Under-18 population in Finland falls below one million for first time

The number of under-18s in Finland fell below one million for the first time since the country gained independence in 1917, Statistics Finland reported on Thursday. At the end of April, the under-18 population stood at 999,232. The decline has been significant in recent decades, the agency stated.

The under-18 population peaked in the early 1960s, when nearly 1.6 million minors lived in Finland, accounting for about one in three residents. “Still in the early 1980s, a quarter of Finland’s population was aged 0–17. At the end of April, minors made up less than 18 percent of the population,” senior statistician Joonas Toivola said.

Tags: Finland, demographics, Statistics Finland