the family was no longer essential for the care of children and aged relatives. A further cause for weakened family and marital ties was seen in the unsettling effects of the Great Migration and in the economic transformation Finland experienced during the 1960s and the 1970s. The rupture of established social patterns brought uncertainty and an increased potential for conflict into personal relationships.^[8][20]

Unemployment, youth ages 15–24

total: 20.1%. Country comparison to the world: 65th

male: 21.8%

female: 18.6% (2016 est.)

The literacy rate of Finland is 99% of the country.^[21]

Finnish and Swedish are defined as languages of the state. Swedish is an official municipal language in municipalities with significant Swedish-speaking populations.^[22] The three Sami languages (North Sami, Inari Sami, Skolt Sami) are official in certain municipalities of Lapland.^[23]

Finnish people — Finns — speak Finnish, which is the dominant language and is spoken almost everywhere in the country or Swedish which is the second official language and the only official language in Åland.

Population of mainland Finland (excluding Åland) according to language, 1990–2020:

Population of Finland according to mother language 1990–2020

Mother language	Year[24][25][26][27][28]
	1990		1995		2000		2005		2015		2017		2020
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Finnish	4,675,223	93.5%	4,754,787	92.9%	4,788,497	92.4%	4,819,819	91.7%	4,865,628	88.7%	4,848,761	87.9%	4,811,067	86.9%
Swedish	296,738	5.9%	294,664	5.8%	291,657	5.6%	289,675	5.5%	290,161	5.3%	289,052	5.2%	287,871	5.2%
Russian	3,884	0.1%	15,872	0.3%	28,205	0.5%	39,653	0.8%	72,436	1.3%	77,177	1.4%	84,190	1.5%
Estonian	1,394	0%	8,710	0.2%	10,176	0.2%	15,336	0.3%	48,087	0.9%	49,590	0.9%	49,551	0.9%
Arabic	1,138	0%	2,901	0.1%	4,892	0.1%	7,117	0.1%	16,713	0.3%	26,467	0.5%	34,282	0.6%
English	3,569	0.1%	5,324	0.1%	6,919	0.1%	8,928	0.2%	17,784	0.3%	19,626	0.4%	23,433	0.4%
Somali	0	0%	4,057	0.1%	6,454	0.1%	8,593	0.2%	17,871	0.3%	20,007	0.4%	22,794	0.4%
Kurdish	179	0%	1,381	0%	3,115	0.1%	5,123	0.1%	11,271	0.2%	13,327	0.2%	15,368	0.3%
Persian	291	0%	803	0%	1,205	0%	3,165	0.1%	8,745	0.2%	12,090	0.2%	15,105	0.3%
Chinese	790	0%	2,190	0%	2,907	0.1%	4,613	0.1%	10,722	0.2%	11,825	0.2%	13,778	0.2%
Albanian	0	0%	2,019	0%	3,293	0.1%	5,076	0.1%	9,233	0.2%	10,391	0.2%	12,664	0.2%
Vietnamese	1,643	0%	2,785	0.1%	3,588	0.1%	4,202	0.1%	8,273	0.2%	9,872	0.2%	11,562	0.2%
Thai	244	0%	813	0%	1,458	0%	3,033	0.1%	8,582	0.2%	9,403	0.2%	10,553	0.2%
Turkish	848	0%	1,809	0%	2,435	0%	3,595	0.1%	7,082	0.1%	6,766	0.1%	9,492	0.2%
Spanish	894	0%	1,394	0%	1,946	0%	2,937	0.1%	7,025	0.1%	6,583	0.1%	9,151	0.2%
German	2,427	0%	2,719	0.1%	3,298	0.1%	4,114	0.1%	6,168	0.1%	6,059	0.1%	6,841	0.1%
Polish	901	0%	1,129	0%	1,157	0%	1,445	0%		0%	4,459	0.1%	5,695	0.1%
French	670	0%	1,062	0%	1,585	0%	2,071	0%		0%	3,736	0.1%	4,966	0.1%
Romanian / Moldovan	94	0%	368	0%	617	0%	909	0%		0%	2,878	0.1%	5,680	0%
Hungarian	573	0%	732	0%	1,089	0%	1,206	0%		0%	2,671	0%		0%
Tagalog	118	0%	375	0%	568	0%	764	0%		0%	2,618	0%		0%
Bengali	93	0%	373	0%	524	0%	920	0%		0%	2,603	0%		0%
Ukrainian	11	0%	113	0%	337	0%	611	0%		0%	2,436	0%		0%
Italian	403	0%	574	0%	833	0%	1,177	0%		0%	2,291	0%		0%
Portuguese	171	0%	297	0%	433	0%	865	0%		0%	2,250	0%		0%
Urdu	79	0%	179	0%	309	0%	594	0%		0%	2,186	0%		0%
Bulgarian	230	0%	400	0%	486	0%	629	0%		0%	2,114	0%		0%
Bosnian	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	1,186	0%		0%	2,071	0%		0%
Sami	1,734	0%	1.726	0%	1,734	0%	1,752	0%		0%	1,949	0%		0%
Hindi	147	0%	239	0%	428	0%	779	0%		0%	1,740	0%		0%
Dutch	277	0%	408	0%	650	0%	960	0%		0%	1,446	0%		0%
Latvian	20	0%	76	0%	169	0%	391	0%		0%	1,318	0%		0%
Japanese	274	0%	386	0%	561	0%	798	0%		0%	1,224	0%		0%
Lithuanian	30	0%	94	0%	166	0%	375	0%		0%	1,095	0%		0%
Norwegian	402	0%	436	0%	471	0%	540	0%		0%	648	0%		0%
Danish	290	0%	305	0%	397	0%	456	0%		0%	526	0%		0%
Hebrew	165	0%	232	0%	263	0%	348	0%		0%	441	0%		0%
Other	2,534	0.1%	5,084	0.1%	8,293	0.2%	11,825	0.2%	79,570	1.5%	32,431	0.6%		0%

