Century comparisons

During her independence, Finland has changed considerably. Changes can be seen in the major policies of society as well as in small everyday matters. In the century comparisons, we presented changes with the help of statistical figures from the early years of independence until Finland's centenary year 2017. The photos used in the comparisons are from the collections of Finnish museums.

In addition to the website, the comparisons can be found on Statistics Finland's Twitter and Facebook accounts with the hashtag #centurycomparison.

Population of Finland

1917
3,134,300
2017
5,513,130
Statistics Finland. Population structure. Population by sex in 1750 to 2017.

Finland's area

1917
377,426 km2
2017
338,449 km2
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1917, Table 1.
National Land Survey of Finland. Suomen pinta-ala kunnittain 1.1.2017 (Finland's area by municipality on 1 Jan 2017).

Population density

1920
9.4 inhab. per km²
2017
18.1 inhab. per km²
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1965, Table 10.
Statistics Finland. Population structure. Population density by area.

Population by language

1920
Finnish 88.7%
Swedish 11.0%
Lappish 0.05%
2017
Finnish 87.9%
Swedish 5.2%
Sami 0.04%
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1965, Table 20.
Statistics Finland. Finland in Figures. Population by language.

Proportion of children (aged 0 to 14) in the population

1917
34.5%
2017
16.2%
Statistics Finland. Population structure. Population by age and sex.

Share of persons aged 65 or over in the population

1917
5.8%
2017
21.4%
Statistics Finland. Population structure. Population according to age (5-year) and sex in 1865 to 2017.

Average age of the population

1917
27 yrs (M)
28 yrs (W)
2017
41 yrs (M)
44 yrs (W)
Statistics Finland. Population statistics.
Statistics Finland. Population structure. Key figures on population by region in 1990 to 2017.

Children born

1917
81,046
2017
50,321
Statistics Finland. Births. Live births by sex.

Average number of children per woman

1917
3.71
2017
1.49
Statistics Finland. Births. Total fertility rate.

Most common months of birth

1917
March
July
January
2017
July
August
June
Statistics Finland. Births. Live births by month in 1900 to 2017.

Most popular first names given to girls

Born in
1910 to 1919
Anna
Aino
Aili
Aune
Tyyne
Born in
2017
Aino
Eevi
Emma
Sofia
Aada
Kiviniemi, Eero. Rakkaan lapsen monet nimet: suomalaisten etunimet ja nimenvalinta (Espoo, 1982).
Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Most popular children's names. Most popular first names of Finnish-speaking children 2017.

Most popular first names given to boys

Born in
1910 to 1919
Eino
Toivo
Väinö
Veikko
Tauno
Born in
2017
Leo
Elias
Eino
Väinö
Onni
Kiviniemi, Eero. Rakkaan lapsen monet nimet: suomalaisten etunimet ja nimenvalinta (Espoo, 1982).
Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Most popular children's names. Most popular first names of Finnish-speaking children 2017.

Average age of persons entering into their first marriage

1917
25-29 (M)
20-24 (W)
2017
33,9 (M)
31,7 (W)
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Population changes in Finland in 1917 and 1918, p. 20.
Statistics Finland. Changes in marital status. Average age of people entering into marriage and divorcing.

Most popular months to get married

1917
December
June
November
2017
July
August
September
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 27.
Statistics Finland. Changes in marital status 2017, Appendix table 2.

Life expectancy at birth

1911 to 1920
43 yrs (M)
49 yrs (W)
2017
79 yrs (M)
84 yrs (W)
Statistics Finland. Deaths. Life expectancy at birth in 1751 to 2017.

Average age at death

1917
37 yrs (M)
40 yrs (W)
2017
75 yrs (M)
82 yrs (W)
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Väestönmuutokset Suomessa vuosina 1917 ja 1918 (Population changes in Finland in 1917 and 1918), p. 47.
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2018, Table 24.31.

Mortality*

1917
18,8

deaths 58,863

2017
9,8

deaths 53,722

Statistics Finland. Deaths. Crude death rate in 1751 to 2017.

