Finland’s population increased by only 16 people during the first half of 2026, as net migration from abroad offset the continued gap between births and deaths, according to preliminary figures from Statistics Finland.
A total of 19,720 people moved to Finland between January and June, while 14,494 people left the country. This produced net migration of 5,226 people.
The figure was lower than during the same period in 2025, when Finland recorded 21,552 arrivals and 8,631 departures. Net migration then reached 12,921 people.
The number of people leaving Finland rose by 5,863 from a year earlier. The number arriving fell by 1,832.
Statistics Finland linked much of the rise in departures to an agreement between Finland and Estonia on the exchange of population register data.
The agreement led to an exceptional number of departures being recorded to Estonia during the first six months of the year. Some of those cases concerned people whose move had not appeared in Finnish population records at the time it took place.
The change reduced Finland’s recorded migration gain, though immigration still remained the main source of population growth.
Ukraine remained the largest country of origin among people moving to Finland.
A total of 3,179 immigrants arrived from Ukraine during the first half of the year. The number fell by 1,316 from the same period in 2025, the largest decline recorded for any single country.
The fall follows several years in which people fleeing Russia’s invasion formed a large share of new arrivals to Finland.
Changes in immigration from other countries remained limited.
The number of immigrants arriving from Syria recorded the largest increase, rising by 111 people compared with the first half of 2025.
Migration continues to carry more weight in Finland’s population development because deaths exceed births.
The country recorded 23,662 births between January and June. That was 1,255 more than during the same period in 2025.
The increase continued a rise that began last year, after Finland’s birth rate had fallen for much of the previous decade.
The preliminary total fertility rate for the 12 months from July 2025 to June 2026 stood at 1.34 children per woman. The rate for the 2025 calendar year was 1.30.
“Births increased last year compared with 2024, and the recovery appears to have continued during the first half of 2026,” Statistics Finland senior actuary Joonas Toivola said.
The fertility rate still remains below the levels recorded during the coronavirus pandemic.
Finland’s highest fertility rate of the current decade was recorded in 2021, when the figure reached 1.46 children per woman.
HT