Birth rate decreased in all Nordic countries in 2022 – Finland had lowest overall fertility rate
The number of children born in the Nordic countries decreased by 8.3% in 2022. This was the highest annual change in the number of children in over fifty years.
Total fertility also decreased in all Nordic countries in 2022. Finland had the lowest total fertility rate by far (1.32), while Iceland (1.59) and Denmark (1.55) had the highest rates.
"According to preliminary data, the decline in the number of children born continued in all Nordic countries except Norway in 2023. In Finland, the fertility rate continues to decrease. According to Statistics Finland's preliminary data, it was 1.26 in 2023," says Research Professor Mika Gissler from the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
In the Nordic countries, parturients are increasingly older. The mean age of both primiparas and parturients with prior deliveries rose in all Nordic countries in 2022. The proportion of parturients aged 35 and over was 26.4% in Finland in 2022. In the other Nordic countries, the percentage varied between 20.0% and 24.3%.
The higher age of parturients is associated with many risks related to childbirth and pregnancy and also the person’s overall number of children.
Being overweight is more common while smoking is less common
The proportion of those with a pre-pregnancy BMI of at least 30 was highest in Finland (19.5%) and Sweden (17.6%) and slightly lower in Denmark (15.2%) and Norway (14.8%). This proportion has increased considerably in all Nordic countries in the 2000s.
Smoking during the early stages of pregnancy has decreased in all Nordic countries. In Finland, the number of smokers in early pregnancy remained the highest in the Nordic countries for a long time, but in the 2010s and 2020s, the proportion of smokers has decreased close to that of the other Nordic countries.
An increasing number of women who smoke at the beginning of pregnancy stop smoking during pregnancy, and the proportion of those who smoke at late pregnancy has decreased.
The number of those who smoke towards the end of pregnancy decreased the most in Norway, where almost 14% of parturients smoked a few decades ago. In 2022, this percentage was only 0.9. The highest number of parturients smoking in late pregnancy was recorded in Denmark, where 4.7% of parturients smoked towards the end of pregnancy in 2022.
No obesity and smoking data is available for parturients in Iceland.
Read more about Nordic birth statistics
More information
Mika Gissler
Research professor
Tel. +358 29 524 7279
[email protected]
Anna Heino
Senior specialist
Tel. +358 29 524 7177
[email protected]
