The number of births has begun to increase
According to preliminary data from THL's perinatal statistics, 45,974 children were born in Finland in 2025, which is 4.8% more than in 2024.
Preliminary data published by Statistics Finland indicate that the number of live births also increased by 8.3% in January–April 2026 compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
Preliminary Population Statistics: April 2026 (Statistics Finland)
“The number of births has been increasing since 2024. However, this growth has so far been modest compared with the exceptionally steep decline in birth rates observed in Finland between 2011 and 2023. Naturally, there is hope that this positive trend will be sustained, but the reasons behind the recent increase are not yet fully understood, and there is no guarantee that the growth will continue”, says Anna Heino, Chief Specialist.
The average age at childbirth continues to rise
According to the preliminary data for 2025, the mean age of all parturients was 32.0 years. The mean age of primiparas also continued to increase, reaching 30.5 years. Parturients aged 35 years or older accounted for 28.3% of all parturients, while the proportion of parturients under the age of 20 decreased to 0.8%.
“Having children is being postponed to later ages, and an increasing proportion of Finns remain childless throughout their lives. A large share of the decline in birth rates can therefore be explained by the decreasing number of first births”, continues Heino.
Since 2010, approximately 80% of the decline in the number of births has been attributable to a decrease in first births. In 2025, however, the number of primiparas increased somewhat more (+6.9 %) than the number of parturients with prior deliveries (+3.1 %).
The decline in first births is becoming an increasingly central factor in the decline in fertility (Flux Consortium) (in Finnish)
More than one fifth of deliveries result in a caesarean section
According to preliminary data for 2025, 20.7% of deliveries ended in a caesarean section. This is the highest proportion recorded since the statistics were first compiled in 1987.
The proportion of caesarean sections is higher among primiparas than among parturients with prior deliveries. Based on the preliminary data for 2025, 25.5% of deliveries among primiparas resulted in a caesarean section. The proportions of both planned caesarean sections (8.4 %) and urgent caesarean sections (11.5 %) of all deliveries has increased. By contrast, the proportion of emergency caesarean sections has remained relatively stable (0.8 %).
According to European recommendations, the proportion of caesarean sections should not exceed 15–20 percent of all deliveries in developed countries. Finland has exceeded this threshold for several years.
Joint position statement: Caesarean delivery rates at a country level should be in the 15-20 % range
More than one third of children are born in Uusimaa
Just over one third (35.9 %) of all children born in Finland were born in HUS hospitals in the Uusimaa region: at the Women's Hospital and the Jorvi and Hyvinkää Hospitals.
The number of births increased in almost all maternity hospitals in 2025. Part of the increase at Lapland Central Hospital, Oulu University Hospital and the Women's Hospital can be attributed to the closure of the delivery units at Lohja Hospital and Länsi-Pohja Central Hospital in 2024.
The largest relative increases in the number of births in 2025 compared with 2024 were recorded at:
- Women's Hospital: +11.2% (921 more births)
- Oulu University Hospital: +11.7% (356 more births)
- Kanta-Häme Central Hospital: +10.7% (113 more births)
- Lapland Central Hospital: +25.5% (221 more births)
- Kainuu Central Hospital: +13.3% (88 more births)
- Mikkeli Central Hospital: +19.9% (116 more births)
- Åland Central Hospital: +11.5% (24 more births)
In 2025, there were 21 maternity hospitals in Finland. Five of the hospitals had fewer than 1,000 deliveries, which is the minimum annual number of deliveries required for maintaining a maternity unit under the recommendation issued by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health in 2015.
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