• The government only considers the Finnish or Swedish the "working language of the person" in this context, and "bilinguality" has no official standing.

Finland had a net migration rate of 2.8 people per 1000 in 2018.^[21]

Many Finnish natives have emigrated abroad, sometimes escaping war, e.g. to Sweden, sometimes for economical reasons, e.g. to the United States and Canada. Current numbers of emigration are not well discussed in public, but many Finns have opted to move abroad.^{[citation needed]}

A total of 245,864 Finnish citizens emigrated abroad between 1990 and 2017. The most popular destinations have been Sweden (76,269), United Kingdom (21,939), United States (18,943), Norway (16,971), Germany (16,694), Spain (14,209) and Denmark (9,626).^[29]

Demographic movement in Finland did not end with the appearance of immigrants from Sweden in the Middle Ages. Finns who left to work in Swedish mines in the 16th century began a national tradition, which continued up through the 1970s, of settling in their neighboring country. During the period of tsarist rule, some 100,000 Finns went to Russia, mainly to the St. Petersburg area. Emigration on a large scale began in the second half of the 19th century when Finns, along with millions of other Europeans, set out for the United States and Canada. By 1980 Finland had lost an estimated 400,000 of its citizens to these two countries.^[8]

A great number of Finns emigrated to Sweden after World War II, drawn by that country's prosperity and proximity. Emigration began slowly, but, during the 1960s and the second half of the 1970s, tens of thousands left each year for their western neighbor. The peak emigration year was 1970, when 41,000 Finns settled in Sweden, which caused Finland's population actually to fall that year. Because many of the migrants later returned to Finland, definite figures cannot be calculated, but all told, an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 Finns became permanent residents of Sweden in the postwar period. The overall youthfulness of these emigrants meant that the quality of the work force available to Finnish employers was diminished and that the national birth rate slowed. At one point, every eighth Finnish child was born in Sweden. Finland's Swedish-speaking minority was hard hit by this westward migration; its numbers dropped from 350,000 to about 300,000 between 1950 and 1980. By the 1980s, a strong Finnish economy had brought an end to large-scale migration to Sweden. In fact, the overall population flow was reversed because each year several thousand more Finns returned from Sweden than left for it.^[8]

