Population growth returned to pre-COVID-19 levels
The population in the Helsinki region grew by 5,180 persons in the last quarter of 2022. The growth was clearly higher than in the COVID-19 years, and the growth rate was the highest during the monitoring period that started in 2016. In the rest of the country, the population decreased by 2,000 persons. In the Helsinki Region, the population increased by 19,940 persons in the whole year, while the population in the rest of Finland decreased by 2,660 persons. At the end of the year, the Helsinki region had 1,556,100 residents, which is 28 per cent of the total population of Finland.
During October–December, the population growth among the municipalities in the Helsinki region was the strongest in Helsinki and Espoo, each with nearly 2,000 new residents. The population of Vantaa grew by slightly less than 900 people and of KUUMA municipalities by 360 people. Compared to the corresponding periods in the previous five years, the growth in Espoo and Helsinki was the largest last year. By contrast, the population growth in Vantaa was at the same level as in 2016–2018 but below the 2019–2020 levels. In KUUMA municipalities, the growth fell slightly below the previous years’ levels.
In 2022, the population of Espoo grew at a record pace of 8,050 people per year, corresponding to an annual growth rate of 2.7 per cent. Helsinki grew by 6,460 persons (1.0%) and Vantaa by 3,710 persons (1.6%). Kuuma municipalities grew by 1,830 persons (0.6%) during the year. Compared to the previous five years, the population of Espoo grew more than ever in the 2000s, almost doubling from the previous year. In Helsinki, population growth was at the level of the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic and clearly higher than in the previous two years. The population of Vantaa grew more than in the previous year and slightly less than in 2020. Population growth in KUUMA municipalities was higher in 2020–2021 than in previous years and in 2022, it decreased to the level it was at in the years before 2020. In 2022, the growth of the entire Helsinki region, 19,940 people, returned to the level of the years before the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October–December 2022, the growth in the Helsinki region was almost entirely based on migration. Through migration, the population increased by 4,950 persons, while the volume of natural population growth was clearly lower than before, at 240 persons. According to preliminary data, the number of deaths in both Helsinki and the KUUMA municipalities was higher than the number of births, while in Espoo and Vantaa, the population grew due to natural population growth, but remained smaller than in previous years. In Finland outside the region, the number of deaths exceeded the number of births by more than 6,000, but the migration gain was around 4,000 people.
The number of children born in 2022 in the entire Helsinki region, 14,720, was 1,400 lower than in the previous year, which was almost the same as in 2020. The decrease in births compared to the previous year was evident in all regions. The number of deaths in the region was at a record high, at 12,570 people. This is almost 1,200 deaths more than in the previous year. The increase in the number of deaths was evident in all regions. In Finland outside the region, the number of births decreased by nearly 3,000 from the previous year. The number of deaths grew to a record high and was 4,700 more than in 2021.