Editing Demographics of Finland (section)

== Population ==

{{As of|2024}}, there are 5,635,971 people in Finland.<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/>

=== Historical population ===

The first human settlement in Finland originated around 11,000 BC, following the end of the [[Last Glacial Period|Ice Age]]. The initial inhabitants of modern-day Finland were presumably [[hunter-gatherers]]. There is no information about the language spoken by the first inhabitants. However, it is known that the Finnish and Sámi languages emerged thousands of years later.<ref name="hs-ensimmaisilla-suomalaisilla">{{cite web |url= https://www.hs.fi/tiede/art-2000007976760.html |title= Ensimmäisillä suomalaisilla oli käytössään aikakautensa kehittynyttä teknologiaa: näin Suomi asutettiin jääkauden jälkeen |publisher= Helsingin Sanomat | language=fi |date=17 May 2021 |access-date= 3 October 2023}}</ref> Archaeological, linguistic, and genetic studies support the notion that the country was inhabited from south to north, with a population of a few thousand during prehistoric times. The Sámi people then succeeded the previous inhabitants, followed by the influx of Finnic people from the east, west, and south who eventually replaced them. The Sámi people now number around 10,000 in Finland as a minority. Although they have lived north of the [[Arctic Circle]] for 7,000 years, they make up only 5% of the population of the province of Lapland.

The reliable population data is available from 1749, when Sweden first compiled population statistics. At that time, the population of Finland stood at 410,400 individuals. The threshold of one million inhabitants was surpassed subsequent to the [[Finnish War]] (1808–1809) in 1811, upon the annexation of the [[Old Finland]] region. The milestone of five million inhabitants was reached in 1991.<ref name="tilastokeskus-vaestotieteen-perusteet">{{cite web |url= https://tilastokoulu.stat.fi/verkkokoulu_v2.xql?page_type=sisalto&course_id=tkoulu_vaesto&lesson_id=12&subject_id=1 |title= Väestötieteen perusteet - 12.1 Suomen väestö kautta aikojen |publisher= Statistics Finland | language=fi |access-date= 1 October 2023}}</ref>

Exceeding the million population milestones:<ref name="tilastokeskus-vaestotieteen-perusteet"/>
# million in 1811
# million in 1879
# million in 1912
# million in 1950
# million in 1991

Until the beginning of the 20th century, annual population growth fluctuated between 1% and 2%. There were a few exceptional years of negative growth during times of war and destruction.<ref name="tilastokeskus-vaestotieteen-perusteet"/> The significant demographic and economic transformations that took place in Finland post-[[World War II]] affected the composition of Finnish families. Over time, family sizes reduced noticeably, declining from an average of 3.6 individuals in 1950 to an average of 2.7 in 1975. Despite this change, family structures remained relatively constant during the 25-year period, with 24.4% of families consisting of a man and a woman, 61.9% comprising a couple and children, 11.8% consisting of a woman with offspring, and 1.9% consisting of a man with offspring. There were no substantial differences in percentages compared to 1950.<ref name="LOC"/>

Nonetheless, fewer children were born per family; the average decreased from 2.24 in 1950 to 1.7 in the 1980s. Large families were infrequent, with only 2% having four or more children, while 51% had a single child; 38% had two children, and 9% had three children.<ref name="LOC">Text from PD source: US Library of Congress: ''[http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/fitoc.html A Country Study: Finland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214114830/http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/fitoc.html |date=14 February 2015 }}'', Library of Congress Call Number DL1012 .A74 1990.</ref> Population growth declined to below 0.5% in the 1970s, and to approximately 0.2% in the 1990s. In recent years, however, population growth has recovered partially, rising to approximately 0.5%, partly due to increased immigration.<ref name="tilastokeskus-vaestotieteen-perusteet"/>

{{Historical populations
| title= Historical population
| percentages = pagr
| align = none
| cols = 3
|type=Finland
|1750|421000
|1760|490000
|1770|560000
|1780|660000
|1790|706000
|1800|837000
|1810|863000
|1820|1177500
|1830|1372100
|1840|1445600
|1850|1636900
|1860|1746700
|1870|1768800
|1880|2060800
|1890|2380100
|1900|2655900
|1910|2943400
|1920|3147600
|1930|3462700
|1940|3695610
|1950|4029800
|1960|4496220
|1970|4598330
|1980|4787770
|1990|4998480
|2000|5181000
|2010|5375300
|2020|5536146
|footnote = Population size prior to 1812 may be affected by changes on administrative divisions.<br />1990-2020 source: Statistics Finland<ref name="Stat-finland-population-38,000-persons"/>
|}}

=== Distribution and density ===
[[File:Population map of Finland.svg|thumb|right|Population densities in Finland, inhabitants per square kilometre]]

{{As of|2024}}, the population density of Finland was 18.5 persons per square kilometre.<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/> The region of [[Uusimaa]] was the most densely populated region with around 196 persons per square kilometre, while [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]] was the least densely populated region with only around two persons per square kilometre.<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/> The populace is heavily clustered in the west and south of Finland, where the largest urban centres are situated.<ref name="facts-about-finland">{{cite web |url= https://toolbox.finland.fi/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/Facts-about-Finland-Finfo.pdf |title= Facts about Finland |date= 2015 |publisher= Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 2015 |access-date= 1 October 2023}}</ref> There are a total of nine cities in Finland with more than 100,000 residents.<ref name="eurydice-population-finland">{{cite web |url= https://eurydice.eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-education-systems/finland/population-demographic-situation-languages-and-religions |title= Eurydice: 1. Political, social and economic background and trends: 1.3 Population: demographic situation, languages and religions |date= 16 June 2022 |publisher= European Commission |access-date= 2 October 2023}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:right"
! colspan="18" |{{nowrap|Population by region as of 2024<ref name="statistics-finland-population-2024-final"/>}}
|-
! Area !! Population !! colspan="2" class="unsortable" | Of total population (%)
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Uusimaa]]
| 1,782,300 || {{bartable|32}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Southwest Finland]]
| 494,819|| {{bartable|9}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Satakunta]]
| 211,261 || {{bartable|4}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Kanta-Häme]]
| 169,455 || {{bartable|3}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Pirkanmaa]]
| 545,406 || {{bartable|10}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Päijät-Häme]]
| 204,635 || {{bartable|4}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Kymenlaakso]]
| 157,442 || {{bartable|3}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[South Karelia]]
| 125,083 || {{bartable|2}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[South Savo]]
| 129,376 || {{bartable|2}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[North Savo]]
| 248,815 || {{bartable|4}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[North Karelia]]
| 162,091 || {{bartable|3}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Central Finland]]
| 274,112 || {{bartable|5}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[South Ostrobothnia]]
| 189,929 || {{bartable|3}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Ostrobothnia (administrative region)|Ostrobothnia]]
| 178,749 || {{bartable|3}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Central Ostrobothnia]]
| 67,723 || {{bartable|1}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[North Ostrobothnia]]
| 418,331 || {{bartable|7}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Kainuu]]
| 69,639 || {{bartable|1}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Lapland (Finland)|Lapland]]
| 176,151 || {{bartable|3}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | [[Åland]]
| 30,654 || {{bartable|1}}
|}

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.<ref name=":2">''Matka väestölliseen keskipisteeseen'', [[Helsingin Sanomat]], 30 July 2012, p. A5. [http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000002547894.html Online edition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205125025/https://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/art-2000002547894.html |date=5 February 2019 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right; width:35em"

|+{{nowrap|Urban-rural classification as of 2022<ref name="stat-finland-urbal-rural"/>}}
|-
! Area !! Population !! colspan="2" class="unsortable" | Of total population (%)
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | '''URBAN AREAS'''
| 4,044,568 || {{bartable|73}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Inner urban area
| 2,104,164	|| {{bartable|38}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Outer urban area
| 1,341,122	|| {{bartable|24}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Peri-urban area
| 599,282 || {{bartable|11}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | '''RURAL AREAS'''
| 1,450,534	|| {{bartable|26}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Local centres in rural areas
| 302,264 || {{bartable|5}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Rural areas close to urban areas
| 385,211 || {{bartable|7}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Rural heartland areas
| 503,590 || {{bartable|9}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Sparsely populated rural areas
| 259,469 || {{bartable|5}}
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Unknown
| 68,868 || {{bartable|1}}
|}