Very premature infants account for less than one per cent of all births
In total, there were 43,776 children born alive in Finland in 2024. Five per cent of them were born prematurely, i.e. before the 37th week of gestation. Very premature infants accounted for 0.8% of all live births. Very premature infants refer to babies born before the 32nd week of gestation or whose birth weight is below 1,501 grams.
In total, 351 very premature infants were born in Finland in 2024. If them, around one third (31.3%) were born before the 28th week of gestation. The number of extremely premature infants, i.e. babies weighing less than 1,000 grams, was 147, amounting to 0.3% of all live births.
Of the very premature infants born alive in 2024, 92.6 per cent were still alive at a gestational age of 42 weeks. This corresponds to around 10–20 weeks after delivery, depending on the duration of the pregnancy.
Care centralised to university hospitals
To ensure the quality of care, the deliveries of very premature infants in Finland have been centralised to university hospitals by a Government decree. The proportion of very premature infants born in university hospitals has increased from 63% in the late 1980s to 95.2% in 2024.
In 2024, most of the very premature infants born in university hospitals (44.3%) were born in Helsinki. The shares of other university hospitals varied between 10% and 20%.
Effective care with register data
As part of the Medical Birth Register, THL separately collects detailed data on very premature infants in the sub-register of small preterm infants. The data in the register is utilised in the development and research of the care of premature infants.
The register data is available for scientific research through the Health and Social Data Permit Authority Findata.
Findata
Reporting services
Statistics in the database report (in Finnish)
Background information
Source
Sub‑registry of Very Preterm Infants / Medical Birth Register.
19.1.2026.
Description of the statistics
The statistics contain additional data on very premature infants, i.e. babies born alive before the 32nd week of gestation or whose birth weight was below 1,501 grams. The statistics cover data on pregnancies, deliveries, and the care and health of the baby from birth to the age corresponding to the 42nd week of gestation
Data on very premature infants are collected as part of the Medical Birth Register. Separate information has been collected on very premature infants since 2004. The information is presented as data and percentages at the level of the entire country. The statistical data are published through the statistical cube.
Update schedule
Information updated on 19 January 2026. The data contained in the data set covers the period until 31 December 2024.
The next update of the statistical cube will take place in winter 2026–2027.