* per 1,000 persons of the mean population

Number of maternal deaths

1936
374
2017
4
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Kuolemansyyt vuosina 1936-1937 (Causes of death in 1936 to 1937), Table 1.
Statistics Finland. Causes of death. Reviews 2017, 7.

Infant mortality*

1917
118.2

9,582 children

2017
2.0

102 children

Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 44.
Statistics Finland. Deaths. Infant mortality in 1751 to 2017.

* deaths at the age of under one year per 1,000 live-born children

Most common causes of death

1936
  • infectious diseases*
  • diseases of the circulatory system
  • geriatric diseases
  • neoplasms
2016
  • diseases of the circulatory system
  • neoplasms
  • ischaemic heart diseases
  • dementia and Alzheimer's disease
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Causes of death in 1936 to 1937, pages 16 to 18.
Statistics Finland. Causes of death 2016, Appendix table 2a.

* especially influenza and tuberculosis

Number of medical doctors

1917
645
2015
21,980
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1922, Table 196.
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2016, Table 19.3.

Number of prescriptions per inhabitant

1917
0.9
2017
11.1
National Board of Health. Report of the National Board of Health in 1917.
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2018. Table 19.2.

Average stay in a general hospital

1920
21.9 days
2017*
3.3 days
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2018. Table 19.15.

Reported measles cases

1920
13,180
2017
10
National Board of Health. Report of the National Board of Health in 1920, p. 17.
National Institute for Health and Welfare. Statistical database on the register of infectious diseases (only in Finnish).

Women’s and men’s average height

In the 1910s
160.6 cm (W)
170.0 cm (M)
2014
165 cm (W)
179 cm (M)
Wilskman, Ivar. Tilastollisia tietoja Suomen koulunuorison ruumiillisesta kehityksestä, osa 2 (Statistical information on the physical development of Finnish schoolchildren, part 2), (Helsinki, 1920) and Tilastollisia tietoja Suomen kansan ruumiillisesta kehityksestä, osa 3 (Statistical information on the physical development of the Finnish population, part 3), (Helsinki, 1922).
National Institute for Health and Welfare. Health Behaviour and Health among the Finnish Adult Population, Spring 2014, Table 101.B.

Biggest cities

1917
Helsinki
Turku
Tampere
Vyborg
2017
Helsinki
Espoo
Tampere
Vantaa
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 9.
Statistics Finland. Population structure. Population by sex and area.

Municipalities with the lowest number of inhabitants

1917
Sottunka (422)
Kuusisto (489)
Utsjoki (523)
Tytärsaari (542)
Velkua (582)
2017
Sottunga (92)
Kökar (236)
Kumlinge (314)
Lumparland (395)
Vårdö (430)
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 10.
Statistics Finland. Population structure. Population by sex and area.

Average annual temperature in Helsinki

1917
4.0 °C
2017
6.6 °C
Finnish Meteorological Institute. Annual statistics.

Share of persons born in their municipality of residence

1920
72.2%
2017
43.8%
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1922, Table 20.
Statistics Finland. Population structure. Population by municipality of birth and residence and share of population, 31 Dec 2017.

Average size of household-dwelling units

1920
5.2 persons
2017
2.01 persons
Juntto, Anneli. Asuminen (Housing). In Suomen vuosisata (Finland’s century), (Statistics Finland, 2000).
Statistics Finland. Dwellings and housing conditions 2017, Appendix table 1.

Rooms (incl. kitchen) per dwelling

1917
2.4
2017
3.7
Heikkonen, Eero. Asuntopalvelukset Suomessa 1860-1965 (Housing in Finland, 1860-1965), p. 207 (Bank of Finland, 1971).
Statistics Finland. Statistics on dwellings and housing conditions.

Share of housing in private consumption

1920
9.2%
2017
28.8%
Statistics Finland. National Accounts. Historical series: Structure of private consumption, exports and imports. Private consumption expenditure.

Number of first-graders

1917
60,759
2017
62,656
Board of education. Statistical general review on Finland's elementary school system in the school year 1916 to 1917, Tables IX and XIII.
Statistics Finland. Students and qualifications. Comprehensive school pupils by region, municipality, teaching language and age group in 2017.

