DEMOGRAPHY

What are the latest demographic trends in the Nordic Region? What kind of impact did the pandemic have on different aspects of demographic development? The Demography section takes us through key population statistics on mortality and birth, population change and migration in the Nordic Region based on the most recent available data.

ChapTER 1: Population change beyond the pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic had a pronounced impact on demographic trends in the Nordic countries, influencing every component of change -morbidity, mortality, nuptiality, fertility and internal and international migration. The Nordic Region demonstrated relative resilience during the pandemic compared to other parts of Europe. In 2022, the number of deaths exceeded births for the first time, and the population continued to grow only because more people immigrated than emigrated. The fall in the population in 2022 and 2023 was due to a rapid decline in births after the pandemic and an increase in the number of deaths that surpassed even the pandemic years. The ageing populations in the Nordic countries and territories also contributed to the decline.

ChapTER 2: Fertility change in the nordic region

Over the past decade, the fertility rate in the European Union has been low but stable. However, since 2010, the rates for the Nordic countries and territories have been declining and have reached the lowest recorded levels. The fertility rates in the Nordic Region are well below replacement level, the level necessary for a population to replace itself in the long run. Demographers are puzzled by these falls but have identified declines in first births and overall increases in childlessness as the reasons behind the overall declines. Young people seem to be foregoing parenthood because of uncertainty about the future, and low fertility rates appear to be here to stay.

The geography of diversity in the Nordic Region – High levels of immigration in recent decades have substantially increased the proportion of the Nordic population born elsewhere in the world, which is now at a historically high level and has gone up in nearly all regions and municipalities. Newcomers have faced greater segregation, and spatial segregation is often associated with other aspects, such as segregation in schools, workplaces and social activities. Migration and integration are challenging social and policy issues and have triggered contentious political debates.