Population: Finland

This is Finland, a country in Northern Europe. People from many different backgrounds live here: ethnic Finns, Finland-Swedes, Sami people, Roma people, and other minority groups. They make up the population of Finland. When records began in the 1500s, Finland’s population was only 25 000. It’s grown a lot since then.

Today, the population is 5.5 million. But the growth has been slow - much slower than global population growth. In the 1500s, Finland is part of Sweden. Over the next three hundred years, Sweden is often at war with Russia, and Finland is caught in the middle. Many Finns die in the fighting.

Finland also suffers a famine and a devastating plague. The number of people dying compared to the size of the population — the mortality rate — is high. The population does not reach one million until 1815. The mortality rate remains high through the 1800s, when Finland comes under Russian rule. Many poor farming families are overworked and underfed.

Children often die young. In 1870, for every 1 000 children born, 359 die before their fifth birthday. The child mortality rate is high. Not until 1880 does the population hit two million. Many Finns move away, emigrate, to find better work in Russia, Sweden or North America.

This slows population growth further, and Finland doesn’t reach three million until 1915. In 1917, the Russian Empire collapses, and Finland declares independence. In 1918, 30 000 die in Finland's civil war. And from 1939 to 1944, 90 000 more Finns die in two wars with the Soviet Union. The mortality rate from conflict is so high in the first part of the 1900s that Finland’s population barely grows.

But in the mid-1940s, things begin to change. The country enters a time of peace and prosperity. People decide it is a good time to start families, or add to them. The birth rate shoots up. There is a baby boom.

And in 1944, a law is passed that all young children must attend health clinics where they get a check-up and vaccinations. The child mortality rate drops. By 1950, the population reaches four million. In the 1950s, new mechanical farming methods mean fewer workers are needed on farms. People from the countryside begin moving to cities to look for work.

Urbanisation is underway. From 1960 to 1970, the birth rate drops from its baby boom heights and settles at an average of 1.7 births per woman. The population finally reaches five million in the early 1990s, and hits 5.5 million in 2021. Urbanisation continues today, though at a slower pace. Eighty-five percent of Finns now live in urban areas, mostly in the country’s south.

In parts of northern Finland, meanwhile, where winters are long and winter daylight hours are short, there are just two people per square kilometre. The population density across Finland is very uneven. Finland’s birth rate is beginning to fall further, and population growth is projected to slow down even more over the next few years. In 2031, the population is forecast to begin declining. Finland’s low birth rate, coupled with people living longer, means the median age of its people is increasing.

The ageing population means there is a shrinking proportion of working-age people. This could lead to labour shortages in the future. One part of the solution could be people moving to Finland. In recent years, Finland has accepted tens of thousands of immigrants from Russia, Iraq, Estonia, and Somalia. In the future, more and more of Finland’s population may be made up of people from other parts of the world.