14. Population

14.1 Where do we come from?

People have spread to Finland from many different directions over the course of the region's history. After the continental glacier retreated and the climate became more temperate, humans began to spread to Finland from the south. This happened approximately 10 000 years ago. These first Finns survived mostly by hunting, fishing and gathering forest goods. 

As this kind of a hunter-gatherer economy was quite inefficient, the population of Finland was quite low. During these early days, the Finnish population was a couple of thousand people in size. It was dispersed mostly along the Finnish coastline. 

The population began to increase only when Finns learned to cultivate crops and to take care of livestock. The first agricultural Finns moved to Finland approximately 4 000–5 000 years ago, probably from the south.

The Swedish-speaking population of Southern and Southwestern Finland developed during the 13th century, when people from Sweden began to move into the coastal areas of Finland. Large Swedish-speaking populations remain in these areas to this day. 

In addition to the Finnish-speaking majority of the population, Finland is home to a large variety of smaller minority groups, of which Swedish-speaking Finns are the largest. They comprise approximately 290 000 or 5,3 % of the total Finnish population.

14.2 Central terminology

When studying populations, the two most important things to consider are the birth rate and the mortality rate. These two numbers are ratios that describe the number of people that are born or die during one year per thousand inhabitants. These two ratios, as well as the migration to and from the area, are direct factors that affect the size of a population.

Diseases, access to food, natural catastrophes, wars and poverty are all indirect factors that can also affect the size of a population. For example, poor agricultural yields will increase malnourishment and contribute to the mortality rate, whereas a good health care system reduces the mortality rate and increases the birth rate. 


Changes in the population: people born during a year + immigration - people who die during a year - emigration.

Natural population growth is the difference between a society's the birth rate and mortality rate. When the number of emigrants are taken away from this number and the number of immigrants is added to it, the result is the actual population growth of a society.

When migration is targeted from one country to another, the phenomenon is called emigration. Internal migration is a term that means the movement of people within the borders of one country. There is a lot of internal migration in Finland, which has resulted in some municipalities becoming net migration areas, whereas some have become net emigration areas. Net migration areas receive more people each year than leave them, whereas net emigration areas lose more people every year than gain them.

Some people have moved away from Finland in the past, but have decided to move back later. These people are called returning migrants. The Finns that live outside the borders of our nation are called expatriate Finns. There are over one million such people in the world, most of them living in Sweden.

A person that moves to another country by their own free will is called a migrant. If a person must leave their home country because they fear violence, discrimination or persecution there, this person is called a refugee. The United Nations describes a refugee as a person that has to leave their country because they are persecuted in their home nation due to their nationality, ethnicity, religion, social status or political opinion. 

Those who have to leave their home region because of famine or an environmental catastrophe are called environmental refugees. A person has to leave their home because of an environmental catastrophe somewhere in the world every second. Over 20 million people have to evade floods, storms and other natural catastrophes evert tear. This number has been estimated to grow to over 200 million by the year 2050. 

Some Finns have had experience of life as refugees during World War II. A refugee can also seek for protection from another nation, such as Finland. If the immigration authorities deem the person's need for protection real and pressing, the person will receive asylum. When this occurs, the asylum seeker receives an official refugee status in the nation. 


A large number of refugees have fled Syria during the last few years. 

14.3 Immigration

The number of people that live in Finland but have been born in other countries has increased during the past few decades. This is due to increased immigration. Most immigrants have moved to Finland from our neighbors, Estonia and Russia. For example, in the year 2015, Finland was home to over 50 000 Estonians and almost 31 000 Russians. 

Some people who reside in Finland permanently have a dual citizenship, which means that they are both citizens of Finland and of another nation. 

Finnish society is changing and becoming more diverse as the result of immigration. Immigration brings new customs and cultures to our society, which has both its benefits and its challenges. Immigrants have an important role in the future of Finnish society, as the nation needs increase in its workforce to provide enough services for its aging population. 


Immigration to Finland has increased during the last few decades.

14.4 Finnish population growth is slowing down

The first Finnish census was organized in the year 1749, when Finland was still a part of Sweden. This census found that the Finnish population was 410 400 people in size. 

When the living conditions began to grow better at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the mortality rate became smaller while the birth rate remained high. People continued to have a lot of children, but more of these children began to actually live to maturity, as there was more food available and the health care and hygiene standards were better. This lead to rapid population growth. 

By the 1930s, the birth rate had began to decrease, and the average family had approximately two children. During World War II, the birth rate dropped drastically. However, once the war was over, Finland experienced a "baby boom" where the birth rate skyrocketed. The post-war generation is often called the "baby boomers". After this sudden rise, the birth rate dropped back to its old, low state. 

Nowadays, the Finnish birth and death rates remain at a similarly low level. Because of this, the Finnish population experiences almost no natural growth. As living standards have increased, Finns have become more educated. Because of this, people often start families later in life than their parents did. The average age of women giving birth for the first time has increased. Because of this, women do not have a lot of time to have give birth to as many children.

If immigration is not increased, the Finnish population will probably begin to decrease during the next few decades. As the Finnish population grows older and the number of working-age people decreases, the nation can end up in a situation where it cannot provide enough services for its aging population.

Demographics of Finland (Wikipedia)

14.5 Population pyramids

Population pyramids are diagrams that describe the age and gender distribution of a society.

Population pyramids can be divided into three groups:
  • Least developed nations (broad base → high birth rate).
  • Developing nations (lower birth rate → the base is not as broad).
  • Developed nations (low birth rate, the largest age groups are aging).

Finland is a developed nation. Its population pyramid does not have a broad base due to a low birth rate.

The largest age groups are elderly or in late middle age.

As a result, the Finnish population pyramid does not look like a pyramid at all!