Finns’ first confinement age posts sharp rise

The average age of first confinement has risen exceptionally in Finland, according to Statistics Finland.

The average age of first-time mothers was 29.1 years in 2016, rising by 0.2 years from 2015 and by 0.4 years from 2014. The average age of first confinement in Finland has risen to the same level as in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

The average age of first-time fathers was 31.2 years. The age difference of first-time parents has stayed almost unchanged for decades. First-time fathers are slightly over two years older than first-time mothers.

The average age of all women having given birth was 30.8 years and the average age for becoming a father was 33.3 years in 2016.

For a long time, first-time mothers and fathers were older in the Nordic countries than in Finland, except for Iceland.

In Finland, the age of becoming mother and father has grown closer to the corresponding age in other Nordic countries, and in 2016, the average age of becoming a mother was nearly the same in Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. In Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, the average age of becoming a mother was 29.1 years and in Norway 29.0 years. In Iceland, women became mothers at a clearly younger age of 27.7 years.

Men becoming fathers were oldest in Sweden and Norway–31.5 years, and youngest in Iceland–30.3 years.

Having children is most common in the age group of 30 to 34.