Number of babies born in small communities declines since 2000
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By Timo Siukonen
Longer life spans and internal migration in Finland are clearly reflected in small municipalities, where fewer, if any, babies are being born.
From 1980 there have been a total of 72 municipalities in which no more than 10 children were born during at least one statistical year.
The number of such communities has increased sharply during the present decade.
An investigation by Helsingin Sanomat reveals that in the 1980s there were 36 such communities, in the 1990s there were 44, and in the present decade so far there were 66.
According to population figures put out by Statistics Finland, just eight children were born in Sulkava, in the south of Savo last year. Sulkava is the first municipality on the list with more than 3,000 inhabitants.
In the smallest municipality in Finland, Sottunga in the Åland Islands, there were nine years in which no children were born. In Iniö in the southwest archipelago, there were seven years of no new babies at all, and in nearby Velkua the same thing happened in three years during the period under examination.
Other zero years have been experienced twice since 1980 in Kökar and once in Kumlinge, Vårdö and Geta.
Migration expert, Dr. Timo Aro, points out that one in six Finish municipalities had a maximum of ten births. He feels that this news should blow away all obstacles to municipal and service structure reform. "The result is staggering."
Aro emphasises that the far-reaching trends do not follow calendar years. Instead, they take place as a result of developments lasting decades. "Now in the 21st century we are reaping what was sown from the 1970s."
For the long term, Aro feels that it is important that a large proportion of the children who have, or will be born in the present decade are living in urban areas from the very beginning, which is a big change. "In the 1960s, and even in the early 1970s the large number of children who were born maintained population growth in all provinces, regardless of the strong net loss through internal migration and emigration."
A common feature in these municipalities since the late 1960s has been a chronic migration deficit. Age groups in their fertile years have left, and the consequences can be seen in a constant decline in the birth rate. "A gradual decline in the birth rate with each successive year is typical", Aro notes.
In Tervo in the north of Savo, for instance, the birth rate was between 20 and 30 a year throughout the 1980s. In the best year, 1987, 36 babies were born. The first year in which just ten babies were born was recorded in 1995, and in this decade, falling below ten has been the rule rather than the exception.
A similar development has been experienced in communities with fewer than 2,000 residents. Scattered spots have been marked down in the communities of Lavia, Korsnäs, Puumala, Oravais, Hirvensalmi, Kuhmo, and Valtimo.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 10.1.2008
TIMO SIUKONEN / Helsingin Sanomat
timo.siukonen@hs.fi
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| 15.1.2008 - THIS WEEK |
 Number of babies born in small communities declines since 2000 |
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