Share of those starting middle school/upper secondary school in the age group

1920
around 7%
2017
53.0%
Lampinen, Osmo. Basic level of education. In Suomen vuosisata (Finland’s century), (Statistics Finland, 2000).
Statistics Finland. Entrance to education. Direct transition to further studies of completers of the 9th grade of comprehensive school.

Share of persons that studied beyond basic education

1920
5%
(studies beyond elementary school)
2017
72%
(studies beyond basic education)
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1925, Table 18.
Statistics Finland. Educational structure of population. Population aged 15 or over by level of education, municipality and sex.

Matriculation examinations

1917
1,138
2017
30,189
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1927, Table 181.
Statistics Finland. Students and qualifications. Completers of matriculation examination in 2017.

Students at the University of Helsinki

1917
3,215
2017
31,331
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1920, Table 183.
Statistics Finland. University education. University students and qualifications.

Public libraries

1930
  • libraries 1,531
  • lenders 6.6% of the population
  • loans 3,175,000
  • 0.9 loans / inhabitant
  • 14.0 loans / lender
2017
  • libraries 737
  • lenders 35.5% of the population
  • loans 85,215,658
  • 15.6 loans / inhabitant
  • 43.9 loans / lender
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2017, Table 9.2.
Kirjastot.fi. Finnish public libraries statistics.

Share of women of elected MPs

1917
9.0%
(18 MPs)
2015
41.5%
(83 MPs)
Women’s full political rights 100 years. Election statistics. Eduskuntavaaleissa valittujen nais- ja mieskansanedustajien lukumäärä 1907–2003 (Number of female and male MPs elected in parliamentary elections in 1907 to 2003).
Statistics Finland. Parliamentary elections.

Voting turnout in Presidential elections

1925

39.7%


43.8% (M)
36.2% (W)
2018

69.9%


66.8% (M)
72.9% (W)
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Elections for the electors of the President of the Republic in 1925, pages 6 and 10.
Statistics Finland. Presidential elections. Voting data in Presidential election 2018, first round.

Number of farms

1920
around 225,000
2017
48,562
Luke. E-yearbook on food and natural resources statistics 2016, p. 7.
Luke. Structure of agricultural and horticultural enterprises 2017.

Average size of farms

1920
9 ha
2017
47 ha
Luke. E-yearbook on food and natural resources statistics 2016, p. 7.
Luke. Structure of agricultural and horticultural enterprises 2017.

Cultivated area used to grow wheat

1920
8,751 ha
2017
218,600 ha
Direction of the Agriculture. Agricultural inquiry in Finland in 1920: Agriculture and animal husbandry in Finland in 1920, p. 7.
Luke. Utilised Agricultural Area 2017.

Cultivated area used to grow rye

1920
232,947 ha
2017
31,800 ha
Direction of the Agriculture. Agricultural inquiry in Finland in 1920: Agriculture and animal husbandry in Finland in 1920, p. 7.
Luke. Utilised Agricultural Area 2017.

Number of horses

1917
270,553
2017
74,400
Direction of the Agriculture. Agriculture and animal husbandry in Finland in 1918, p. 33.
Hippolis, Finnish trotting and breeding association, Equestrian Federation of Finland & Natural Resources Institute Finland. Equine industry in figures, Table 1.

Number of sheep

1920
1,703,600
2017
155,900
Luke. Agricultural statistics. Number of livestock.

Number of pigs

1920
373,600
2017
1,135,600
Luke. Agricultural statistics. Number of livestock.

Number of milking cows

1917
1,075,749
2017
270,641
Direction of the Agriculture. Agriculture and animal husbandry in Finland in 1918, p. 34.
Luke. Agricultural statistics. Number of livestock.

Average milk production of a milking cow

1917
1,894 litre
2017
8,534 litre
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1925, Table 63.
Luke. Agricultural statistics. Total milk production.

Share of forests* in land area

1921 to 1924
73.4%
2014 to 2016
75.0%
Luke. Forest statistics. Land classes on forestry land.

