increasing number In Finland, fewer women under the age of 35 have children, a study by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) has revealed.
A study by Healthy Finland found that 73 percent of women aged 20 to 34 have never given birth, an increase of 8 percent since 2017. In contrast, the number of births for women over 35 is increasing, and this share has increased by 2 percentage points over the past six years.
Reiya KlemettiTHL’s research manager told YLE last week that the phenomenon of people putting off having children has been visible in the statistics for some time. However, what is interesting is that this phenomenon is now reflected in population surveys as well.
Almost two-fifths (39%) of women under 50 and 44% of men under 50 said they wanted to have children in the future. This desire was especially common among people aged 20 to 29, with 62% of women and 69% of men saying they wanted to have children.
Men report wanting to have children more than women at any age, a finding that Clemetti believes can be attributed to long-standing challenges related to balancing work and family. did.
“Even today, women more often than men must consider that the very desire to have children limits their career advancement and educational attainment, and increases their family responsibilities. “We can be more confident that our work lives will continue as before,” she said.
In Finland, 16% of women and 11% of men are unintentionally childless. Klemetti told the public broadcaster that the share is on par with previous censuses, but with one notable change.
“Previously, a large proportion of 30-39 year olds experienced unintended childlessness. It can also be linked to the phenomenon of people postponing having children. “Today’s 30- to 39-year-olds don’t have as much experience of not having an unintended child because they started getting pregnant later in life,” she explained.
Far more than half (60%) of those who experienced involuntary childlessness said they sought infertility testing and treatment, and about half went on to have a child as a result.
On the other hand, those who did not have children voluntarily did so due to factors such as not wanting to have children, unstable economic situation, and lack of support from society.
The study also found that abortions among young people are decreasing. Six percent of women aged 20 to 29, 12.5% of women aged 30 to 39, and 20% of women aged 40 and older said they had had at least one abortion.
“Young people in particular are less likely to have had an abortion, and that is reflected in our statistics. We have been able to impact this issue through sex education and counseling,” Cremetti said.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT