The birth rate among people with a foreign background has declined in recent years. Photo: Emmi Korhonen / Lehtikuva
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Foreign-background residents in Finland continued to show higher birth rates than those with Finnish backgrounds in 2024, according to new data from Statistics Finland.
The total fertility rate for foreign-background women stood at 1.39 children per woman last year. For women of Finnish background, the figure was 1.23. Among men, the difference was similar. Foreign-background men recorded a fertility rate of 1.21, while Finnish-background men reached 1.10.
The figures represent the average number of children a person would have over their lifetime, assuming that age-specific fertility remains at current levels.
The new data confirms a long-term trend. Since 1990, the fertility gap between Finnish and foreign-background residents has steadily decreased.
In 1990, foreign-background men born abroad had a total fertility rate of 3.06 children. That figure for Finnish-background men was 1.64. Among all foreign-background men, the average that year was 2.89.
By 2020, those figures had already fallen sharply. Men with a foreign background born abroad recorded a fertility rate of 1.61. The average for all foreign-background men was 1.59, and for Finnish-background men 1.21.
Women born abroad with a foreign background had a fertility rate of 1.42 in 2024. For all foreign-background women, including those born in Finland, the figure was slightly lower at 1.39.
Second-generation foreign-background Finns had lower fertility rates than first-generation immigrants. However, separate fertility calculations are not available for this group due to its small population and age structure. Most in this group are still under the age of 30.
HT
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Source: www.helsinkitimes.fi