*forest land and poorly productive forest land

Annual increment of growing stock

1921 to 1924
54.5 mil. m3
2014 to 2016
109.9 mil. m3
Luke. Forest statistics. Annual increment of growing stock on forest land and on poorly productive forest land.

Volume of growing stock

1921 to 1924
1,385 mil. m3
2014 to 2016
2,465 mil. m3
Luke. Forest statistics. Growing stock volume on forest land and poorly productive forest land by tree species.

Hunting of fox and pine marten

1917
1,135 foxes
45 pine martens
2017
51,100 foxes
18,100 pine martens
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 86.
Luke. Fishery and game statistics. Game bag.

Baltic herring catches

1917
11,824,108 kg
2017
134,133,000 kg
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 88
Luke. Commercial marine fishery 2017.

Fishing of salmon and brown trout

1917
301,315 kg
2015
229,000 kg
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 88.
Luke. Fishery and game statistics. Fishery catch in Finland.
Viljaa kootaan seipäälle

Share of persons working in agriculture and forestry

1920
70.1%
2017
4.0%
Statistics Finland. Population by industry: Population by industry and municipality in 1880 to 1975, p. 331.
Statistics Finland. Finland in Figures, Table Employed persons by industry.

Share of persons working in manufacturing

1920
11.5%
2017
21.9%
Statistics Finland. Population by industry: Population by industry and municipality in 1880 to 1975, p. 331.
Statistics Finland. Finland in Figures, Table Employed persons by industry.

Share of persons working in service industries and administration

1920
10.9%
2017
73.9%
Statistics Finland. Population by industry: Population by industry and municipality in 1880 to 1975, p. 331.
Statistics Finland. Finland in Figures, Table Employed persons by industry.

Share of primary production in gross value added

1917
48.6%
2017*
2.7%
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2016, Table 6.2.
Statistics Finland. Finland in Figures. Structural change of the economy.

Share of secondary production in gross value added

1917
22.9%
2017*
28.2%
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2016, Table 6.2.
Statistics Finland. Finland in Figures. Structural change of the economy.

Share of services in gross value added

1917
28.4%
2017*
69.1%
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2016, Table 6.2.
Statistics Finland. Finland in Figures. Structural change of the economy.

Year-on-year change in GDP

1917
-16.1%
2017*
2.8%
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2017, Table 6.1.
Statistics Finland. National Accounts 2017, Appendix table 1.

Inflation

1917
99.4%
2017
0.7%
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2017, Table 4.5.
Statistics Finland. Consumer Price Index. Annual changes of Consumer Price Index.

Base rate

1 Jan to 31 Dec 1918
5.00%
1 Jan to 31 Dec 2018
-0.25%
Bank of Finland. Statistics. Changes in the base rate.

Central government debt per capita
(in 2017 money)

1917
EUR 96
2017
EUR 19,152
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 211.
State Treasury. Statistical database. Central government debt.

Share of taxes in central government revenue

1917
42.4%
2017
79.2%
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 213.
Prime Minister's Office. Annual Report of the Finnish Government 2017, Table 11.

Working days lost during labour disputes

1917
1,494,490
2017
23,077
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1920, Table 225.
Statistics Finland. Statistics on labour disputes. Labour disputes by industry in 2002 to 2017.

Factories manufacturing matches

1917
10
2017
0
Board of Trade and Industry. Industrial statistics: in 1917. Table 4.
Statistics Finland. Business Register.

Share of exports to Russia in exports

1917
96.3%
2017
5.7%
Finnish Customs. Time series. Imports and exports in 1881 to 2017 by country.

Share of forest industry products in exports

1920
94%
2017
20%
Statistics Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 2016, Table 7.8.
Finnish Customs. Statistics. Exports by Products by Activity (CPA2008).

Share of food in private consumption

1920
47.6%
2017
10.5%
Statistics Finland. National Accounts. Historical series: Structure of private consumption, exports and imports. Private consumption expenditure.

Consumption of coffee per person

1917
1.72 kg
2017
9.6 kg
Central Statistical Office of Finland Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1922, Table 254.
Finnish Coffee Roasters Association. Coffee consumption.

