Birth rate remains low in Finland in Jan-Apr

A total of 15,603 children were born in the country during January-April, which is 548 fewer than in the corresponding period in 2017.

The number of deaths was 19,111, which is 52 higher than one year earlier, according to Statistics Finland.

Finland's population was 5,513,902 at the end of April. The population, however, increased by 772 persons during January-April.

The reason for the increase was migration gain from abroad, since immigration exceeded emigration by 4,280. The number of births was 3,508 lower than that of deaths.

A total of 8,894 persons immigrated to Finland from abroad and 4,614 persons emigrated from Finland.

The number of immigrants was 750 lower and the number of emigrants 652 higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year.

In all, 2,217 of the immigrants and 2,938 of the emigrants were Finnish citizens.