Population Policy Programme

We believe that the goal of population policy is to provide as good and meaningful life for people as possible. Population policies based on this promote the inclusion and parity of all people as well as solidarity between generations. Each person should have the right to live a life meaningful to them with safe and healthy relationships.

All people should also be able to make the decisions concerning their family relationships and to have as many children as they wish, whether it is none or several. Society should support people who wish to have children in all possible ways to help them make their wish come true.

Recommendations concerning population policies

The report lists ten goals and recommendations for the Finnish population policy:

1. A suitably sized Finland is not shrinking yet. A moderate annual population growth of about 0.3% is well-founded during the following decades to secure the financial base of the welfare state.
2. A balanced population development is ecologically sustainable. The goals of sustainable development are the basis for all population policies. Finland will promote sustainable economy and population growth both nationally and internationally.
3. Increasing birth rate in Finland is something to strive towards. To ensure both social and financial sustainability, it would be beneficial to increase the annual total fertility rate to 1.9 children. This level could be reached if people could have as many children as they wish for.
4. People need to be supported to have as many children as they wish for. Family planning services, fertility advice services and fertility treatment must be available to all. In addition to this, sufficient resources must be allocated to the livelihood and well-being of families with children in order to decrease the difference between desired and actual number of children.
5. Good relationships are at the core of public health. To even out the well-being difference between different population groups, it is important that each Finn would have at least one close human relationship.
6. Family-friendliness applies to all. Flexible working hours and remote working must become a part of the new normal if the work assignments allow them. There must be zero tolerance towards pregnancy discrimination.
7. Immigration will increase notably. The current relocation gain in Finland should increase significantly and the number of quota refugees should be doubled. To support this, we need international recruitment processes, a lighter immigration process for those moving to work in Finland and functional integration services.
8. Finland is an attractive and humane new home country. Family reunification should be made easier, because the family members of immigrants are an essential part of integrating in the country.
9. Multi-locality renews regional development. Regional policies must promote the multi-locality of work and housing, as they can help reversing the detrimental effects of migration flows.
10. Incentives to decrease emigration. Experience and education accumulated abroad should be easily applicable to Finnish criteria and salary system.

Sorsa, Tiia (ed.) Sustainable Population Development in Finland: The 2020 Population Policy Report by Väestöliitto.