However significant the long-term effects of external migration on Finnish society may have been, migration within the country had a greater impact—especially the migration which took place between the end of World War II and the mid-1970s, when half the population moved from one part of the country to another. Before World War II, internal migration had first been a centuries-long process of forming settlements ever farther to the north. Later, however, beginning in the second half of the 19th century with the coming of Finland's tardy industrialization, there was a slow movement from rural regions toward areas in the south where employment could be found.^[8]

Postwar internal migration began with the resettlement within Finland of virtually all the inhabitants of the parts of Karelia ceded to the Soviet Union. Somewhat more than 400,000 persons, more than 10 percent of the nation's population, found new homes elsewhere in Finland, often in the less settled regions of the east and the north. In these regions, new land, which they cleared for farming, was provided for the refugees; in more populated areas, property was requisitioned. The sudden influx of these settlers was successfully dealt with in just a few years. One of the effects of rural resettlement was an increase in the number of farms during the postwar years, a unique occurrence for industrialized nations of this period.^[8]

It was, however, the postwar economic transformation that caused an even larger movement of people within Finland, a movement known to Finns as the Great Migration. It was a massive population shift from rural areas, especially those of eastern and northeastern Finland, to the urban, industrialized south. People left rural regions because the mechanization of agriculture and the forestry industry had eliminated jobs. The displaced work force went to areas where employment in the expanding industrial and service sectors was available. This movement began in the 1950s, but it was most intense during the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s, assuming proportions that in relative terms were unprecedented for a country outside the Third World. The Great Migration left behind rural areas of abandoned farms with reduced and aging populations, and it allowed the creation of a densely populated postindustrial society in the country's south.^[8]

The extent of the demographic shift to the south can be shown by the following figures. Between 1951 and 1975, the population registered an increase of 655,000. During this period, the small province of Uusimaa increased its population by 412,000, growing from 670,000 to 1,092,000; three-quarters of this growth was caused by settlers from other provinces. The population increase experienced by four other southern provinces, the Åland Islands, Turku ja Pori, Häme, and Kymi, taken together with that of Uusimaa amounted to 97 percent of the country's total population increase for these years. The population increase of the central and the northern provinces accounted for the remaining 3 percent. Provinces that experienced an actual population loss during these years were in the east and the northeast-Pohjois-Karjala, Mikkeli, and Kuopio.^[8]

One way of visualizing the shift to the south would be to draw a line, bowing slightly to the north, between the port cities of Kotka on the Gulf of Finland and Kaskinen on the Gulf of Bothnia. In 1975 the territory to the south of this line would have contained half of Finland's population. Ten years earlier, such a line, drawn farther to the north to mark off perhaps 20 percent more area, would have encompassed half the population. One hundred years earlier, half the population would have been distributed throughout more than twice as much territory. Another indication of the extent to which Finns were located in the south was that by 1980, approximately 90 percent of them lived in the southernmost 41 percent of Finland.^[8]

No official statistics are kept on ethnicities. However, statistics of the Finnish population according to a residents parents country of birth (foreign background/origin statistics) are available. According to international census recommendations an ethnic group is defined by the perception of its members of historical and regional or national origin, and data or ethnic status should always be based on a person's own statement. Because the census in Finland is based on registries, Finland can not produce official statistics about ethnic groups.^[30]

