First-grade enrollment in Finland continues to decline

About 50,000 children will start primary school in Finland this August, nearly 1,000 fewer than last year, according to the Finnish National Agency for Education.

The number of first-graders has fallen each year this decade, dropping from around 60,000 in 2020. The decline is seen in every region.

Overall primary school enrollment last year was just over half a million, a figure that has not decreased at the same rate as first-grade numbers.