Price of coffee
(500 g, in 2017 money)

1920
EUR 7.33
(unroasted)
2017
EUR 3.99
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1922, Table 239.
Statistics Finland. Consumer Price Index. Average prices of commodities.

Butter production

1917
10,323,000 kg
2017
52,560,343 kg
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 73.
Luke. Milk and milk product statistics.

Price of dairy butter
(500 g, in 2017 money)

1920
EUR 6.47
2017
EUR 2.58
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1922, Table 239.
Statistics Finland. Consumer Price Index. Average prices of commodities.

Number of dairies

1917
492
2017
49
Direction of the Agriculture. Agriculture and animal husbandry in Finland in 1917, p. 36.
Statistics Finland. Structural business and financial statement statistics. Enterprises by industry, 2013-2017.

Recorded consumption of beer per inhabitant

1917
10.5 litre
2017
73.7 litre
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 235.
Valvira. Statistics on alcohol 2017.

Imports of oranges to Finland

1917
26,655 kg
2016
29,176,505 kg
National Board of Customs. Finland's trade with foreign countries in 1917, Table 2a, Title VI.2.
Finnish Customs. Uljas database, Title 08051020.

Imports of bananas to Finland

1920
147 kg
2017
113,928,932 kg
National Board of Customs. Finland’s trade with foreign countries in 1920, Table 2a, Title V.136.
Finnish Customs. Uljas database, Title 08039010.

Imports of grapes to Finland

1917
16,385 kg
2017
16,593,892 kg
National Board of Customs. Finland’s trade with foreign countries in 1917, Table 2a, Title VI.6.
Finnish Customs. Uljas database, Title 08061010.

Exports of lingonberry

1920
1,596,536 kg
2017
62,910 kg
National Board of Customs. Finland’s trade with foreign countries in 1920, Table 2b, Title V.70.
Finnish Customs. Uljas database, Title 08104010.

Number of cars

1922
1,754
2017
4,056,725
Statistics Finland. Motor vehicle stock. Number of vehicles registered.

The most popular car makes

In the 1920s
Ford
Chevrolet
2017
Toyota
Volkswagen
Försti, Teija. Vauhtikausi. Autoilun sukupuoli 1920-luvun Suomessa (The Age of Speed: Automobility’s Gender in the 1920s Finland), p. 218 (University of Turku, 2013).
Finnish Transport Safety Agency Trafi. Statistical database. Passenger cars in traffic on 31 December 2017.

Number of motorcycles

1922
837
2017
269,729
Statistics Finland. Motor vehicle stock. Number of vehicles registered.
Aura-auto lumista tietä puhdistamassa

Ploughed roads in winter

1925
40 km
2015
79,300 km
Parkko, Sinikka. Road transport. In Suomen vuosisata (Finland's century), (Statistics Finland, 2000).
Finnish Transport Agency's information service.

Number of air passengers

1924
269
2017
22,699,881
Oikarinen, Jukka. Air transport. In Suomen vuosisata (Finland’s century), (Statistics Finland, 2000).
Finavia. Passengers 2017.

Passenger rail transport

1920
775,488,000 km
2017
4,270,672,000 km
Finnish Transport Agency. Finnish railways statistics 2017, p. 52.

Number of trips by train in passenger transport

1920
17,549,000
2017
85,703,000
Finnish Transport Agency. Finnish railway statistics 2017, Table 6.

Average length of trips by train in passenger transport

1917
35.7 km
2017
49.8 km
Central Statistical Office of Finland. Statistical Yearbook of Finland 1919, Table 126.
Finnish Transport Agency. Finnish railway statistics 2017, Table 3.1.

Number of merchant fleet vessels

1917
4,671 vessels
(4,003 of which sailing ships and 668 steamships)
2017
1,241 vessels
National Board of Customs. Finland's ship traffic with Russia and other foreign countries in 1917.
Trafi. Finnish merchant fleet statistics 2017, Table 1.

Consumption of electricity

1917
205 GWh
2017
85,467 GWh
Statistics Finland. The use and sources of energy 1917-2007, Table 1.
Statistics Finland. Energy. Supplies and total consumption of electricity.