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Birth rate rose in 2021

release | Births 2021

According to Statistics Finland’s data on population changes, the birth rate rose last year. The total fertility rate for 2021 was 1.46, while in the year before it was 1.37 children per woman. Altogether 49,594 children were born in 2021, which is 3,131 more than in the previous year.


The line chart shows Finland's total fertility rate in 1900 to 2021. The long-term trend is clearly falling, from five children at the beginning of the previous century to under two children per woman in the 2000s. A bigger exception to the falling trend is the rise in total fertility in the 1940s, around two to three children per woman.

Key points

  • In 2021, the total fertility rate was still historically low, 1.46 children per woman.
  • Fertility grew particularly among women aged 30 to 49.
  • The average age of women becoming biological mothers rose to 30 years.
  • The birth rate was still highest in Central Ostrobothnia.

The bar chart shows women's fertility rates by 5-year age group per one thousand women of the mean population in 2020 and 2021. In both years, women aged 30 to 34 had the highest fertility rate, around 100 children per 1,000 women. The fertility rate was second highest among women aged 25 to 29 and third highest among women aged 35 to 39.

Database tables

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Updated database tables
12dj
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12dk
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    12dl
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    • Month of occurrence
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    12dn
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    • Age of mother
    • Sex
    • Language of mother
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    12dq
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    • Age of mother
    • Sex
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    12dr
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      12dm
      Classifications used:
      • Age of mother
      • Sex
      • Birth order of a child
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      12du
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      • Region
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      12dt
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        12ds
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        • Age of mother
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        Juhana Nordberg
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