Finland’s baby shortage threatens welfare state

The Finnish government is increasingly concerned about the country’s falling birth rate, which is at its lowest for nearly 150 years.

The number of babies being born has fallen steadily over the last six years and is now considerably lower than neighbouring Sweden and Norway and well below the European average.

In recent months, the birth rate has declined so sharply researchers have begun to question the accuracy of their data, Finland’s national broadcaster reports.

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If the trend continues for the remainder of the year, the number of births will drop below the 50,000 mark for the first time since a nationwide famine ended in 1868.

Finland’s minister for family affairs, Annika Saarikko, admitted that the government is alarmed by the statistics.

“One of the underlying factors that may be of importance is the general feeling of [economic] insecurity,” she told the Helsinki Times, citing the high cost of living in urban centres and uncertainties in the labour markets.

Demographics are a concern across the developed world, says Bloomberg, but they are “particularly problematic for countries with a generous welfare state, since they endanger its long-term survival”.

Heidi Schauman, chief economist at Aktia Bank in Helsinki, said the figures were concerning.

“They show how fast our society is changing, and we don’t have solutions ready to stop the development,” she said. “We have a large public sector and the system needs taxpayers in the future.”