Editing Demographics of Finland (section)

===Historical fertility rates===

In the 18th century, Finland recorded a fertility rate of 5-6 children per woman, but population growth was hindered by high infant mortality, with approximately 1 in 5 infants dying before their first birthday. Fertility remained relatively steady in the 19th century, with occasional variations. During times of conflict, such as the Finnish war, and periods of famine, birth rates declined, but eventually normalised. Presently, some developing countries have fertility rates similar to those of Finland in the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref name="tilastokeskus-hedelmallisyyden-kehitys">{{cite web |url= https://tilastokoulu.stat.fi/verkkokoulu_v2.xql?page_type=sisalto&course_id=tkoulu_vaesto&lesson_id=12&subject_id=2 |title= Väestötieteen perusteet - 12.2 Hedelmällisyyden kehitys – lapsiluku pienenee |publisher= Statistics Finland | language=fi |access-date= 1 October 2023}}</ref>

As the 19th century drew to a close, the traditional agrarian society began to crumble. Simultaneously, the industrial and service sectors witnessed a surge in job opportunities, and urban migration intensified. Manufacturing plants mushroomed in proximity to rivers. Fewer children being born played a role in the rising living standards. However, it is important to note that contraceptive methods were limited to the rhythm method and interrupted intercourse.<ref name="tilastokeskus-hedelmallisyyden-kehitys"/>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:right"
! colspan="18" |{{nowrap|Total fertility rate (TFR) in Finland from 1776 to 1899}}
|-
! colspan="18" |Years<ref name="ourworldindata.org">{{citation|url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=FIN|title=Total Fertility Rate around the world over the last centuries|author=Max Roser|date=2014|work=[[Our World In Data]], [[Gapminder Foundation]]|access-date=7 August 2018|archive-date=5 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190205121631/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/children-born-per-woman?year=1800&country=FIN|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
! 1776
! 1777
! 1778
! 1779
! 1780
! 1781
! 1782
! 1783
! 1784
! 1785
! 1786
! 1787
! 1788
! 1789
! 1790
! 1791
! 1792
! 1793
|-
| 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
| 4.66
| 5.43
| 5.71
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1794
! 1795
! 1796
! 1797
! 1798
! 1799
! 1800
! 1801
! 1802
! 1803
! 1804
! 1805
! 1806
! 1807
! 1808
! 1809
! 1810
! 1811
|-
| 5.41
| 5.18
| 5.05
| 5.2
| 5.08
| 5.09
| 4.92
| 5.07
| 5.23
| 4.78
| 5.24
| 5.21
| 4.84
| 4.97
| 4.16
| 3.69
| 5.1
| 4.66
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1812
! 1813
! 1814
! 1815
! 1816
! 1817
! 1818
! 1819
! 1820
! 1821
! 1822
! 1823
! 1824
! 1825
! 1826
! 1827
! 1828
! 1829
|-
| 4.95
| 4.6
| 4.72
| 4.84
| 4.82
| 4.84
| 4.78
| 4.51
| 4.55
| 5.34
| 4.59
| 5.21
| 4.84
| 4.83
| 4.89
| 4.77
| 5.12
| 4.98
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1830
! 1831
! 1832
! 1833
! 1834
! 1835
! 1836
! 1837
! 1838
! 1839
! 1840
! 1841
! 1842
! 1843
! 1844
! 1845
! 1846
! 1847
|-
| 4.85
| 4.58
| 4.47
| 3.96
| 4.75
| 4.57
| 4.17
| 4.17
| 4.32
| 4.47
| 4.59
| 4.56
| 4.96
| 4.77
| 4.64
| 4.76
| 4.39
| 4.46
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1848
! 1849
! 1850
! 1851
! 1852
! 1853
! 1854
! 1855
! 1856
! 1857
! 1858
! 1859
! 1860
! 1861
! 1862
! 1863
! 1864
! 1865
|-
| 4.84
| 4.92
| 4.78
| 5.17
| 4.79
| 4.8
| 5.02
| 4.82
| 4.86
| 4.48
| 4.87
| 4.74
| 4.84
| 5.2
| 5.03
| 4.85
| 5.28
| 4.79
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1866
! 1867
! 1868
! 1869
! 1870
! 1871
! 1872
! 1873
! 1874
! 1875
! 1876
! 1877
! 1878
! 1879
! 1880
! 1881
! 1882
! 1883
|-
| 4.46
| 4.47
| 3.4
| 4.52
| 4.86
| 4.95
| 4.87
| 4.97
| 5.12
| 4.95
| 4.97
| 5.19
| 4.81
| 5.14
| 5.01
| 4.79
| 4.99
| 4.96
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1884
! 1885
! 1886
! 1887
! 1888
! 1889
! 1890
! 1891
! 1892
! 1893
! 1894
! 1895
! 1896
! 1897
! 1898
! 1899
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
| 5.04
| 4.79
| 4.98
| 5.17
| 5.07
| 4.89
| 4.83
| 5.04
| 4.65
| 4.43
| 4.59
| 4.87
| 4.8
| 4.77
| 5.07
| 4.96
|}

The decline in fertility experienced a noteworthy acceleration in the early 20th century. In 1900, the fertility rate stood at 4.8, which plummeted to 2.3 by 1933. In the late 1930s, fertility rates experienced an uptick, but it later plummeted due to the war, particularly in 1940 as a result of the [[Winter War]]. Although the ceasefire caused a spike in births, the resumption of hostilities stalled family planning efforts. Post-war in autumn 1944, there was a resurgence in births, leading to a total fertility rate of 3.1 in 1945, reaching a peak of 3.5 in 1947–1948, a record that remains unbroken. However, fertility rates began a steady decline, dipping below the generational renewal threshold of 2.1 by 1969. Finnish fertility rates have not recovered to this level since.<ref name="tilastokeskus-hedelmallisyyden-kehitys"/>

The decline persisted until 1973, when it hit a historic low of 1.5 children per woman. In recent years, there have been fluctuations, with fertility rates fluctuating between 1.7 and 1.9.<ref name="tilastokeskus-hedelmallisyyden-kehitys"/> As of the 2020s, Finland's overall fertility rate has fallen below 1.4.<ref name="statistics-finland-birth-rate"/>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:right"
! colspan="18" |{{nowrap|Total fertility rate (TFR) in Finland from 1900 to 2022}}
|-
! colspan="18" |Years<ref name="statistics-finland-birth-rate">{{cite web |url= https://www.stat.fi/tup/maahanmuutto/perheet/syntyvyys_en.html |title= Birth rate |publisher= Statistics Finland | language=en |access-date= 2 October 2023}}</ref>
|-
! 1900
! 1901
! 1902
! 1903
! 1904
! 1905
! 1906
! 1907
! 1908
! 1909
! 1910
! 1911
! 1912
! 1913
! 1914
! 1915
! 1916
! 1917
|-
| 4.83
| 4.92
| 4.79
| 4.62
| 4.85
| 4.67
| 4.81
| 4.76
| 4.65
| 4.72
| 4.60
| 4.46
| 4.45
| 4.15
| 4.13
| 3.89
| 3.69
| 3.71
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1918
! 1919
! 1920
! 1921
! 1922
! 1923
! 1924
! 1925
! 1926
! 1927
! 1928
! 1929
! 1930
! 1931
! 1932
! 1933
! 1934
! 1935
|-
| 3.60
| 2.87
| 3.76
| 3.58
| 3.43
| 3.44
| 3.22
| 3.17
| 3.02
| 2.92
| 2.92
| 2.83
| 2.75
| 2.59
| 2.46
| 2.27
| 2.33
| 2.37
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1936
! 1937
! 1938
! 1939
! 1940
! 1941
! 1942
! 1943
! 1944
! 1945
! 1946
! 1947
! 1948
! 1949
! 1950
! 1951
! 1952
! 1953
|-
| 2.31
| 2.52
| 2.52
| 2.56
| 2.15
| 2.90
| 2.00
| 2.46
| 2.56
| 3.07
| 3.41
| 3.47
| 3.47
| 3.33
| 3.16
| 3.01
| 3.06
| 2.96
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1954
! 1955
! 1956
! 1957
! 1958
! 1959
! 1960
! 1961
! 1962
! 1963
! 1964
! 1965
! 1966
! 1967
! 1968
! 1969
! 1970
! 1971
|-
| 2.93
| 2.93
| 2.91
| 2.86
| 2.68
| 2.75
| 2.71
| 2.65
| 2.66
| 2.66
| 2.58
| 2.46
| 2.41
| 2.32
| 2.15
| 1.94
| 1.83
| 1.70
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1972
! 1973
! 1974
! 1975
! 1976
! 1977
! 1978
! 1979
! 1980
! 1981
! 1982
! 1983
! 1984
! 1985
! 1986
! 1987
! 1988
! 1989
|-
| 1.59
| 1.50
| 1.62
| 1.69
| 1.72
| 1.69
| 1.65
| 1.64
| 1.63
| 1.65
| 1.72
| 1.74
| 1.70
| 1.64
| 1.60
| 1.59
| 1.70
| 1.71
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 1990
! 1991
! 1992
! 1993
! 1994
! 1995
! 1996
! 1997
! 1998
! 1999
! 2000
! 2001
! 2002
! 2003
! 2004
! 2005
! 2006
! 2007
|-
| 1.78
| 1.79
| 1.85
| 1.81
| 1.85
| 1.81
| 1.76
| 1.75
| 1.70
| 1.73
| 1.73
| 1.73
| 1.72
| 1.76
| 1.80
| 1.80
| 1.84
| 1.83
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
! 2008
! 2009
! 2010
! 2011
! 2012
! 2013
! 2014
! 2015
! 2016
! 2017
! 2018
! 2019
! 2020
! 2021
! 2022
! 2023
|-
| colspan="18" |
|-
| 1.85
| 1.86
| 1.87
| 1.83
| 1.80
| 1.75
| 1.71
| 1.65
| 1.57
| 1.49
| 1.41
| 1.35
| 1.37
| 1.46
| 1.32
| 1.26
|}

The fertility rate in Finland exceeded that of neighbouring countries for the duration of the 20th century. However, since 2010, there has been a significant decline, whereas other [[Nordic countries]] have not experienced such a trend until more recently. It is a recent development that Sweden and Finland have similar social policies and incomes, however, Finland is the only country experiencing natural population decrease (excluding immigration).<ref>{{cite news |last=Bauer |first=Elizabeth |date=1 October 2019 |title=Why Has Finland's Fertility Rate Collapsed – And Are There Lessons For Us? |magazine=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2019/10/01/why-has-finlands-fertility-rate-collapsedand-are-there-lessons-for-us/ |access-date=21 September 2020 |archive-date=20 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920053138/https://www.forbes.com/sites/ebauer/2019/10/01/why-has-finlands-fertility-rate-collapsedand-are-there-lessons-for-us/ |url-status=live }}</ref>