Country or continent	Year[31]
	1992		2001		2011		2021
	Population	%	Population	%	Population	%	Population	%
Europe	5,032,796	99.6%	5,149,522	99.1%	5,295,964	98.1%	5,318,746	95.9%
Finland[t 1]	4,997,289	98.9%	5,072,097	97.6%	5,143,773	95.2%	5,078,608	91.5%
EU (excluding Finnish origin)	12,880	0.3%	24,088		60,761		103,419	1.9%
Other Europe	22,627	0.4%	53,337		91,430		136,719	2.5%
AFRICA	4,631	–	12,900		31,518		60,614	1.1%
AMERICA	3,602	–	4,755	–	8,192		14,244	0.3%
ASIA	8,467	0.2%	22,519		59,998		142,385	2.6%
OCEANIA	174	–	391	–	716	–	1,107	–
UNKNOWN	5,312	0.1%	4,814	–	4,879	–	11,145	0.2%
Total: Foreign origin	57,693	1.1%	122,804	2.4%	257,494	4.8%	469,633	8.5%
Total	5,054,982	100%	5,194,901	100%	5,401,267	100%	5,548,241	100%

At the end of 2021, there were 442,290 foreign-born residents in Finland, corresponding to 8.0% of the total population.^[7]

The largest groups were:

1. Russia and former Soviet Union (78,431)
2. Estonia (46,935)
3. Sweden (33,692)
4. Iraq (20,857)
5. China (13,535)
6. Somalia (12,712)
7. Thailand (11,974)
8. Vietnam (10,080)
9. Serbia and former Yugoslavia (9,947)
10. India (9,404)
11. Turkey (9,214)
12. Iran and Kurdistan (8,861)
13. Afghanistan (8,504)
14. Syria (7,558)
15. Germany (7,402)
16. United Kingdom (7,208)
17. Philippines (6,905)
18. United States (6,217)
19. Poland (5,266)
20. Romania (4,780)
21. Ukraine (4,499)
22. Nepal (4,300)
23. Pakistan (3,846)
24. Bangladesh (3,629)
25. Italy (3,395)
26. Spain (3,371)
27. Latvia (3,259)
28. France (3,129)
29. Morocco (2,922)
30. Bulgaria (2,767)
31. Ethiopia (2,554)

Foreign-born population by continent 2021^[2]

Continent	Population	%
Europe	235,286	4.24
Asia	131,455	2.37
Africa	42,408	0.76
Americas	17,531	0.32
Oceania	1,729	0.03
Unknown	13,881	0.25
Total	442,290	7.97

• Population pyramids of Origin groups in 2021
• 
  Finnish background
• 
  Foreign born
• 
  Foreign born descendants

Evangelical Lutheran church is the largest church in Finland, 68.7% of population were its members in the end of year 2019. Christian Orthodox are the second largest registered group, 1.1% were members of the Finnish Orthodox Church (plus 1.5% orthodox immigrants). The number of Lutherans has decreased gradually from 98% in year 1900, 95% in year 1950 and 85% in year 2000. In end of 2019, 1.7% of population was in other religious groups, and 28.5% in census register or of unknown religious status.^[33]

Pentecostalism has approximately 50,000 members in Finland. Traditionally, it has acted as societies and is thus not visible in statistics of churches.^[34][35]

There were an estimated 102,000 Muslims in Finland in 2017.^[36]

Defined as the proportion of people age 15 and over who can read and write, the literacy of the total Finnish population is 100% (2000 est.).^[37]

In a study published in March 2016, Finland was ranked the world's most literate nation among 61 countries, where enough data were available. The research considered among other things literacy achievement tests, numbers of libraries and newspapers, years of schooling and computer availability.^[38]

In 2010 Yle reported that 85–90% of Somali immigrants are illiterate when they arrive.^[39]

• Ageing of Europe
• Finnish Youth Survey Series

• Findicator – Life expectancy
• Findicator – Total fertility rate in 1776-
• Findicator – Vital statistics 1749-
• Findicator – Age structure of population